First, if you hire a professional mover, you’re taking a big step towards eliminating any of the ‘surprises’ that give moving your home its reputation for being a stressful ordeal.
But, even in moves where the chance of a catastrophe has been virtually eliminated, smaller, less severe things can disrupt the smoothness of your move. Looking at it another way, by preparing to have on hand just about anything you might need throughout the move, you’ll spend less downtime trying to look for it or work without it.
To give you an idea of what we mean, think about a time you were wrapping a gift. You get the folds of the wrapping paper perfectly crisp and even. You just have to hold the wrap in place while you get the tape.
Tape? Where’s the tape?! You need tape right now or your most perfect wrapping job ever will be ruined if you take your hands off the wrapping paper.
Now that you have an idea of what we mean, let’s make that example the first in our list of packing supplies you should have on hand during any move.
1. Duct Tape
Packing tape might do too. But, while it’s more expensive, duct tape is also more versatile. Not only can you use it to seal a box, but it will make a great repair on a box that gets damaged. It’ll also wrap up the dining table legs that are rolling around the back of the truck, and keep your chest of drawers closed.
2. Your Tool Box
OK, as wonderful and versatile as it is, duct tape can’t fix or do everything. Of course, your toolbox, packed to the brim with a wide variety of hand tools, tape measures, maybe even a cordless drill, will come in handy when you start unloading your belongings into your new home. But having your toolbox at least in a known, easily accessible place throughout your move helps in ways that are difficult to imagine, like measuring the width of a doorway versus a couch before the couch gets stuck halfway through the doorway.
3. A Big Black Marker
We’ve told you lots of times about the importance of clearly labelling your moving boxes to make it easier to put them in the right place. But it’s almost impossible to label every box and, sure enough, that’s the one the movers will ask you what to do with it. But there are lots of other times a big black marker comes in handy, including when you need to make instant signs directing movers to the elevator or leaving a note for someone that can’t be missed.
4. Extra Boxes
You absolutely packed everything possible, so it’s not like you’re going to find a set of dishes or a closet of clothes that need to be packed at the last minute (or maybe you will!) But extra boxes can come in handy in a number of situations. Sometimes when something that you didn’t think needed packing, like a largish potted plant, might do better if it was placed in a box. Or, if a box breaks or is damaged, it’s so good to be able to put its contents into a nice, strong, new box.
5. Garbage Bags
The best you can buy. No matter how much you clean up beforehand, from just about the moment you wake up on moving day in your old house, to just about the moment you go to sleep in your new house, you’ll be coming across something that you just want to toss. Without garbage bags on hand, you’ll have no place to toss them.
If you need packing supplies or you’re planning a move, give us call at Bradford Moving and Storage to find out how to make it your easiest move ever.
