Packing Materials for Moving House: A Checklist for Every Home

The process of moving home is a very stressful one as you have to do a lot of planning. One of the things you have to get absolutely right while moving is packing your items.

The last thing you want during the move is for your items to get damaged. This is why you must have the proper packing materials for moving house at your disposal.

There is a lot of packing material you will need when you move your house. You will need the right-sized boxes for your items, tape to seal the boxes, and bubble wrap to cushion the fragile items.

You will also need labels and makers to label your boxes, and a pair of scissors to cut the tape before and after your move.

Let’s take a deeper look at various necessary packing materials you should have to move your house.

Packing materials for moving house UK

The top priority while moving houses in the UK (or in any other country for that matter), is the safety of the items. There is no point in hiring an affordable and fast removals service if you find your items damaged when you reach your new destination.

To protect your items during a move, you need to pack them properly and only the best packing materials can solve this problem.

Here is a complete list of all the best packing materials for moving you will need.

1. Boxes

This is by far the most important packing material you will need for moving. Without proper moving house packing boxes, even your sturdiest items are at risk of getting damaged, let alone fragile ones.

It is best that you buy the boxes from a shop, rather than buying second-hand boxes online, as the latter will not have the structural integrity of the former.

People make a very common mistake when packing for moving house. They tend to pack the heaviest items in the largest boxes while the lightest items go inside the smaller ones.

Read our article Packing tips when moving to avoid mistakes.

But the right way to pack is doing the exact opposite of this. If you put the heaviest items in large boxes, they will be very hard to pick up and move and will be a nuisance.

On the other hand, putting lighter items in smaller boxes will increase the number of boxes, which will also increase clutter. So, pack the heavy items in smaller boxes and the lighter items inside a large box while packing to move house.

2. Bubble wrap

Just packing your items in a box will not ensure their safety during the move, especially the more fragile ones.

You need to put something inside the boxes so that they don’t violently move around inside the box when they are loaded into the van and moved to the new destination.

The best thing you can put inside the house packing boxes is to protect your fragile items in bubble wrap. The air inside the wrap acts as a nice cushion for the items when they are being moved around.

Also, try not to use newspapers for this purpose, as they have very little cushioning properties.

3. Tape

The next thing in your packing materials for moving checklist should be tape to seal your box.

Once you have packed your items and cushioned them to prevent them from being damaged, you need to ensure they don’t fall out of the boxes. Close the box and seal them properly with a liberal amount of tape.

Tape not only has the use of sealing your boxes, but it can also strengthen them. Tape the edges and corners of your packing boxes for moving house to make them stronger.

As a result, the boxes will not only keep the items inside, but they will be strong enough to withstand a lot of punishment.

4. Labels and Markers

When you put your items in a box, you will need to keep track of them to avoid confusion during and after moving. The best way to make sure which item is in which box is to label them.

You can either do this before putting the items in the boxes or after. Stick labels on the boxes and write what items are in each box.

But how would you write the names of the items in the box? You need markers to do that. Although using pens is a common idea, the writing from pens is too thin for them to be noticed from afar, and you have to work extra hard to make the writing gs look bigger.

Using markers will not only lighten your workload but will also enable you to keep track of your items easier.

It’s not mandatory to write on labels with markers. If you don’t have labels or any piece of paper to stick on the boxes, you can just write on the boxes themselves which will work just fine.

5. Scissors

One of the final packaging materials you will need is a pair of scissors. Because you will need to cut the tapes when you seal your boxes before moving and open them after the move.

Keep the scissors with you at all times because you might need them at the most random of places.

6. Furniture covers

Apart from the small and medium-sized items, you will also have large furniture in your house that needs to be moved. This furniture can’t be moved using the aforementioned materials.

You will need special furniture covers to cover your furniture so that they don’t get dirty or damaged when they are being moved to the new destination.

Where to buy packing materials for moving?

Now that you know what materials you will need for moving your items from one place to another, you need to know where you can buy these items.

There are a lot of places you can buy your moving items. Some of the most common places to buy these are:

Craigslist
The Home Depot
U-haul
Local Removals
Lowe’s
Amazon, and
Walmart

Final Words

Since moving can be quite a hectic procedure, it is very easy to get things wrong. But one thing you can not get wrong is packing your items.

So, make sure you have the aforementioned packing materials for moving houses to keep your items safe and sound.

FAQ’s

1. What should I pack first when moving?

When you pack for moving, the first items you need to pack are your home decor and books. These are not essential items you need till the day of the move and they are pretty easy to sort and pack.

2. what are the best packing materials for moving furniture?

Since furniture is the heaviest item in your home, it will need specific materials to be packed and moved. To pack your furniture and move them, you will need shoulder dolly moving straps, furniture sliders, furniture lifters, etc.

3. What not to pack in boxes when moving?

Although it is recommended to put items in boxes, some items are not suitable to be packed in them. You should avoid putting beauty products, garden, and garage chemicals, and cleaning materials in boxes.