5 Hacks to Help You Pack Up and Move as Quickly as Possible in Independence

So it’s finally moving day! If those words fill you with dread and the days are racing by before your move, it’s time to stop and take a deep breath. While the final destination may hold great excitement, emotions can be running high; saying goodbye to a home you once knew isn’t always easy. The process of moving is an overwhelming and stressful task, especially without a plan, adding in the need for speedy packing, and the stress levels go through the roof. 

But what if it’s not your house? What if you are helping a loved one downsize? Move to some a Senior Living Community? In with you? Now you have not only the added stress of packing, sorting, and moving, but it’s not your stuff.

We recommend having a checklist of what to do, working room by room, and enlisting help when you can. Today we are offering a checklist to get you started, so read on as we explore five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Independence.

Gather Supplies

The first of our hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Independence is to gather the supplies you’ll need to move so that once you get started, you won’t face any delays because of extra shopping trips for packing tape, boxes or wrapping paper. Many sites offer general information on the subject and online calculators to estimate how many boxes you’ll need by the size of your home. These sites can also help you determine what size moving truck you will need to hire. If you should have an excessive amount of small items that require special packing, such as a collection of glass pieces, you may want to add extra boxes to err on the side of caution.

What we suggest: a large assortment of boxes, heavy-duty trash bags, a tape gun and rolls of packing tape, scissors, scrap paper (great for labeling things that you can’t write on), 3 or 4 fat Sharpie Pens, zip lock bags of assorted sizes, and grab that sack of grocery store bags, they always come in handy for something.

Note Book

The experts say a large binder is the way to go when you pack up and move in Independence. With a page for each room, you can number each box as you pack it and make notes with a general description of the contents, mentioning any particular items you may be looking for after the move. Then make a sheet of paper that lists out everything in the box by number. Put those sheets in a notebook. Also, place all paperwork from the movers in the binder so it is easy to locate any information you need quickly.  Include a master checklist of essential things to keep with you during the move and any vital contact information you’ll need at hand. You should keep the numbers of the utility companies and a calendar with appointments for getting your new home up and running, such as the cable installers.

Let’s get practical. Who’s going to get that detailed. A much easier and faster way is to pack like items together. So for example, as you pack the kitchen, all items that will be going to the new location from the kitchen, packed in one box. Label that box with a white sheet of paper that is very hard to miss and write KITCHEN on it. Anything that is being sold at the garage sale, price and take directly to the garage sale tables or boxes. Anything that is being donated, put directly in a donation box. Anything being thrown away put in the trash immediately.

Have a labeling plan. Remember that boxes will be stacked, so it might be tough to see what is written on the top. So labeling on the side, so all boxes can be stacked with the label on the same side can be easily read. You can then stack all boxes to go into the moving truck along a wall, then number them if you are wanting to make sure that all boxes that go into the truck come out of it.

Separate

One more of our five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Independence is to sort your belongings as you pack. The less you have to move, the quicker the process will take, so be selective about what goes with you. You’ll want to work on one room at a time to prevent feeling overwhelmed. Then, divide your belongings into three categories, keep, donate or toss.

Going with our last suggestion, once you’ve decided the item is a keeper, pack it. The experts suggest using a color-coding system of inexpensive stickers on the outside of the box to identify which packages go in which room when you unpack. We tried that and it didn’t work, which room is blue and which room is green? We liked writing the room on the box, then those carrying in boxes know what room to go to.

You very much need to sort into garage sale if you are having one, donate and toss. When we pack we start with a box for each and add items as we go. When a box is full, take it to the garage for the sale, or to the corner where you are collecting all donations. And as you fill up a trash bag with toss, get it out of the house to give you more room to work.

Packing Tips

Remember all those items we suggested you needed and you wondered about the zip lock bags and the grocery sacks. As you pack up items that have parts, it’s helpful to package them all together in one bag. Or if it’s a larger item with small parts, package up the small parts in a bag, seal it and tape it to the larger bag. And if it’s something weird that someone might not know what it is, label it. This is also helpful for the screws and washers on furniture you have to take apart to move. Seal them up in a Ziploc bag and tape them to the piece of furniture.

The last of our five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Independence is the order the moving truck is loaded. You’ll want to be sure that you have access to anything you will need to have at hand the first night, such as clothing and necessities for your family for a few days. Your supplies for coffee should be the last thing placed on the truck.

Protection

Regrettably, not every moving company is equal, and you need to consider the possibility of theft during the move. Another hack to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Independence is to photograph valuables. When you’ve sorted through all of your stuff and have decided something is a keeper, if it holds any value, you should photograph the item and document any serial numbers, placing the information in the master binder along with your other inventory of boxes. If possible, keep all electronic devices that contain sensitive information with you and ensure they are all password protected. The best protection is to work with trusted and established moving companies. Ask for recommendations from friends, family members, or a professional experienced with moving companies, and check online reviews.

Getting It Done

Often we find that many of the sellers we work with, don’t have the time to do it. Especially when they are helping pack up a house that is not their own. They either are busy with their own lives, or they get caught up in all the memories. So what do you do then.

We suggest two options.

First, make a few hours a week available over several months. Then at each session tackle one room or part of a room, leaving the rooms you live in the most for last. Start with the storage, then secondary rooms, then the rooms that get lived in. You can pack up a bathroom or kitchen leaving only the essentials and sorting the rest into sell, donate, trash.

Second, the fast way. Pack up the essentials you will want to take to the new house. Sell the house to someone who does not mind you leaving behind everything else. Let them deal with it. Not your problem anymore. This is something we do here at kcmoHomeBuyer. So if you are strapped for time when selling your Independence house, give us a call. You can get an offer this week, take your things and go next week.

With years of experience, the Tuckers are local direct buyers who have helped hundreds of families just like yours make a fast move across town or the country to Independence easy. Contact kcmoHomeBuyer by using the form below.

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