When it's time to pack up for a move to a new home, the bedroom is usually the highest priority. It's where we keep most of our personal stuff and we naturally want to make sure they arrive in good condition.
- Sort and organize your clothes. Clothes are the first thing you need to arrange when packing the bedroom. When you stay in one place long enough it's almost inevitable that you'd accumulate more clothing than you actually need. Divide your clothes into what's necessary and what's not to avoid carrying over extraneous stuff to your new home. You can get rid of the unnecessary clothes either through a garage sale or by donating them to a charitable institution. Set aside the clothes you're going to be wearing for the time it will take to finish packing, moving and settling down in your new home. These set of clothes should be in your traveling bag along with the necessary toiletries and personal gadgets.
- Tackle the other items in your bedroom. When you're through with your clothes go through the other items in your bedroom in this order: a) shoes, b) jewelry and other small valuables, c) beddings, linen and pillows, d) mirrors, pictures and frames, e) drapes, curtains and blinds, and finally f) furniture. Shoes could be kept in their original packaging and placed at the bottom of medium sized moving boxes together with other clothing or cloth items. Jewelry and other small valuables should be secured in a small hand-carry container which you will personally need to handle as most moving companies won't transport valuables without the appropriate insurance. Bed sheets, linen and pillows can be folded and sealed in transparent plastic bags. They can be stuffed in the extra spaces in the moving van later on to provide extra cushioning. Mirrors and picture frames are fragile and will need special boxes available in most moving supply stores. Be sure to label them 'Fragile.' Drapes, curtains and blinds can be kept in wardrobe boxes to keep them clean and wrinkle-free. Alternatively you can neatly fold them and wrap them in any type of paper (news print would be cheapest) and pack them inside medium sized moving boxes. Furniture is the trickiest as you might need to disassemble some of it (if possible). Mattresses should have their own mattress bags and boxes which might be provided by the movers or available for purchase from moving supply stores. If the dressers are light enough to be carried, you can seal the drawers in place with tape so they won't slide out during transport. Be sure to clear away any small bottles or other breakable items...
- Ask each family member to help out. If your kids are old enough, you can probably ask them to organize and pack their own bedrooms. Teach them to first organize their closets and separate clothes, toys, and other items. You can also teach them to sort out what's necessary and needs to be packed and what can be thrown away.
- Start with the least used bedroom. It's always a good idea to start packing in the least used bedroom such as a guest room
. Later on the room can be used as intermediate storage for other bulky items that have already been packed to keep the other rooms and corridors free from clutter.
During all this packing, the most important thing to keep in mind is to put similar items in the same boxes as much as possible and to label them appropriately. This will be a tremendous help when you need to do a quick inventory and later on when you start unpacking in your new home...
