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5 Tips for Packing a Room in One Day

Most moving timelines presume that you have weeks to work with. But not everyone does. You might need to relocate in a hurry for various reasons.

If you have to get out fast, you need tips to help you complete a fast move from start to finish.

Here is a guide to packing and clearing an entire room in one day.

1. Get the Right Supplies

Start by getting the right moving supplies, preferably at least a day or two ahead. No one wants to deal with a late-night run to the store.

It’s tempting to use large boxes, but you put your stuff at risk; plus, large boxes can be a challenge to handle. Instead, buy more small and medium boxes than you think you need. Don’t forget extra packing tape and specialty boxes for televisions or framed pictures.

While you’re at it, make sure you have enough cleaning supplies. An extra filter or bag for your vacuum or shop vac could come in handy.

2. Do a Quick Sort

When you have to pack fast, you don’t have much time to sort your items. So instead, you can do a quick sort.

Grab a notepad or your phone and do a quick visual check of the room. If you see items you don’t want to take with you, put them on the list. Then you can take them out of the room.

As you sort smaller items, make a quick decision: Do I want to keep this or not? If you don’t, put it in a pile or box of items to sell, donate, or discard.

3. Pack Boxes Quickly

Packing boxes may feel like it takes forever. However, the way that you approach it affects the amount of time. Keep it simple when you can, and it will go faster.

Packing most clothing ought to be reasonably effortless. Keep items on the hanger, stack them into a garment bag (or trash bag with a hole for the hook), and place the bag into the box.

Reserve time to pack your fragile items with care. You’ll need it to avoid breaking precious or expensive items. Remember to label each box as you go and take care to indicate which boxes hold fragile items.

4. Stage Boxes Elsewhere

After an hour or two of work, you’ll notice that the boxes start to pile up. To make more room to keep going, you should stage them in another room.

Be deliberate about your placement of the boxes. Fragile items should not go on the bottom. If you’re planning to thin out a lot of your belongings, make sure those boxes go to a different place.

Remember to stage the boxes against the wall, where they are unlikely to topple. Also, it’s better to have multiple columns together than one tall stack.

5. Clean as You Go

As you start to empty the room, you’ll notice messes and damage on the walls and floor. So, it’s faster to clean as you go.

Free up about a quarter of the room and survey from top to bottom. Then, if necessary, vacuum and spot-clean the ceiling and walls. Give the floor a thorough cleaning as well.

Once the room is completely packed, look for other problems. For example, a half-hour spent patching holes in the wall might save you hours of searching for them later.

Moving the Right Way

Packing a room in a single day is tough, but you can do it. Contact us for a quote for more information about scheduling your upcoming move.