Pack Early to Keep Sane

If your house is up for sale and you’re getting ready to move, don’t wait until the last minute to start packing. Here are some tips to help keep you sane.

*  Decide early on if you’re going to do your own packing or if you’ll hire the moving company to do it for you.

*  If you do it yourself, be selective. Don’t move things you won’t use in your new home.

*  If the movers pack for you, make sure you’ve purged before they arrive. Movers have been known to pack bags of trash. Not what you want to discover when you unpack at the other end.

*  If you decide to pack your own stuff, order twice as many boxes as you think you’ll need. It’s amazing how little actually fits in a packing box. And get lots of packing paper, though newspaper works just as well.

*  Make sure you buy the right size boxes for what you're packing. Books are heavy so pack them in the smallest boxes. Kitchen gear goes in a larger “dish pack” size. Clothes on hangers go into “wardrobe” boxes with shoes thrown in the bottom.

*  Don’t over-pack your boxes. You’ll never be able to lift them.

*  Make a plan and stick to it. Go room by room.

*  The attic may take far longer than you think, especially if you’ve been stashing things up there for years. Start there.

*  Book yourself a massage. It will help ease sore muscles and relieve stress.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.