How to Pack for Moving Out of State: Smart Packing Tips

Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, you need to pack up all your earthly possessions to take them to your new home.

And it is a truly Herculean task – laborious, time-consuming, and consequential (a single packing mistake can cause a ton of headaches – damaged items, damaged property, personal injuries, lost money, etc.).

However, if you’re moving only short distance, packing is easier – your items won’t travel far and won’t be on the road for a long time, so the risk of damage is smaller.

You can, therefore, use old moving boxes and improvised wrapping and cushioning materials, leave lightweight, non-breakable items in their drawers, leave clothes on hangers, etc.

If you’re moving long distance though, things are very different – your belongings will travel hundreds or even thousands of miles along bumpy roads and high-traffic areas, will be exposed to diverse weather conditions, and may be transferred to other trucks or put in temporary storage along the route.

There will be a high risk of damage, so you need to take utmost care to ensure the safety of your items – they need to be perfectly immobilized inside the moving boxes and well protected against moisture, extreme temperatures, and shocks and vibrations during the transportation in order to survive the long haul intact and unscathed.

The expert packing tips for moving long distance below will help you achieve this feat and ensure that your belongings arrive at your new home in one piece.

General Packing Tips for Moving Cross Country

So, how to pack for a long-distance move?

Think things through, have an efficient packing strategy, and pay meticulous attention to the details:

1. Pare down your possessions

Long-distance moving costs are based on the weight of your shipment, so the fewer items you relocate, the less you’re going to pay.

It is, therefore, highly advisable to lighten the load before your cross-country move, so you reduce your final relocation cost – and make packing easier.

Sort through your possessions, assess their practical, sentimental, and monetary value, and decide which of them to take to your new out-of-state home.

How to Decide What to Keep and What to Get Rid of When Moving

Once you’ve made your decision, address your unneeded/unwanted items without delay:

• Throw away damaged items and items that are too worn out to be used again;
• Give away to family and friends those of your unneeded items that they like and/or can put to good use;
• Sell as many of your unwanted items as you can (organize a garage sale or sell things online) to pocket some extra cash;
• Donate the rest of your unneeded items to charity.

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Items When Moving

2. Make a moving inventory

Once you know which of your items you’re going to take to your new place, make a moving inventory list – include the market value and current condition of each item and any other information that may be useful to you or your movers during the relocation.

Having a detailed moving inventory is a must when packing for a move (it will serve as a packing list and as proof of the pre-move condition of your belongings), but it is even more important in the event of a cross-country relocation.

Long-distance movers often consolidate shipments to increase their efficiency, so your belongings may be transported together with other people’s items.

In such a case, your moving inventory list will be indispensable for keeping track of your possessions – it will help ensure that your items don’t get mixed up with other people’s items and don’t get mistakenly delivered to someone else and will allow you to quickly check if you have received all your belongings upon delivery.

3. Get quality packing supplies

When packing for a long-distance move, you need to provide your items with the best possible protection – and to do that, you need to use quality packing materials:

• Brand new moving boxes – corrugated cardboard boxes and specialty moving boxes
• Moving blankets and furniture covers
• Plenty of packing paper and bubble wrap
• Packing peanuts, foam sheets, and other professional cushioning and padding materials
• Plastic stretch wrap
• Quality packing tape

Getting high-quality packing supplies will cost you a few extra dollars but you can’t do without them when moving out of state.

Used packing boxes (that you can get for free) aren’t sturdy enough to ensure the safety of your items during the long haul and alternative packing materials (old towels, clothes, and linens, pantry items, and skeins of yarn, etc.) can’t provide good enough protection to your belongings when they’ll be at such a high risk of damage.

Risks of Using Free Packing Boxes

4. Know what to pack WHEN for moving

When packing up your household, you need to organize the process in such a way that all your items are well-protected and ready for shipment come Moving day, but you still have easy access to everything you may need in the weeks prior to your relocation.

To accomplish this, you need to follow an efficient packing timeline:

• 4 weeks (or more) before your cross-country move – Start packing the storage areas in your home and the rooms you use the least. Pre-pack everything you won’t need until Moving day – out-of-season items, specialized tools and equipment, spare items, collectibles, etc.;
• 3 weeks before your relocation – Box up non-essential items – artwork and decorations, books, hobby materials, specialized kitchenware, etc.;
• 2 weeks prior to your long-distance move – Pack everything you can do without for a couple of weeks – games, office supplies, linen closet, etc.;
• 1 week before moving – Pack up the things you don’t use on a daily basis – most of your kitchen items, electronics, clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, etc.;
• 2 days before moving day – Wrap up the packing process -prepare your furniture and appliances for moving, pack toiletries and medicines, kids’ items and pets’ items, documents, etc.;
• Moving day – Pack your bed and bedding, prepare snacks and drinks for the trip to your new home, and double-check for forgotten items.

Packing Timeline: What to Pack When for Moving

5. Pack a survival kit

When moving to another state, you may arrive at your new home long before your shipment – you will have to survive for several days (or even a couple of weeks) without most of your household items, so you need to have all your essentials with you.

It is, therefore, imperative to pack an essentials box with basic toiletries, medicines, food, towels, bed linens and nightwear, some clothes, your phone and charger, essential kids’ items (including toys), basic pet care items, basic kitchen items, basic tools, and other things (including documents) you’ll need during the trip to your new home and upon arrival.

Your survival kit will make your trip comfortable and your new place livable until the rest of your belongings arrive – just make sure it travels with you.

Items You Should Move Yourself

6. Know what not to pack

There are some things cross-country movers won’t move due to legal, ethical, or safety reasons – hazardous materials, perishable foods, plants, etc.

Each long-distance moving company has its own specific list of non-allowable items – goods you shouldn’t bother packing because your movers won’t transport them for you.

So, before you start packing for a cross-country move, be sure to ask your chosen movers for their full list of restricted items – so you don’t waste time and effort packing something only to find out that your movers refuse to load it on the moving truck.

If you are moving locally, you can take some of these non-allowable items in your own car – just make sure you pack them adequately.

When moving long distance, however, it will be very difficult – or even impossible – to transport perishables and hazardous materials to your new home yourself. You need to get rid of them before the move – use them up, give them to friends or neighbors, or dispose of them in a proper way.

Good to know: You’re strongly advised not to pack any kind of food and liquids for a cross-country move – even non-perishable food may get crushed, tarnished, or otherwise ruined (or attract vermin) and even well-sealed containers of liquids may leak and ruin your belongings (as well as other people’s belongings in the event of consolidated shipping).

What Movers Won’t Move

7. Pack with utmost care

Once you have considered all the details, made all the important decisions, and prepared everything necessary, you can finally get down to work.

Allow yourself enough time for each packing task, handle every item with care, use safe and efficient packing techniques, and do your best to provide your belongings with maximum protection:

• Wrap every item individually in packing paper and/or bubble wrap.
• Be extra careful with fragile items (like chinaware and glassware) and sensitive items (like electronics);
• Seal any small containers that will be packed inside larger moving boxes (as the boxes may be turned on their side or even upside down at some point during the move);
• Reinforce the bottoms and corners of your moving boxes ;
• Create a cushioning layer at the bottom of the cartons;
• Provide plenty of cushioning between the items in a box and fill up any empty spaces;
• Be careful not to overload the boxes or make them too heavy, but make sure that each carton is packed to the top and there is no movement inside it;
• Seal the cartons tightly with packing tape;

Wrap larger household items in moving blankets. Use stretch wrap to keep the protective coverings in place;

Use the most appropriate packing techniques for packing different types of items.

8. Label everything in detail

Proper labeling will facilitate the unpacking process – it will also help you keep track of your belongings and will help reduce the risk of damage to your items (the cautions and instructions written on the boxes will let the movers know which cartons need to be handled with extra care, which side should be facing up, etc.)

So, make sure each packing box is labeled with its contents and destination room, as well as with your name (extremely important when moving long distance, so your items don’t get mixed up with other people’s items in case of consolidated shipping) and any necessary handling instructions (THIS SIDE UP, HANDLE WITH CARE, etc.).

It is also a good idea to color-code the cartons for extra convenience.

Your furniture and any other household items that are not packed in boxes should also be labeled with your name and their destination room.

How to Label Boxes for Moving

How to Start Packing for a Long-Distance Move

The packing process always begins with decluttering the home, deciding which items to relocate, making a moving inventory, and getting the necessary packing supplies (as detailed above).

All these preparatory steps should be completed several weeks before the move date, so you have enough time to get rid of the things you won’t take to your new home and, more importantly, enough time to properly pack the things you will take to your new home.

Whether you’re moving locally or long distance, you should always start the actual packing job well in advance (so you’re not pressed for time and can take good care of each and every item) – and you should always pack your least needed items first.

When packing for a move out of state though, you should start even earlier as you need to be extra careful and it will take you longer to properly prepare your items for shipping.

Begin the packing process from the storage areas in your home (garage, basement, attic) as they present a great packing challenge (there are too many items in them) and the things stored in them are relatively rarely used.

Continue with little-used rooms such as the guest room and the library, then move to more commonly used premises like the living room and the dining room. Pre-pack everything you can do without for a month or so.

Be sure to set aside essential items that will go into your survival box and leave the things you use on a daily basis out of the cartons until the last days before your move.

What to Pack First for Moving

How to Pack for a Move Out of State

Now you know how to pack for a cross-country move – in general. Different kinds of items, however, have different packing requirements and present different packing challenges, so you may need some more specific packing tips in order to guarantee the safety of your cherished possessions during the long trip to your new out-of-state home.

How to pack CLOTHES for moving cross country

Clothes are easy to pack – they’re malleable, lightweight, and don’t break. You can fold them and place them in packing boxes, put them in garbage bags or wrap them with plastic wrap, or even leave them in the dresser drawers – they will survive the move in one piece.

Yet, when moving long distance, you may want to take better care of your garments – they’ll be on the road for a long time and may easily get squished, creased, soiled, or even torn unless they’re well protected – and plastic bags and such do not provide good protection at all.

So, when packing clothes for a long-distance move, you’re recommended to:

• Pack your more delicate and more expensive clothing items in wardrobe boxes. Wardrobe boxes are made for moving clothes – they will keep your garments wrinkle-free and will provide excellent protection against dust and dirt. What’s more, wardrobe boxes are extremely convenient to use – you can take your hanging clothes from the closet together with their hangers and transfer them directly to the wardrobe box;
• Pack your clothes in suitcases. Suitcases are meant to hold and protect clothes, so they’re your best bet when packing clothes for moving;
• Use vacuum bags for bulky clothing items like coats and sweaters. Vacuum bags are designed to compress clothes and save space – when the air is sucked out of them, they shrink, making the clothes compact and easy to fit in a suitcase or box.

How to Pack Clothes for Moving

How to pack ELECTRONICS for moving cross country

Electronic devices are extremely fragile and very sensitive which makes them quite difficult to pack – especially so when they need to survive a long-distance move.

To ensure the safety of your expensive electronic equipment during the long haul, you’re advised to:

• Take pictures of the way your devices are wired up before unplugging the cords and cables;
• Remove any temperature-sensitive items (disks, tapes, batteries, toners, ink cartridges, etc.) from inside your electronics;
• Protect the screens with custom-cut pieces of thick cardboard;
• Wrap the electronic pieces in anti-static bubble wrap;
• Use strong cardboard boxes (preferably, the original boxes your electronic devices came in);
• Provide plenty of padding (anti-static packing peanuts are your best choice) inside the boxes to keep your electronics completely immobile during transit;
• Seal the boxes tightly and write THIS SIDE UP (on the top) and HANDLE WITH CARE (on at least two other sides of your electronics packing boxes) with big bold letters.

How to Pack Electronics for Moving: 10 Electrifying Tips

How to pack DISHES for a long-distance move

Dishes, glasses, and other fragile items require extra care in order to survive a cross-country move in one piece.

They need to be individually wrapped and placed in sturdy moving boxes with plenty of cushioning inside:

• Wrap each item in soft packing paper. Add a second protective layer of bubble wrap around expensive and oddly shaped items;
• Transfer the safely wrapped items in padded and reinforced packing boxes (it’s best to use dish packs (cardboard boxes with thicker walls) and cell boxes (especially for glasses)). Arrange plates standing on their edges and glasses with their openings facing downwards;
• Fill any empty spaces in the packing containers with crumpled paper to prevent your breakables from shifting around during transit;
• Seal the boxes and mark them as “FRAGILE”.

How to Pack Fragile Items for Moving

How to pack FURNITURE for moving cross country

Furniture is large and heavy – moving your old pieces across the country will be very difficult and will cost you a lot. Therefore, it is not a good idea to move all your furniture to your new home.

Create a floor plan of your new place and measure your furniture to see if it will fit in, assess the value and the current condition of your furniture items, and bring along only practical, comfortable, high-quality pieces in good condition that will fit in the available space and will suit your new home design.

Empty and clean the furniture you intend to relocate and disassemble larger pieces to make them safer and easier to move. Then, do your best to provide the best possible protection for your furniture:

• Wrap delicate furniture parts and protruding parts in bubble wrap. Use plenty of bubble wrap around furniture legs that cannot be removed;
• Fold large pieces of corrugated cardboard around the corners of your furniture pieces and tape them securely in place;
• Secure furniture doors and drawers with plastic wrap;
• Wrap the entire furniture pieces in moving blankets and use stretch wrap to secure them in place;
• Use plastic wrap or plastic covers to protect upholstered furniture;
• Pack mattresses in specialized mattress bags or, even better, in mattress boxes, so they don’t get bent out of shape during the move.

How to Pack Furniture for Shipping

How to pack VALUABLES for a long-distance move

It’s always best to move your valuables yourself, but that’s not always possible.

You may be able to take your jewelry and some small items of high sentimental value with you, but you probably won’t be able to move all your art pieces, crystal glasses, antique furniture, and other prized possessions by yourself.

You’ll have to entrust them to the movers, so you need to take every possible measure to ensure their safety during the relocation:

• Declare high-value items and purchase additional insurance for them;
• Use top-quality packing materials – specialty boxes, soft white packing paper, foam paddings, static-free bubble wrap and packing peanuts, masking tape, etc.;
• Work with utmost care and attention – wrap each item in several layers of protective materials, provide a lot of padding inside the packing boxes, make sure your items are completely immobilized, seal the cartons tightly, mark them as FRAGILE, and write any necessary handling instructions in big, bold letters;
• Consider using custom crating services for your most valuable items.

How to pack SPECIALTY ITEMS for moving out of state

Pianos, grandfather clocks, antique furniture, pool tables, and other extremely delicate items are very susceptible to damage during a long-distance move. They need special care in order to survive the relocation intact and unscathed – packing them for moving cross country is a job better left to the professionals.

Professional packers have the specialized equipment and expert skill required to safely pack specialty items for moving – they use top-quality packing supplies, know the most appropriate packing methods for different kinds of items, and have rich experience packing delicate items for long-distance moves, so they will be able to provide the best possible protection to your oddly-shaped, highly-sensitive, super heavy, extremely fragile, overly intricate, and/or very costly belongings.

Using professional packing services will greatly reduce the risk of damage to your specialty items and will ensure your peace of mind.

In fact, it is quite a good idea to have all your belongings professionally packed when moving long distance – it will save you a lot of time, effort, and headaches and will up the chances of a smooth and successful relocation.

Professional Packing Services – The Secrets of the Pros

Bonus Packing Tips for Moving Out of State

Packing for a cross-country move requires careful consideration, meticulous attention, and a lot of patience and hard work.

You should, therefore, take advantage of every tip and trick that will help crown your packing efforts with successes:

1) Stay organized – Packing for a move out of state is a complex, multi-aspect process – you need to find a way to bring order to the packing chaos and stay on top of things the entire time:

• Have a master packing list (your inventory list will do);
• Have a detailed packing timeline (and follow it strictly);
• Have all the necessary packing supplies (so you don’t interrupt the packing process);
• Pack in a logical and systemized manned (by room, by type of items, by frequency of use, etc.);
• Pack like items together;
• Have an efficient labeling system;
• Have special places to store different categories of items – essential items, pre-packed boxes, items to be sold, items to be donated, etc.;
• Stay focused – set clear goals, keep your energy up, avoid procrastination, eliminate distractions, etc.

2) Take a lot of pictures – Photograph your rooms and your belongings before you start packing them for moving:

• The pictures will provide evidence about the pre-move condition of your items, in case you need to file a claim for damage against your movers;
• The photos will help you reassemble furniture, reconnect appliances and electronics, and recreate your home décor after the relocation (if you wish so).

3) Use plastic moving boxes – They’re stronger and easier to lift, carry, and stack than cardboard boxes. What’s more, plastic bins are waterproof and weather-resistant, so they provide better protection to the items inside them (and if something spills, it will be contained and won’t ruin other items).

Best of all, they’re very cost-effective and very convenient – you can rent plastic boxes at affordable prices and have them delivered to your old home when you need them and picked up from your new location when you’re done unpacking.

4) Pack heavy items in small boxes and big, lightweight items in large boxes to optimize the available space and avoid making your cartons too heavy.

5) Place very small items in sealable plastic bags before packing them in boxes so they don’t get scattered or lost during the move.

6) Wrap containers that hold any kind of products (cosmetic products, hygiene products, etc.) with plastic wrap (or place them in sealable plastic bags before packing them in boxes) to prevent spills.

7) Stack items inside one another to save space.

Knowing how to pack for a long-distance move the right way will be a big step toward a successful relocation.

However, to ensure a happy ending to your moving adventure you need to also ensure reliable moving help.

Fill out our moving quote form to get in touch with several top-rated long-distance movers and choose the best moving partners for you.

Your cross-country move will become a walk in the park.