5 Mistakes You Can Avoid when Packing Boxes

If you are moving soon it is inevitable that you will be packing. Packing isn’t something most people do often, so it is easy to make mistakes. Here are the top 5 mistakes that you can avoid when packing boxes.

  1. Packing Large Boxes with Heavy Items

    Filling up a large box with books is a common mistake that can be horrible news for your back. Each book might not be very heavy, but when you add all the books in one box the weight piles up quickly. Use small (1.5 cubic feet) boxes for heavy items like books.

  2. Letting the flaps of the box get in your way

    Here is common mistake when building your boxes. It is quite tempting to break the top flaps open before you finish packing, but if you do this they will get in the way and become an annoyance. What you want to do is fold the flaps over before you build your box then when you have it built ready to fill up with stuff the flaps aren’t in your way.

  3. Not double/triple taping the bottom of heavy boxes

    If you don’t double or even triple tape the bottom of a heavy box you can end up doing an impromptu science experiment involving gravity and your items. This is one of the most annoying things that can happen, you will either have to waste time cleaning up the mess of your broken items or you will have to repack the either box. Save yourself the grief and double tape, or to be extra safe triple tape, the bottom of your box.

  4. Only labeling your boxes on top

    It makes sense to write the labels on top of the box, especially if your box is on the floor, the top of the box is the easiest area to write on. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that you end up stacking your boxes, which means you can’t read the label that you wrote. It is best to write the labels on the sides of the box so you can always read it. Do your packing on a table or counter so that you can easily access the side of the box. Another helpful hint is to color code your items with tape or stickers. For example, green for kitchen, red for living room, blue for master bedroom, etc.

  5. Leaving too much “wiggle” room

    It is important to not leave too much space in your boxes. Fill up each box as much as possible so your items don’t move around and end up broken. If you don’t have any packing paper left you can use items such as towels, sheets, and clothes to fill up the empty space.

Photo Credit: Sander van der Wel