Whether you’re packing to spend some quality time in the countryside with your family for a week or two, or you just bought a new house and you need to move out (like removals to Berlin), you are going to spend a substantial time packing your stuff. If you travel or move sparsely, you might think it is an easy task that you can do in the last minute, but there are a lot of intricacies that go into packing, and things can go wrong.
Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
Packing isn’t only a physical activity - it’s also quite mentally demanding, as well. You need to plan for a few things before you even start packing. When approximating how much time you’ll take (if you are going to move out of your house), you can’t just ad-hocly start packing the stuff up and expect to make it on time. We tend to underestimate how much it’ll take us, so always add a few extra hours to be sure you won’t miss anything.
Prioritize
The reasons for packing are diverse, but you still need to prioritize which items to pack.
If you’re packing to visit your family or friends, you need to prioritize things you will use daily, and you should make sure you have all your daily necessities before even deciding on what else to pack. These trips usually take a few days to a few weeks, so you should pack the number of clothes relative to the length of your stay: if you are staying for only a few days, you don’t really need to pack your whole wardrobe.
If you’re packing for a trip abroad, things are slightly different. You need to make sure you’re ready and prepared for the country you’re going to. Make sure you pack clothes compatible with the culture and climate of the country you’re visiting. If you pack a dictionary and money in the currency of the country you’re visiting, that would also help.
Lastly, the most difficult form of packing is moving out of a home. This takes the most time and consideration, and you should definitely approach it strategically. You should gauge how much stuff you have and how much space you need to move out all of your stuff. The quality and comfort of the process will largely depend on the removal service you hire, so make sure they are trustworthy and operate in your vicinity. If you live in Leeds, it will be too much of a hassle to hire a company in Central London, as opposed to removal to Berling from Leeds.
Moving out is a great chance to clean up your possessions, though. Going through what you have and organizing it will give you perspective on what you need and which things just bloat your house. Categorizing them and selling off the things you don’t need will make your life easier and more organized when you move into your new house.
Mode of Transportation
The last thing you need to consider is how you’re going to travel to your destination:
- Personal vehicle: perhaps the most flexible way to carry your luggage. You won’t have a problem travelling and moving around when you pack your things in your car.
- Trains and buses: they usually have very limited space, and you can effectively move around with just one or two bags, so you should be extra frugal about the things you pack.
- Planes: you have a limit on the weight of the luggage you can carry on a plane, so be sure you stay within that limit, and you’ll be good to go.
- Removal services: if you are moving out of your house, you’ll definitely need them. You usually don’t have many limits on how much you can transport, and the company will take care of moving your furniture.