What to Pack First When You Move: Expert Packing Tips

Ask anybody who has moved home recently and chose to pack their household goods themselves, and they will tell you it is the most time-consuming and arduous task they had to do.

Conversely, ask anybody who has moved recently and chose to hire professional packers, and they will tell you what outstanding value for money they were and how they made moving so much easier.

So before we get into what to pack first, seriously consider if you have the time and skills, and want to live amongst packing materials for weeks on end, or would rather have an easier and less stressful home move?

You may also like to read: Is Hiring Professional Packers Worth the Cost? In this guide, we look at what professional packers do, how much on average they cost, and whether it makes sense to hire packers for your home move.

If you have still decided that you would rather pack yourself then read on to discover what rooms to start packing first and what to pack first.

What to Do Before You Start Packing

Before you start any packing you should declutter your home.

This means getting rid of anything you no longer need or love and there are numerous good reasons for doing this first:

• Your moving quote will be accurate if you know exactly what you are moving
• Fewer items to pack = faster packing;
• Fewer items to pack = lower packing costs;
• Fewer items to pack = lower transportation costs;
• Fewer items to pack = more space in the new home;
• Sale of unwanted stuff = more money towards the moving budget;
• Donation of unwanted stuff = proof of your empathy and friendship.

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering. Decluttering can be emotionally and physically draining but in this guide, we share some tips to make the whole process so much easier as we go through each room of your home.

It is worth creating a floor plan for your new home so that you can be sure that your existing furniture fits in the available space at your new home and crucially that the removal team can physically get the furniture up the stairs or through tight passageways.

By creating your floor plan early in the moving process you will have time to sell or donate any furniture that you will not be taking with you.

You may also like to read: How to Create a Simple Floor Plan. In this guide, we show you how to measure your furniture and new home so that you can create a simple but accurate floor plan.

The moment you are left with nothing but the things you are taking with you, it’s finally time to talk about where to start packing for a move.

What Rooms to Pack First When Moving?

The major rule when packing up for moving is to start the packing process from the least frequently used rooms and premises in your home.

Then pack the things that you will not need prior to your actual home move leaving only your day-to-day essentials to pack the day before your move date.

Remember to separate out anything that you may need up to and on moving day or that will be packed in your moving day essentials box.

You may also like to read: What to Pack in Your Open First Box. Your open first or moving day essentials box contains everything that you need instant access to on moving day. In this guide, we suggest things that you may wish to include in yours.

#1 Storage rooms

Storage areas such as the loft, garage, or sheds tend to be dumping grounds and will take a considerable amount of time to declutter and pack.

Be sure to assemble a small tool kit for moving day before packing all your tools away. There are always little jobs that need doing and you don’t want to have to go hunting for a tool amongst all your packing boxes when time will be short on moving day anyway.

You may also like to read: Essential Tools for Moving Day. In this guide, we suggest the items that you may wish to include in a basic tool kit that you need easy access to on moving day.

Note that even if you hire professional packers they will unlikely pack your loft for health and safety reasons.

The loft can be a particularly hard place to pack not only physically but emotionally.

Most people tend to store memorabilia and items that they do not need but have an emotional attachment to and therefore this can take a long time to sort and pack.

You may also like to read: How to Declutter Your Loft. In this guide, we share tips on how to safely declutter and pack your loft and include a useful section on how to detach yourself emotionally from the items commonly found in the attic.

If you have an airing cupboard you can pack the things like spare blankets and bedding that you will not be using before you move, unless of course you plan on using your spare towels and blankets as packing materials to save some money.

#2 Spare rooms

If you are lucky enough to have a spare room (or rooms) in your home, then it should be packed up right after you’ve handled the storage areas.

For instance, a guest room is unlikely to be used much before moving day, so it’s an easy room to get packed.

You can also use a spare room to store all your packed moving boxes out of the way, it is no fun living amongst moving boxes for weeks on end so this makes life slightly more bearable until moving day.

#3 Kitchen

The kitchen is notoriously difficult to pack due to the sheer number of items that are usually packed away in cupboards.

Having decluttered, start by packing all the items that you will not need between now and the move.

Make an inventory of your store cupboards, fridge, and freezer and meal plan how to use them up before your move.

Removal firms will not move foodstuff and your freezer will need defrosting before it is moved anyway so plan on using up all the ingredients you have.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Kitchen for Moving. In this guide, we share tips on when and how to pack your kitchen as well as detailed packing instructions for every item commonly found in the kitchen.

#4 Living room

Whilst you will still need the TV and settee, for example, there are still things like ornaments, pictures, books, lamps etc that you can get packed.

You can also get display cabinets, bookcases, and side tables for example, dismantled and packed.

This is another room where you will be surprised just how much stuff is hidden away.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Living Room. In this guide, you will find detailed packing instructions for every item commonly found in the living room.

#5 Your bedroom

Obviously you still need your bed but things like pictures, ornaments, dressing tables, bedside cabinets, seasonal clothing, and even your wardrobe can be packed now.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Bedroom for Moving. In this guide, we share detailed packing instructions for every item commonly found in a bedroom.

#6 Children’s bedroom

Whilst you want to keep things as normal as possible for your children during the packing process, you can still pack all the non-essential items working your way up to the day before moving when you should have everything packed apart from their bedding and favourite toys.

Children can find moving home distressing so try to keep things as normal as possible in their room right up until the last minute.

It can help your child understand and feel more involved in the changes taking place if they can help you pack their things.

You may also like to read: Dido The Dragon Moves Home. If you have young children then you may wish to read them this short story about moving home to help them understand what is happening during the home move and why. There are also pictures for them to colour in and lots of useful tips for you to help your children settle into their new life more easily.

#7 Bathroom

It is nearing moving day and time to pack the bathroom.

Because you will use the majority of your bathroom items right up until moving day, this is one of the last rooms to be packed.

Whilst this would seem the easiest room to pack, which it is, there are still some essential packing tips you need to be aware of as liquids especially can easily leak and cause damage to your other items.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Bathroom. In this guide, we share packing tips for every item commonly found in the bathroom.

Now that we know in which order to pack which rooms we can look at which items within those rooms to pack first.

What to Pack First When Moving?

Taking each room in the sequence outlined above, we can now look at what you would generally pack first: non-essential, decorative, and seasonal items, followed by non-essential furniture and appliances.

#1 Books and magazines

It makes a lot of sense to first pack up your books as you’re probably not going to have time for reading until after the move is over.

Remember to use small moving boxes for your book collection as books are heavier than you might suspect.

On the other hand, magazines take up a lot of space, so just keep the articles or photos you like in a special folder and prepare the rest for recycling.

You may also like to read: How to Pack Books for Moving. In this guide, we share comprehensive packing instructions for your book collection.

#2 Seasonal shoes, clothing, and bedding

You are strongly advised to pack all of your out-of-season clothes and bedding way before moving day.

For example, if you’re moving out in the summer, you won’t need your winter clothes or bedding, so pack them now.

The same is true for shoes and other accessories that you are certainly not going to use before moving day.

Spare towels and linen can also be packed now or used as padding to protect your more fragile items and save on packing material costs.

You may also like to read: How to Prepare and Pack Shoes for Moving. In this guide, we share some essential to know packing tips to ensure your shoe collection arrives at your new home in pristine condition.

#3 Jewellery

Jewellery should be kept in your moving day essentials box and not loaded onto the removal lorry for security reasons.

Note that many insurance policies will not cover you if your jewellery does get put on the removal van so check any insurance you have carefully.

On that note, be sure to have adequate insurance for your valuable items, it is a common house-moving mistake to not have sufficient insurance cover.

You may also like to read: How to Pack Jewellery for Moving. In this guide, you will find detailed packing instructions to keep your precious gems safe on moving day.

#4 Mirrors and pictures

Mirrors and framed artwork can be easily damaged if not packed properly so allow plenty of time to give them the proper protection that they deserve.

You may also like to read: How to Pack Pictures and Mirrors. In this guide, you will find comprehensive packing instructions to keep your mirrors and framed artwork safe during their relocation.

#5 Ornaments and Collectibles

Whilst it is recommended that you hire professional packers for your valuable collectibles and antiques there may still be items that you would rather pack yourself.

You will need plenty of time to pack these items correctly so do it early in your packing calendar.

You may also like to read: How to Pack Antiques and Collectibles. In this guide, you will find in-depth information on preparing and packing antiques and collectibles for a home move.

Should I Pack My Things Myself or Hire Packers?

At the beginning of this article, we touched on whether you should consider hiring professional packers.

By now you will have realised what an arduous task packing for a home move is, and here we have only just scratched the surface of what you need to know about packing for a home move.

Our home moving blog is packed with comprehensive instructions on how to pack every single item commonly found in a home and how to safely move and transport them to your new home, which we strongly urge you to read.

But packing for a home move yourself is not only time-consuming, it can work out more expensive as you will not know how to pack as efficiently as professional packers, and importantly, if you pack things yourself then you will be living amongst piles of boxes for weeks on end, whereas professional packers will have your home packed in a day or two.

An important thing to be aware of is that many insurance companies will not cover items during transit that you have packed yourself.

This is important to know, especially if you are moving expensive or fragile items, or are moving over a long distance.

Only you know if you have the time and skills to pack your home yourself, but an unquantifiable aspect is the emotional effect the upheaval of packing yourself can have.

Professional packers take all that stress away from you. That alone is what the cost.

You may also like to read: What is a Full Service Home Move. If you have never hired a removal company before and are not aware how much easier they will make moving home then this guide explains exactly what they do and how much on average it will cost you.

Good luck with your home move.