One of the common misconceptions about moving is that smaller homes are less complicated to relocate. However, even small apartments include many different items that require special care and supplies to be successfully packed and delivered. If your schedule includes a moving day soon – it’s time to start thinking about the best packing methods, gathering necessary supplies, and logistics of the move.
This guide will help you with that. Here’s how to pack a one-bedroom apartment quickly and efficiently, spending minimum energy, money, and time for the best results.
Prioritize the packing timeline
You can pack all the items at once, but that will not help with your daily routines until the moving day comes. It’s better to start earlier with packing, but prioritize what will go into the boxes first. Begin with the items you rarely use, especially those you won’t need until you move to the new place. Then, as the moving day comes closer, you can proceed to the pieces you use daily.
This system of creating a packing process will ensure minimum damage and accidents. More importantly, it will help you avoid fatigue and wear yourself out even before the moving day. It’s best to take it easy and start packing your apartment early.
Review your packing situation
It’s essential you have a plan for this move. To make it, you need to review your moving situation. Even though you ‘just’ need to pack a one-bedroom apartment or are ‘just’ moving out of your parents’ house and your small room, you need to know the type of items you’re packing.
This will help you estimate the size and number of boxes and other packing supplies to pack everything efficiently. Also, check if you already have some supplies at home – it would be great if you had saved the original packaging of your electronics and similarly delicate items. Also, items such as suitcases, laundry baskets, and briefcases can be used as box alternatives if you’re trying to save on this move.
Either way, review your apartment, take measurements and make a list of supplies you need before going to the store.
Have a system
It’s best to have some system for packing the whole household in place. Packing room by room has proven to be the most efficient. You can focus on one area and prevent creating a mess all over your home. One-bedroom apartments don’t give you too much space to place all the boxes, so you need to be smart when you begin to pack.
If you pack room by room, you can find a good starting point and work your way up until you reach the last room to pack. This will make the whole process more organized and certainly less overwhelming and messy.
Clear the way
Before you start wrapping and taping, make sure the items you bring are the ones you need and use. Unnecessary clutter will not only make a mess in the new apartment, but it will also cost you more time and money to move. It’s a good idea to declutter before packing a one-bedroom apartment and clear the way to be faster and more efficient.
Choose boxes carefully
To be efficient and minimize damage, you need to choose the boxes carefully. Heavy items, especially fragile ones, should always go into a smaller box that fits the item’s size best. It’s easier to carry and load smaller boxes that are heavy. Also, never overpack the boxes.
If you have a couple of enormous moving boxes, use them for lighter items such as pillows, beddings, etc. Bulky, heavy boxes are difficult to manage, which often leads to injuries and damage to the items. That’s why it’s best to get smaller boxes for heavy items and protect your health and the pieces inside.
Check if you need some help
Take a look at your schedule until the moving day. If you need to go to work, handle daily responsibilities, and pack simultaneously, maybe it’s time to call someone to help you out. Indeed, you can always call some of your friends or family members. But this is often risky and interrupts everyone’s schedules.
Professional moving teams are undoubtedly the option that pays off on many levels. You save time, ensure expert care for your items and minimize the risks of getting hurt while lifting heavy pieces. Also, this allows you to do all the other moving tasks, take care of your new place, go to work, etc.
The high-priority moving boxes
It’s important to set aside the items you need to pack last and unpack first. These can make their way to your high-priority boxes, including essential items such as keys, chargers, basic clothes, toiletries, etc. Think about what you’ll need on your first night in the new apartment and leave those items aside during the packing process.
Pack them last and label them so you can unpack them first and have everything you need. This will help you find your essentials without going through multiple boxes and unpacking on the first night in your new place.
Remember: unless you’re hiring a moving team you already have experience with, make sure you do the research and pick a reliable moving company. Many moving businesses are on the market, and not all of them provide high-quality services. Even though you may be trying to save on your move, don’t go cheap when hiring movers. It’s true that prices don’t tell about the quality, but overly cheap offers that are too good to be true are something you should avoid.
Label everything
It’s true you need to label your high-priority boxes, but don’t forget to label everything else. If you know what’s inside each box, you will be able to sort the boxes into appropriate rooms immediately. If you hire movers, they can do this for you as they unload the boxes from the moving truck. This saves so much time when unpacking but also helps you avoid a giant pile of moving boxes in your hallway.
How to label boxes as a moving pro?
There are several labeling techniques, and we picked some of them to help you be as efficient as possible:
- Simply use a sharpie to write what’s inside the box – make sure you write on the lid but also one of the sides of the box;
- Use stickers or highlight markers to label boxes by room – take one color for each room and label all the boxes that go to that room. For example, blue is for the bathroom, so all the boxes that go there should be labeled blue;
- Use letters H, M, and L to label boxes by priority. This will help you see what boxes are high, medium, and low priority, which can be helpful when unpacking. You’ll know what to unpack first and what are the boxes that can wait a while.
Is it simple to pack a one-bedroom apartment?
Well, it is easy to pack if you’re practical and systematic. Having more time to do this certainly helps, but you could pack a one-bedroom apartment in just a couple of days as well.
Just try not to do this in a hurry and stress about it. No matter how much time you have left until the moving day, try to use it as efficiently as possible and use the techniques that will save you time, money, and energy. It’s how you can end up having the easy movement of your dreams.
