1. Forgetting about the rest week
It’s likely you’ve heard the advice to keep your essentials handy—but that doesn’t just mean packing an overnight bag with some clothes and your toothbrush. There’s a good chance you won’t get fully unpacked for several days—maybe even weeks. So you’ll want to consider all of the things you might need while you’re in limbo.
Add to your overnight bag other essentials such as toilet paper, towels, rst-aid supplies, and anything else you think you might need in the rst few days.
2. Not being proactive
Proactive packing can make the unpacking process much smoother. So what does that really mean? Consider the space you’re moving into: Where will each item go? Where would you like to store your dishes, your extra toilet paper, your winter clothes? Knowing all this ahead of time means you can direct each box to its proper location, instead of dumping them all into a room and sorting them out later. Like junk drawers …try putting miscellaneous smaller items in labeled Ziploc bags, which makes for an easier unpack than digging through boxes.
3. Overloading boxes
There’s a reason book boxes exist—books are heavy, and putting too many in a large cardboard crate guarantees a very rough day of moving. For other heavy items, make sure you’re keeping the box’s cumulative weight into account. Packing a full set of dumbbells? Divide them equally among a number of boxes, lling extra space with lightweight items such as pillows and comforters.
4. Packing breakables the wrong way
Packing fragile items can be oh-so-stressful, but there are ways to mitigate risk. For instance, Petersen and Laxgang recommend standing plates on their side, where impact is less likely to cause damage.
5. Being too specic with labeling
Packing up your grandmother’s antique jewelry? Try using a code name so anybody who spots the boxes in your packed truck doesn’t get any ideas, Petersen says. While you don’t want to confuse yourself when unpacking, this will keep others from deducing which boxes are worth a small fortune.
6. Getting sentimental
We’re not saying don’t pack your old love letters and high school yearbooks. But you should be prepared for what might happen when you do: hours and hours lost to reminiscing. Happy memories? Angry, tear-lled memories? Doesn’t matter: It’s still valuable time wasted. If you haven’t seen it in years, and you haven’t missed it you really should get rid of it….. Prioritize the most important rooms, and get those set up rst before you move on to the memorabilia.”
7. Forgetting the nal sweep
Before handing over the keys, do one last sweep through your former home—including checking inside the washing machine, oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher.