Moving takes a lot of time, and a significant portion of that time needs to be dedicated to packing. When it’s time to pack your clothes, you’ll see that packing clothes comes with its own set of challenges. You’ll need to avoid wrinkles on your clothes, you’ll need to avoid stains, and you’ll also need to do what you can so that unpacking later on isn’t too hard. One of the disadvantages of not hiring a moving company is that packing will be a lot harder to do. However, if you have plenty of time on your hands, with some effort, you’ll be able to handle packing by yourself.
Be kind and donate your unneeded clothes to charity.
Which clothes to pack?
Before you pack your clothes, you’ll first need to decide what to pack. Some clothes that you own you’ll probably never need. We all have a lot of clothes that we’re sorry to get rid of, even though we have outgrown them, they went out of fashion, or there’s a third, equally good reason why we won’t wear them again. Instead of taking such clothes with you, it’s best to somehow get rid of them. There are three convenient ways to do that: you can donate them, you can sell them (online, in vintage shops, or by organizing a garage sale – if you have enough time to do so), or you can simply throw them away.
Then, there are also clothes that you’ll be wearing on the moving day. Apart from having comfortable clothes ready to wear, you should also be prepared for bad weather. So, for example, don’t pack some of the clothes that you’ll be needing if there’s rain on the moving day.
How to sort your clothes?
Once you have decided what to pack, it’s time to move on to the next phase. Probably the most important of all the clothes-related packing tips is to group your clothes in such a way that they will be much easier to unpack once the move is over. There are several criteria by which you can group your clothes.
If the weather is warm, you won’t need your winter clothes right away.
- You can do it based on the season. That way, you’ll be able to easily unpack the clothes that you’ll need right away. If it’s currently summer, you’d be able to postpone unpacking your winter jackets and clothes until later.
- If you want to avoid wrinkles, you’ll also need to pack your clothes based on their material. Clothes made of cotton and natural fabrics will need to be placed on hangers, and then in a clothing bag. Otherwise, they’re bound to get wrinkled, due to the physical properties of these materials. If you have woolen clothes, you might need a few boxes just for this kind of clothes. As a rule, you’ll need a lot of space for woolen clothes. Finally, group synthetic and polyester clothes together, as they are generally very wrinkle-resistant.
- Another way to group your clothes is based on the time when you will need them. Namely, pack the clothes you’ll need right away together. Usually, that’ll be less formal clothing, which brings us to…
- Pack your clothes based on their formality level. Place formal clothes in their moving containers and less formal clothes in other containers.
How to pack your clothes?
There are a few ways to transport your clothes to your new home. Each of them comes with its own specific set of advantages and disadvantages, so choose carefully based on your situation.
Cardboard boxes are still the most popular choice.
- Pack your clothes in cardboard moving boxes. Moving boxes are very handy, as they can be easily labeled based on the criteria we’ve discussed in the previous section of this article. Doing so will make the day after much easier to handle. You’ll just need to have a few things in mind. First of all, you should use a magic marker to write the labels, and you should then protect the labels with tape. That way, your labels won’t get damaged or completely disappear during transportation. Also, always check if the box is too heavy. If it is, it might break, which certainly won’t be good for your clothes that were stored inside. The drawback to cardboard boxes, unfortunately, is that clothes might easily become wrinkled.
- Instead of regular cardboard boxes, you can use wardrobe boxes. While they are more expensive (you can usually get cardboard boxes for free), wardrobe boxes are great at keeping your clothes crease-free. They are also very convenient – just take the clothes that were hanging in your closet and place them on a similar rod inside the wardrobe box.
- Luggage and suitcases are also great for shipping your clothes. You’ll know exactly where your clothes are, and your clothes will be safe from any harm. Unfortunately, you probably don’t have a whole lot of suitcases. And the ones you do have, you’ll probably want to use for something else (especially wheeled suitcases, which are useful for transporting heavier items). So, you’ll need to decide by yourself whether you’ll be using luggage for transporting your clothes or boxes will have to do.
- Then, you also have the option to pack your clothes by using vacuum or garbage bags. These are useful as they will protect your clothes from stains. However, they are also prone to easily getting ripped and they generally offer little protection from damage. What’s more, the attempts to put a few packed vacuum/garbage bags on top of each other are usually very frustrating, as these bags are very slippery.
- If you have any shoeboxes, we advise packing shoes there so that the rest of your clothes doesn’t get dirty. If you don’t have any shoeboxes, then make sure that your shoes are clean. Also, it’s a good idea to fill the shoes with paper, so that their form remains intact during shipping. Apart from shoes, you should take proper care of hats, too. If you want to avoid them becoming bent, hats will need to be stored in their own large boxes.