Lifehack: How to Pack Big Shelves So You Don’t Go Crazy

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Usually, if you have a shelving display in your home that you absolutely love, chances are it has taken you quite a long time to arrange and re-arrange the decor to get it “just right”. Now it’s time to move, you’re taking the shelves with you, but you don’t want to lose the successful setup you have worked so hard to perfect, right?

The great news is that we have a super simple moving hack that will not only help you preserve this treasured look but will also make unpacking it in your new place a breeze. Allow us to explain.

Create a Numbering System

The first thing you have to do is create a numbering system for your shelving unit. You can use any method you want and don’t need to make a fancy graphic like this, you just have to make sure you remember which shelf corresponds with what number. Some may be able to easily memorize the number system, but if you’re not confident in your ability to do that, you can always put a piece of painter’s tape on each shelf with the corresponding number so you remember. This trick will take about 1 minute and won’t damage the shelving unit at all.

Start Emptying Your Shelves

The next step is to start emptying your shelves and carefully wrapping the items to eventually add to a moving box.

But the trick of this moving hack is to take careful note of what you are removing from each shelf as you start packing each box. Carefully wrap and box the items like you would normally do, but try to keep as many of each shelf’s contents together in one box. For example, the grouping of books, the picture frame and planter in box #4 should all make their way into the same moving box.

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Pack and Label

Each of your moving boxes can hold far more than just one shelf’s contents. So feel free to add several of your shelves’ decor into one moving box, just be sure that each shelf’s decor stays together with its counterparts.

After you fill up your moving box, assess what shelf decor is inside of it. In my case, I added the decor from Shelf #4, #7 and #10 into this box so I simply noted that on the top of the moving box. This way I know that when it’s time to unpack this box and refill this shelving unit at my next house, I know exactly where to put this decor in order for it to look just like it did before! 

Repeat this packing/labeling process over and over again until your shelving unit is emptied. You should be left with a pile of moving boxes with clear labels and a precise plan on executing this look at the new house.

All you have to do in the new house is set up the shelves and simply place each item right back in the place it used to be. You don’t have to waste time trying to remember what goes where because those labels will take the guess-work right out of it, making unpacking these boxes in the new house a total breeze!

How To Properly Take Care of Your Back While You Pack

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This month’s packing tip has nothing to do with protecting our customer’s belongings. Instead, we’re going to talk about protecting ourselves.

As movers, we know well the importance of lifting and carrying stuff the right way so we don’t kill our backs. Packing rarely involves heavy lifting, but spending a few hours in someone’s kitchen can still end up being a pain in the lower back (yes and the neck but that’s different). Here are three steps for avoiding that physical strain.

First, clear a space on a table or a counter where you can set and wrap your customer’s dishes, bowls, glasses and everything else waiting in those cupboards and cabinets. You want to be standing upright, not hunched over a coffee table or kneeling on the floor. (If you are packing and moving your customer on the same day, make sure your team leaves that kitchen table until the end, or at least until you’re done packing in there.)

Second, place the box on top of something, so you don’t have to bend over so far as you fill it with bundle after bundle of wrapped dishes and coffee mugs. Wrapping and packing an entire kitchen can involve a hundred or two hundred separate items. Setting your dish pack on a chair or a low (and adequately wide) stool, or even a couple of (extremely well-packed) book boxes, can save you from a lot of unnecessary back-bending.

As a bonus, your box will be easier to lift once it’s all packed.

Third, simply apply these simple tips to every other box in every other room you pack. Even when you’re packing light stuff – clothes, bedding, shoes and small picture frames – the less you have to bend over the better and stronger you’ll be throughout the day.

It may seem like not a huge step to pack boxes in this elevated way, but trust me – the energy saved absolutely adds up throughout the day, let alone throughout a career.

Movehack: How to Perfectly Wrap an Office Chair in Under 3 Minutes

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When you move, protecting your furniture is a huge part of the deal. And for most people who move, we’ve noticed the hardest piece of furniture to truly protect is none other than the common chair.

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