Moving home can be a stressful affair. At Wrekin Removals we aim to take the stress away for you. 

If you are moving home and have decided you want to pack your belongings yourself, here are our Top Tips for making sure the move goes smoothly and everything arrives at your new home in good order.

• START EARLY. Leaving everything until the final week or so will just make it even more stressful. Make a space somewhere – in your garage/ spare room and start as soon as you can. 
• CLEAR OUT. Use the move as a great reason to have a clear out. Be ruthless in deciding whether that item really does warrant a place in your new home. Get rid of what you don’t want to keep – Charity Shops, Freecycle, e-Bay – whatever suits you but don’t pack stuff you don’t need to.
• PACKING MATERIALS. Buy a selection of proper moving boxes, bubble wrap and tape – our experience shows you’ll inevitably need more than you expect. Save old newspapers and ask friends and family to do the same – they are excellent for packing and you’ll need lots of them. Have plenty of those little self-seal plastic bags for nuts & bolts and things like that – label them so you will know which bag of bits goes with which piece of furniture.  
• VALUABLE ITEMS. Make sure they are covered under your home insurance policy. Pack these most carefully and let us know which boxes they are so we can give them special care. Mark the box clearly as ‘FRAGILE’.
• SEQUENCE PACKING. Pack your least used possessions first. You can get these done early and out of the way. Leave all daily used items until last.
• ROOM BY ROOM.  Pack boxes by room wherever possible keeping like with like items together where you can. A little time spent planning the contents of each box will save hours in the long run.
• DANGEROUS ITEMS. Things like knives, scissors and screwdrivers can puncture boxes and cause injury. Tape them off securely and wrap carefully so they don’t present any threat.
• MAKE LISTS. As you pack each box, list the items in the box and tape the list to the outside of the box. Give the box a number – write the number on the box, and the room it needs to go to at your new home. Keep a duplicate list in a plastic wallet so you’ll know what’s in each box and which room it’s going to when you start to unload at your new home.
• DON’T OVERFILL. More damage occurs when you try to cram too much into a single box. An extra box or two make much more sense. Put heavy items at the bottom and lighter ones at the top. Don’t make any box too heavy to lift – or such that the base can’t take the weight.
• ESSENTIALS. Have a separate box and a suitcase / luggage bag with the things you’ll need straight away when you arrive at your new home (see below for ideas).
• UNLOADING. Put a notice on each door / room in your new home so that we can make sure the right box ends up in the right room.

ESSENTIALS … inclue such as:

Kettle, tea & coffee, milk, tea towels, washing-up liquid and cloth, biscuits, a few mugs and plates along with some cutlery.

Soap and towel, bedding and towels for your first night. Change of clothes and underwear, PJ’s and Onesies, make up, wash bag and a selection of most used medicines (don’t forget the paracetamol – you’re likely to need some!).

Torch, small tool kit, basic cleaning stuff, toilet roll, notepad and pen.  

Numbers for local Takeaway and Taxi, some loose change

Laptop, mobile phone charger, key documents (passport / driving licence, etc), contact numbers

All documentation regarding your move, house sale etc

There’s definitely an art to packing and whether you do your own, or choose our specialist and professional packing service, using fit for purpose packing materials and cartons, planning well ahead and packing carefully and with some thought, your possessions can be moved to your new home securely and safely.

If you need further advice for any specific items, just give us a call – we’ll be happy to help.