How to Pack Your Garage for A Move
Uhm, I guess we made it here. The portion of the house we hope never to come into because of how unorganized it might be. But I guess we still have to do the needful. The garage is one place in the home; we always throw things we don’t want to see anymore. We also know that this is one place we pray never to pack, but when it’s time to move, you must do everything to make sure you separate the good from the bad. Not all the items in this place are bad. Some have just spent a long time in the garage.
You are here now; you want to move to a new place, you have to think about the best way to move your entire belongings, and how much it would cost to hire movers, so you don’t go crazy over the bulk of the work to be done. It can be very scary, even from merely staring at all the items you have to move, but some of these processes are easy. All you need to do is apply the right set of tips, and you will be on your way to having a very easy garage moving.
Plan, organize and get things noted down
If you have followed our previous articles and moving guides, you will notice that we are always keen on planning. Planning affords you the ability to take your time and put a lot of things into consideration. In the same fashion, when it is time to pack your garage, you have to make the best plan to help you move everything without stress on the actual moving day. Part of planning is knowing the number of items you have in your garage. When you start from there, we know what else to look out for to ensure a safe pack.
In the same manner that you would take stock of everything in each room in your home, you should also take stock of all the items you have in your garage. The garage is known to some people as the abode of junk and useless items, among a few useful kinds of stuff. When you take stock of all the items, you will discover the items that need to be disposed of. Once you are sure of, want you want to keep, and what you want to dispose of, you can pretty much clear a lot first and give your garage a breathing space.
As you make your way to selecting what’s good and what’s not, you need to be on the lookout for the items that are also good, but you don’t want to keep anymore. Some things might be in perfect condition, but you might not have use for them anymore. The best thing to do in such a case is to categorize the items in this order – useful, useless, and donations. This method will help you know what to throw away, what to give out, what to sell, and what to gift out to friends and family.
This is one of the ways to first get rid of all the excess things, belongings, and items you might find in your garage. Trust me, as soon as you start; you will understand that decluttering is an essential process of any moving process. If you have things you are attached to emotionally, it would be best you detach from them, especially if they are useless so that you have less to worry about. This is the first big step in helping you reduce the overall cost of moving because you get to move a lesser item.
Get the moving supplies
Remember we spoke about having all your things planned and recorded properly. The next thing for you to do is to make sure you know the number of supplies you need depending on the number of useful items you need to move. You can never guess when it comes to moving and packing your garage items, you have to be sure, and you can only be sure when you have an inventory. Supplies are the next thing for you, know the items and what packing supplies would fit each item so that you can effectively pack.
Some of the garage items have irregular shapes and sizes, they are not like the normal square or box sizes, and so knowing all these details will help you a great deal in arranging your supplies, and knowing what to buy. You will need heavy-duty boxes, to help move weighty items around. In the same way, you will also be needing blankets and padding materials to help serve as cushions when you move certain items in the house.
If you want to improvise with the supplies, feel free to do so. You can always get cardboard to help yourself if you need a makeshift moving box. Be cautious when you use the cardboards or moving boxes; be sure careful not to overload them and have the weight lying or pulling the items down. Don’t also forget to add a plastic wrap, moving tapes, and packing paper. All these items will ensure you have a safe packing experience.
Attention to safety
With regards to safety, the garage is one place you need to be careful about when you are packing. You would also understand this when you are packing your kitchen items. There are lots of things and items that you need to keep an eye for in the garage, so you don’t end up hurting yourself. Always put safety at the forefront of your mind when you are packing the garage items. Remember that safety in the garage is not only in terms of being hurt by sharp objects. There are many other things you need to be careful about.
Go back to your inventory and look into the things you have to separate. For instance, you will need to separate your tools, from your power chords, from other attachments and batteries. Some of these things have heavy chemicals that can cause major damage to your skin. This is the reason you need to be extra watchful in the garage. If you don’t have sufficient light there, you need to include a very good lighting system there. Your health and safety are more important than anyone else. Everything you separate must be kept in their appropriate cases, or kept in a place where they are easily identifiable as dangerous.
Every item with a sharp edge should be wrapped in a way that keeps the edges disclosed. You can use paper, a blanket you are no longer using, plastic wrap, or even your towel to make sure you have the best protection from sharp items. Also, be sure to place all sharp objects together, and tie or pack them in the same place, so that you can label them together in the same way. Be sure also to pad the boxes very well, and cover up any space in the box that might be making the items dangle. Do not overload the boxes. If you have tools that you have to remove screws and nails, be sure to pack all the removed nails and screws in one place, to make them easier.
Pack your stuff and clean up
With safety in check, and the moving supply also in check, you can now proceed to move your items. What you can do to help yourself is to make sure you get markers also, and labels. Once you pack the items you need the most, arrange them carefully into the boxes. Then arrange the next set of items into the boxes. Make sure you do this till all the items you are sure you need are packed inside the boxes. As you continue to fill the boxes, you should have a sigh of relief because the items are getting smaller.
Now that you have gotten all the items into the box, you should label all the items properly. Labeling can never make you go wrong, except you labeled the wrong thing from the start. Be sure to label as much as you can so that when you eventually move, it will be easy for you to find all your items. Even if you think you have a good memory and can remember all the items in your boxes that is fine, especially when you are going to move and arrange everything once in your new home. For those that would still leave some boxes unpacked after weeks or months of indecision, you need to take labeling very seriously so that you don’t get confused when you finally decide to unpack the boxes.
After the labeling and packing have been done, the next thing you need to do is to clean your garage. You can start by removing the cobwebs around, also make sure the items you are placing in your boxes are cleaned, so you don’t have to go through the same struggle when you are unboxing. Try to touch the garage clean; a few cleaning will not hurt. But if you are too tired to do it, don’t stress yourself, and let your main focus be on how to get all the items in one piece and move them to your new home.
Be careful to note what you can’t put in your truck
Now that most of your items have been packed, you should take note that not all items can be placed in the moving truck and the reason is simple. The garage is where we put some of the harsh chemicals we use in our homes, and it would only make perfect sense for you to arrange the items in a way that you don’t mix the chemicals with other normal items in the truck just in case they spill, or the truck hits a bump. So you don’t want your favorite shirt ruined before you get to your new home.
A good way to know what not to add to the moving truck is to ask the local moving company you will be hiring. They will give you a list of things you are not allowed to put in the truck with your other items. But if you want to have an idea on your own of some of the things that should not be in the truck, these are they.
- Aerosol can
- Cleaning solvent
- Batteries from cars
- Liquid bleach
- Chemicals for the pool
- Insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides
- Gas tanks
- And a list of other types of chemicals.
Pack similar items together
There are items in your garage that might have a similar use case; such items need to be packed together. Once you notice them, they may be of varying sizes, but it’s always good to keep them together. This way, you will have ordered and structured items. It will also make it easier for you to pack them and also help you in finding them once you are ready to set things up in your new home. If you have cleaning items like brooms, rakes, spades, and other similar items, you can assemble them and tie them together or wrap them, so you know how to find them later.
Keep the essential items handy
Some of the materials in your garage might be needed immediately upon moving. You need to put this together and make sure you have a separate box that you can keep and label properly so that when you need them in your new home, it will be easy for you. The same way you pack the things you need on the first night after your move should be the same way you prepare such items. Structured packing is always the secret to having a seamless and smooth moving experience.
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