Tips for Packing and Moving Clothes

When you go to pack up your belongings for a move, there can be a surprising amount of clothing! From the closets and drawers to packed away seasonal gear, the combination of clothes from an entire family can be huge. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the vast amount of clothing you need to pack up for your next move, check out these tips for moving clothes quickly and efficiently.

Organization

The most important step to getting organized for moving clothes is to separate them into categories. Your first task is to separate out any clothing that you no longer want to keep. These can be donated to your charity of choice or simply thrown away, depending on what you have. Keep in mind that you’ll need a bit of space to accomplish this step. Also, it might require each family member to try on some of the clothes to see whether or not they still fit. This is especially important for kids who have recently undergone a growth spurt!

After you’ve figured out which clothes you are going to keep, it’s time to further organize them. How you go about doing this step depends on what kinds of clothes you own, and how you will organize them in your new home. You might separate heavier winter clothes from lighter summer clothes. You might separate formal wear from casual wear. By organizing your clothes in a way that suits your needs, you can make it easier to put them away in the right places when you get to your new home.

Labels

In any organizational task, making good use of labels can be incredibly helpful. When packing up your clothing (and other items) for a move, label each box so you know what is in it. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to determine where each box needs to go in your new home. You can have one box for t-shirts, one for pants, one for workout clothes, etc. By knowing where the boxes go without opening each one, you will make your unpacking process much less tedious.

Leave them Hanging

Depending on your circumstances, the easiest way to move your clothes is to leave them where they are. If you are taking your closet racks with you on the move, you can move a closet full of clothes by simply removing the racks from the closet with the clothes still hanging on them. Similarly, you can remove drawers from a dresser with the clothing still in them. It’s often easier to move a dresser with the drawers removed anyways, so you can take out one of the steps by leaving the clothes where they belong.

Don’t Pack Everything

Moving takes a long time, so it’s important not to pack all of your clothes away when you still need them. Set aside enough clothing to get you and your family through the days of the move. You can put them in a suitcase or other type of convenient container. It’s super annoying to realize that you already packed something that you need when you’re in the middle of a move.

Storage

As with all of your belongings, sometimes the best thing to do with clothes that you don’t need for a while is to put them into storage. During your organization process, if you find that you have a lot of clothing and other items that you won’t need for weeks or months, consider renting a storage container. You can have it sent to your house along with a moving van, fill it up with the extra belongings, and then send it away for long-term storage when you’re ready. Not only will this get a lot of extra stuff out of your way during the move, but you will also know that your belongings are safe and secure.

Keep these tips in mind next time you are moving. With a bit of organization, you can keep track of all of your clothes and get them moved to your new location quickly and efficiently. If you want more moving and storage tips, check out Porta-Stor’s other blogs here!