When you move, the goal is to have your belongings arrive to your new home whole and undamaged. You can have professional movers pack up your belongings. This can be very expensive, so you may want to do the packing yourself. Or you may opt for a combination of packing some items by yourself, and having the movers pack the fragile items like your fine china and collectibles.

If you plan to pack your own belongings, you will need to buy appropriate packing supplies, and learn a few packing strategies and techniques.

Gather Your Supplies

Boxes: You are best off purchasing boxes specifically made for moving, since they can support the weight of your belongings. Movers sell boxes of differing shapes and sizes meant for different items.

Heavier items, such as books and cds, are packed in smaller boxes. Lighter, bulkier items, such as pillows and linens, can be packed in larger boxes.

Dish boxes are double padded to protect your dishes. You can further protect them by using separators.

Wardrobe boxes have a metal bar for hanging clothes during the move.

Flat, narrow boxes are perfect for framed pictures and mirrors.

Wrapping/packing materials: Protect your belongings by wrapping them in tissue paper, newsprint and bubble wrap. Don’t wrap your items in newspapers; the ink can rub off on your belongings.

Styrofoam peanuts can be used to cushion fragile items in the box. It is very lightweight and won’t add much weight to your boxes.

Writing implements: Use markers to label each box. Clearly write which room the box belongs to, and briefly list what items are inside.

Have a paper and pen ready to write detailed lists of what’s in each box. You may want to use a notebook or clipboard.

Packing tape. Masking tape won’t do the job. Buy packing tape to seal your boxes.

Scissors/boxcutters

Ziploc bags. You can pack small pieces in Ziploc bags.

Now the Packing

Allow plenty of time to pack. Start well in advance of your move and do a few boxes a day to avoid being overwhelmed.

Assemble the boxes ahead of time. Reinforce the bottoms of the boxes with packing tape. Place the boxes in the appropriate rooms.

Pack one room at a time. Keep items from the same room together, to make unpacking easier.

Fill up a box with as much as you can fit. The more tightly packed a box is, the less room there is for items to knock against each other and get damaged. Don’t overstuff the box; make sure that it can close.

Use a lot of packing material at the top and bottom of the box to cushion the items.

Pack smaller boxes into a larger box. Label each small box, and then the large one.

Pack heavy items, like books, in smaller boxes so that they are not too difficult to move.

Label each box clearly with the room it belongs to, and write a brief description of what is in the box. Write a more detailed description of what is in each box on an inventory list that you keep.

Clearly label “Fragile” on boxes that movers need to handle with care. Mark “this end up” where needed.

Pack furniture screws and hinges in a Ziploc bag. Tape the bag to the inside or the underside of the furniture to keep it from being lost.

Clearly label the box that contains essentials you will need to unpack first.