My previous article (My Moving Tips, Part 1) talked about the moving service I used (U-Pack). Today I am going to give you tips with the packing process of moving.

First I want to address some things many may not think about. If you have any media that can be erased by a magnet, you need to be aware of that while packing. The media that can be erased include (but not limited to): computer hard drives, USB drives, diskettes, VHS tapes, video recorder tapes, and cassette tapes. Some of these items are very old and many of you may not even know what they are. I wanted to mention them for the few of you out there that may still own them. If you have anything you’re not sure about, either take the extra precautions or do your research.

I chose to label boxes that had either magnets or speakers in them with a “M” (for magnet-since speakers also have magnets). I am not sure if computer speakers can be a problem with this or not. There may be extra protection for these, since I wasn't sure, I chose to keep them away from erasable items.

I also chose to label the boxes that had sensitive items (that can be erased) with a RED “X”. That told me and my helpers to keep the M (magnet) boxes and the red “X” boxes apart from each other. 

Now I want to move onto keeping track of where things are. I recommend labeling boxes according to the room they go in. So “K” for kitchen, ”L” for living room, “G” for garage, etc. Sometimes it gets confusing like “B”. That could be bedroom, bathroom, or basement and which one. You could use "BA" for bathroom, "BR1" for master bedroom, etc.  You decide what works best for you. 

I also chose to give each box a number. I then took pictures of what I was putting in each box. It’s best to take a picture of the box showing the number, then the contents, then the box number again. I did that in the past and it worked great. This time I didn’t and sometimes I missed getting the box number. OOPS! So sandwiching the items between the numbers assures you get the number at least once. Taking these pictures also shows you the type of box it is. If you're keeping a list of the boxes, you may not know what the box looks like. I know taking these pictures takes extra time, but when you get to your destination it will help you locate things you need before all is unpacked. I was glad I did it!

A final note. When you’re stacking the boxes, be sure to put the lighter boxes AND the fragile boxes on top. The boxes can get crushed during shipping and this will help reduce possible breakage.

I hope this helps.  Happy moving. 

Thank you for reading.

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(Unless otherwise noted, the images are public domain from pixabay.com.)