Essential Packing Supplies for Any Move

Before you move, you have to pack up your belongings. You can’t simply toss everything you own into a car or moving van and zoom off to your new house. Not only is this a good way to get your things damaged, you will also find that it is a very inefficient way to move. Professional moving company, who have moved hundreds of households, know exactly what you need to make sure your move goes as smoothly as possible. Here is a list of essential packing supplies for any move.

1. You will need boxes and lots of them. You can get them for free at a grocery store or a liquor store or you can purchase them from any number of outlets, including your movers. Often, professional moving companies offer “packing kits” or “moving kits” that include everything you need to pack up your house in one neat package. You can get one for any size home and you will usually save money purchasing the supplies as a package over buying each item separately. As an example, here is what would come in a moving kit for a house that has five or six rooms or about 2800 square feet

• 20 small moving boxes
• 11 medium moving boxes
• 10 large moving boxes
• 4 extra-large moving boxes
• 5 heavy duty moving boxes
• 6 wardrobe boxes
• 1 electronics box
• 2 rolls of unprinted newswrap
• 1 150-foot roll of bubble wrap
• 7 rolls of clear packing tape
• 1 permanent marker

2. Usually, people who are moving can get by on what comes in a moving kit. However, if you have any specialty items, like framed artwork, computers, large mirrors or lamps, you will have to buy specialty boxes that are specifically designed for those purposes. These kinds of boxes can usually only be purchased from moving companies or storage facilities.

3. There are also some non-essential supplies that you will want to consider getting. They aren’t mandatory, but they will make your move easier. These items include box cutters, pre-printed labels, packing peanuts and a tape dispenser.

4. For cushioning inside the boxes, you can use brown paper or newspaper, foam, stretch wrap (to protect surfaces of items), inflatable bags (to fill empty spaces) and packing peanuts (also to fill empty spaces).

5. Mattress covers, which are nice to have so that you can keep your mattress from getting ripped or punctured. Of all the items listed here, this is the one that you need to have the least, but if you have everything else and you want to go the extra mile, this is the supply to buy.