Packing up and moving home can be a daunting and stressful task – but the team at Evergreen, Spring Farm are here to help you through the process, with a range of handy, time-saving tips.

1. Book your removalist in advance
Whether you’re hiring professional removalists or renting a truck to move house yourself, make sure you book ahead with plenty of time. This will give you peace of mind in the weeks leading up to your moving day, so you don’t have to scramble to find an available removalist. It will also allow you to create a timeline for your moving day in advance.

2. Put together a moving kit
Before you begin to box up your belongings, put together a moving kit so you can have everything you need at hand. In this kit you can include things like:

• Packing tape
• Coloured paper or colourful labels to categorise the boxes
• Sharpies
• Scissors
• Stanley knife
• Bin bags
  
  

3. Gather boxes
Of course, you’ll need boxes to pack all your belongings into. You may already have boxes stored in the garage that you can re-use. You can also purchase boxes from Bunnings, borrow boxes from friends or jump on Facebook marketplace to find boxes that people are giving away. This is also your opportunity to think outside the box (literally!) and use hampers, containers or suitcases to store and move items. Suitcases are particularly helpful for moving heavy objects!

4. Colour code and label your boxes
A great way to save time and easily identify the contents of your boxes, is to colour code and label them according to what room they belong in, and what’s inside them. For example, boxes for living room items are red, kitchen items are blue, laundry items are green, and so on. Make sure your coloured labels are big and easy to see – especially if boxes are stacked on top of one another. This can also be extremely helpful and time-saving for removalists, who can place the boxes in the correct room of the new home.

5. Prioritise your ‘must-have’ items
In every home, there are items that need to be prioritised and unpacked as soon as you move in. And then there are items that are low priority, that can wait for a few days or weeks to be unpacked. Rank your boxes based on priority so you know which ones to unpack first.

6. Ask for help
Sometimes ‘help’ can be the hardest word! But don’t be afraid to ask for support and assistance during this busy time. In most cases, family and friends are more than happy to lend a hand where possible – whether it’s minding the kids on moving day, transporting boxes or helping with some heavy lifting.

If you don’t have any family or friends living locally or who are available to help, putting out an ad on Airtasker (or something similar), or hiring professional removalists can be extremely helpful.

7. Don’t make the boxes too heavy
As you pack your belongings away, try not to overload boxes with heavy items – this could result in the bottom of the box giving way. Where possible, add a mixture of lightweight and heavier items to each box to balance them out.

8. Use pillows and cushions as padding
Save on plastic and paper and use pillows, cushions, soft toys, blankets or sheets to protect delicate items from breaking.

9. Keep your clothes on their hangers
Instead of taking clothes off their hangers, bunch 20 or so hangers together and use a bin liner to wrap around clothes to easily transport them. The bin liner will also protect any clothes that slip off the hangers.

10. Declutter as you pack
Moving home is a brilliant time to downscale and declutter your home – making sure to take with you only the things you love, need and use regularly. Whether it’s clothes that have sat unworn for a few years, or furniture you don’t want to bring along to then new home, take the opportunity to sell, donate or throw away unwanted and unneeded items.

11. Make a ‘first night’ box
Pack a box with all the items you’ll need on your first night in your home. This could include:

• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Cups
• Snacks
• Multi-purpose cleaner and cleaning cloths
• Bin liners
• Clean bed linen and pillows
• Tools to help you assemble furniture
• Scissors

12. Make it fun
While moving can be a daunting and stressful process, it can also be exciting. Look for opportunities to make your packing and moving experience as fun as possible – especially if you want to keep the kids entertained. Some ideas include:

• Drawing patterns or pictures on the boxes once they’re packed up
• Setting a scavenger hunt for items to pack or unpack

We hope these tips come in handy as you prepare to move into your new home.