Packing for a move is a process where a single mistake can lead to lost time, wasted money, or shattered nerves.
Needless to say, you would like to avoid making any mistakes when packing for a move. But in order to be error-free, you will first need to know what those packing mistakes are.
Here are the top 10 signs that you have packed your boxes wrong.
Learn how to see those signs and you’ll become a master packer in no time.
A single mistake when packing boxes for a move can easily disrupt the entire process and cause you to lose precious time. When you’re packing up your things into containers for the upcoming move, sometimes a judgment error can also result in lost money.
Naturally, lost time and wasted money are not something that you’d want to happen during a house move that’s already proven to be stressful enough.
Packing boxes when moving can be fairly straightforward or rather challenging depending on what exactly you’re packing inside the cartons.
The various difficulty levels make the packing task even trickier at times since the same mistake when packing books and when packing kitchen plates will have different outcomes.
Yes, packing boxes when moving can be tricky. Luckily, there are a number of unmistakable signs that you have packed your boxes wrong.
So, once you learn how to recognize those signs, you’ll be able to correct your packing mistakes before it’s too late – that is, prior to Moving day.
Avoid lost time, wasted money, property damage, and even personal injuries by knowing how to notice the top 10 warning signs that your boxes are packed the wrong way.
These are the top 10 mistakes you should when you’re packing boxes for moving.
1. Boxes do not have flaps
If you’ve already packed a cardboard box and then, when it’s time to close it up, you notice that it’s missing its flaps, then you’ll know that you’ve just made an error that will cost you a bunch of extra time as a result.
You should not use a cardboard box for packing up your stuff if its flaps are missing. Basically, all it means is that the container is damaged and therefore should be discarded because it won’t be able to fulfill its key function – to protect whatever’s been packed inside it.
All cardboard boxes have flaps when they are brand new, meaning that a carton with no flaps has been damaged somewhere down the road.
What it also means is that you should not be using such a container simply because you want to protect the things you pack inside it – after all, this is the whole idea of packing up your stuff into cardboard boxes, right?
Wrong way: Packing your things inside cardboard boxes that are missing their flaps.
Correct way: Do not use such damaged boxes for packing. Instead, break down those no-good boxes and repurpose the cardboard material – for example, use it for effective floor protection.
One of the major packing mistakes is to use cardboard boxes that you haven’t inspected carefully beforehand. If you find yourself in a real hurry to box up your things as quickly as humanly possible, it’s quite possible to skip the step of inspecting the containers closely in order to make sure they are fit to be used.
If you have packed a few boxes and then happen to notice that they have visible signs of water damage, then you’re going to have to open those cartons and transfer their content into other sturdy and perfectly dry containers. Needless to say, repacking takes extra time and effort to complete.
If a box made out of corrugated cardboard has been wet and then dried out, then the container will have become less durable.
When exposed to moisture, the bonds of cellulose fiber to cellulose fiber will respond by changing their dimensions, so the original bonds will be disrupted, thus making the whole cardboard structure weaker and prone to damage.
In other words, once a cardboard box has been wet, it will never regain its original strength and durability even when it’s dried out completely.
Wrong way: Packing your things inside cardboard boxes that have previously been exposed to water or excessive moisture.
Correct way: Do not use cardboard boxes that show signs of water damage. Instead, throw them away immediately for proper recycling.
Double-taping your boxes is a good start to the packing marathon.
Not having your cardboard boxes double-taped along their bottoms and sides is not necessarily a packing mistake.
When you’re packing soft and lightweight items such as clothes and pillows inside large moving boxes, then you don’t really need to reinforce the boxes simply because the things inside the cartons are too light to be a serious concern. You could do it, of course, but that would usually be a waste of precious packing time.
However, when you’re packing heavy things such as books inside cardboard containers, or extra fragile items such as kitchen plates and glasses, then you should definitely use the extra level of protection that double-taping will provide.
If a cardboard box happens to break due to the heavy load, then the items that are being transported can easily get damaged when they hit the hardwood floor. Also, those heavy items are likely to fall on someone’s toes and feet, thus potentially causing a bad personal injury as a result.
Wrong way: You have not double-taped the boxes you will be using to transport heavy or extra-fragile items.
Correct way: Using high-quality packing tape, reinforce the bottom and sides of each box you intend to use for packing heavy or delicate things.
One of the most common packing mistakes people make during a move is to make their boxes too heavy to handle safely. Going over the safe weight limit when packing for a move is often the result of the misconception that large cardboard boxes are meant to hold heavy items while small cardboard containers should be used for lightweight things.
Practice shows that it’s just the opposite: small boxes are for heavier items while large boxes are for light items.
If you choose to pack your books into a large carton, you will surely make the containers too heavy to lift and carry safely. The risks of property damage and self-injuries increase exponentially as well. So, don’t do it.
If you try to lift a box you have just packed and you can’t even get it slightly off the ground, then it means that you’ve made it too heavy and will need to remove some of the items inside it to make it lighter.
Wrong way: You have overloaded some of your boxes and made them too heavy to handle safely.
Correct way: Do not make a cardboard box heavier than 40 pounds to prevent problems on Moving day. If you’ve already packed a box that’s too heavy, then distribute its content between two boxes.
Another big packing mistake you may make when you’ve made up your mind to tackle the arduous house packing task without any professional assistance is to overfill some of the cartons.
Now, we’ve already discussed how super-heavy boxes present dangers to you and any non-professional who’s helping you pack and move. The same is true when you pack too many items inside a cardboard container – so many that they either go over the top edge of the box or deform the box itself due to the extra pressure they create from the inside.
Even if you get tempted to fit as many things as possible inside a single cardboard box – either to save storage space or to save on packing supplies, you shouldn’t do it because of the high probability of damage or injuries (or both!).
Here’s how to know that you’ve overdone it: you should be able to freely close the lids of a container without applying any extra pressure from the top.
Wrong way: You have overstuffed some of your boxes, causing the containers to alter their original shape due to the high external pressure.
Correct way: Do not overfill your boxes in order to fit more things inside them. As before, if you’ve already over-packed a carton, then distribute its content between two boxes.
Make sure you add enough padding materials to prevent your items from shifting inside the boxes.
One of the most serious mistakes to avoid when packing for a move is to pack your boxes in such a way that the items inside them can shift around freely.
You have to remember that any shifts and movements inside a packing box are very undesirable – they can easily lead to damage to whatever’s packed inside it simply because the things will either be hitting each other or bumping into the walls of the cardboard container.
Don’t leave any gaps inside a moving box. When you’re done arranging your things, use pieces of paper or bubble wrap to fill in those empty spaces. This way, the things packed inside the carton won’t be able to move around during the actual relocation.
Remember – everything inside your boxes should be fitted snugly and perfectly immobilized to prevent untimely damage.
Wrong way: You can feel something or some things moving slightly inside a box when you lift the container and shake it gently.
Correct way: Use a variety of padding materials – wrapping paper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or pieces of clothing to fill in any spaces created inside a box during the packing process. Nothing should be moving inside a carton.
As you already know, overfilling moving boxes is considered a packing mistake. Don’t be too surprised to learn that leaving boxes half-empty is also considered an error.
Although it’s done much less frequently than overstuffing, the act of not filling up your boxes to the brim is a bad idea because half-empty (or half-full depending on the point of view) cardboard boxes can easily cave in during the loading and unloading process, thus resulting in possible damage to your items.
Also, boxes that are not filled up completely cannot and should not get stacked safely inside the moving vehicle because they won’t be able to keep their shape due to the excessive amount of empty space inside them.
Why would anyone leave so much usable packing storage inside their boxes, you wonder? It happens more often than you think: people suddenly realize that they’ve made a box too heavy so they leave it half-empty.
Wrong way: You have boxes that are not packed to the brim and there is too much empty space inside them as a result.
Correct way: Don’t leave your boxes half-empty. Whenever possible, transfer the items from a half-full container to another one that has enough packing space. If not possible, use padding supplies to fill the remaining empty room inside the boxes.
If you’ve decided to use special wardrobe boxes to transport your expensive designer clothes without any chance of getting them ruined during the move, then one strategic packing mistake you might make is to fail to utilize all the storage space at the bottom of each wardrobe box.
Wardrobe boxes are tall and shaped like mini closets so that your hanging clothes can be arranged there the same way they are stored in your current clothes dresser.
What this means is that once you hang your valuable clothes on the metal bar of a wardrobe box – still on their hangers and everything – then there should be enough room underneath them – precious storage space which you should definitely use.
What items can you arrange on the bottom of a wardrobe box?
First of all, you can pack some of your shoes in there, preferably in their original shoe boxes. Also, you can pack other lightweight yet voluminous items such as pillows, comforters, and clothes that do not need to be on hangers.
Wrong way: You have not utilized fully the extra room at the bottom of a wardrobe box, thus wasting perfectly usable storage space.
Correct way: Pack light yet voluminous items such as pillows and comforters on the bottom of your wardrobe boxes. Also, consider packing shoes pre-packed in appropriate (shoe) boxes.
Failure to label your boxes is one of the most common packing mistakes during a move.
Probably the most obvious sign that your boxes are packed incorrectly is the lack of any labeling on the outside of the containers.
Yes, your belongings can still be well protected inside the containers but the failure to label your boxes accordingly is a serious packing mistake and a guarantee of a strong headache once your boxes are delivered to the new place.
You should never skip the step of labeling a box after you’ve packed it up and then sealed it. Why? Think about this: it takes roughly a minute to label a container with its content, destination room, and any handling instructions, if necessary.
However, it can and most likely will take you hours to find the right boxes for the right rooms after you find yourself in the new home. Then why should you make your life harder than it already is? That’s right – you shouldn’t.
Wrong way: You don’t label your boxes in a desperate attempt to save time. Besides, you know you can count on your good memory when it’s time to unpack your stuff.
Correct way: Use a marker pen to write the content, destination room, and handling instructions on at least two sides of each cardboard box. Don’t make the rookie mistake of trusting your memory too much, especially during an ultra-stressful house move.
Packing for a move is a task that takes not hours but days to complete. It is, without a doubt, the most time-consuming job you’ll have to do when moving to another home. Therefore, it’s almost impossible not to make a mistake here and there… unless you know in advance what to look for.
Another obvious sign that your boxes are packed the wrong way is when they are not sealed up with packing tape after you’re done filling them up. Even though your cartons have flaps to close up the tops, that is not enough to keep your items from falling out of the containers during the relocation trip.
You must make sure all your boxes are securely sealed up with tape so that nothing can make its way out of the containers.
Wrong way: You just close the flaps of a box once you pack it up without sealing it with packing tape.
Correct way: Use high-quality packing tape to tape down the horizontal seam in the middle – let the tape extend over the sides of the carton. Then, add a couple of parallel tape lines over the central line.
Making any of the above costly packing mistakes is no fun during a stressful transitional period like a house move.
For a perfectly stress-free relocation experience and for your peace of mind, consider hiring the best full-service movers near you that offer professional packing services as well.
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