When to Start Packing for a Move

Packing for a house move is a difficult task – it takes a lot of effort and a lot of thought. It also takes a lot of time – more so than you may think.

It’s not until you start preparing your items for moving that you realize how much stuff you actually have. And you can’t just throw things into boxes and hope for the best – you need to pack each and every item with utmost care in order to ensure its safety during the move. Doing so requires many hours of hard work, so you need to have plenty of time available for the job. In other words, you need to start packing for moving well in advance.

But how far in advance exactly? How long before moving should you start packing?

It is generally recommended to initiate the packing process “as soon as possible”. Yet, you cannot box up your belongings too early as you won’t have access to the things you need. And neither can you wait until the last days before your move as you won’t be ready in time. 

So, when should you start packing to move? You can find the answer – the one that works best for you – below:

How early to start packing for a move

Quite obviously, the earlier you start packing, the more time you’re going to have to complete the job. And the more time you have, the less likely you’ll be to cut corners and make mistakes. You’ll be able to work at your own pace, think things through, and pack your items in the safest and most efficient way possible. The packing process will be less stressful and the relocation process – more successful.

So, clearly, you should start packing for moving as early as possible.

That being said, every relocation case is different, so the right time to start packing for your move will depend on the specific circumstances in your case:

How many items you have for moving

Needless to say, a larger house will take longer to pack than a smaller one. It usually takes about 2-3 full days to pack up a one-bedroom home, 5-6 days to pack a two-bedroom house or apartment, and a week or so to get a three-bedroom home ready for moving.

Depending on how much stuff you own (and how many of your possessions you’ve decided to relocate), how fast you work, and how many hours a day you dedicate to the job, the packing process may take a little less or much more time than mentioned above – so, you need to assess the number of your items, your daily responsibilities, and your packing enthusiasm and make your packing schedule accordingly.

If you’re working full time, for example, you won’t be able to spend too much time a day packing, so you’ll have to commence the packing process earlier.

If you only need to pack your personal belongings and not any larger household items – such as when you’re moving out of a rental property, moving out of your parents’ house, moving to college, etc. – it won’t take very long to complete the task, so you won’t need to start packing much in advance.

If you’re moving a large family house, however, you’ll need a lot of time to get all your stuff ready for moving, so you’ll have to get down to work without delay.

How far you’re moving

Based on the distance of your move, the packing process will go differently: 

1) If you’re moving locally, your new home won’t be far. If you can get the keys to your new house or apartment a few weeks before you need to move out of your current home, you’ll be able to visit your new place many times before the actual relocation and get it ready for moving in. You’ll also be able to bring some pre-packed items (small things you can transport in your car) with you every time you visit.  

Therefore, when moving short distance, you’re strongly advised to start packing early – as soon as you get the keys to your new place – so your rarely used and out-of-season items are ready for moving and can be taken to your new home ahead of time.

See also: Tips for moving across town

2) If you’re moving long distance, you won’t be able to make several trips to your new home. All your belongings will be loaded on a moving truck on the day of your move and transported at once – which means that your stuff needs to be packed by moving day, not earlier. Therefore, if you wish so, you can start packing just a few days prior to the Big day and go on a packing spree – or even hire professionals to do the job on the very day of your move.

Keep in mind, though, that when moving across the country, your belongings will be on the road for a long time and will be at a high risk of damage – so, you need to take utmost care to ensure their safety. It is, therefore, highly recommendable to start packing well in advance – 4 weeks or more before your cross-country move – so you have enough time to take proper care of each and every item.

Related: How to pack for a move out of state

3) If you’re moving abroad, you’ll probably ship most of the things you’ve decided to take to your new home by sea, as sea freight is the cheapest way to move household items internationally. It is also the slowest way to move goods overseas, so you’ll likely decide to ship your belongings ahead of time.

To do so, you’ll also need to pack them well ahead of time, of course – a couple of months before your move (or more, depending on the distance to the destination country).

Sea shipments, however, have to be professionally packed, so your chosen international movers will do the packing for you.   

See also: How to pack for moving abroad

What kind of moving services you’re using

Depending on the level of professional packing help you’ve requested for your move, you may need to start packing well ahead of time or you may not need to pack anything at all:

1) If you’ve opted for a full-service move, the pros will take care of all relocation tasks – including packing. You’ll only need to pack the essentials and valuables you intend to take with you (the movers will pack everything else on the day of your move), so you won’t need to start packing until a day or two before your move date.

The same applies for when you’ve requested full packing services as well.

2) If you’ve requested partial packing services (where you pack most of your belongings yourself but leave some more difficult to pack items – fragile items, delicate items, very large items, etc. – to the professionals), you should start packing a couple of weeks in advance so your smaller items are ready for moving – and out of the way – when the pros arrive.

3) If you’ve hired professional movers to transport your items to your new home, but decided to do the packing yourself, you need to start packing about 3-4 weeks prior to your move date so you have enough time to ensure the safety of your items and get everything ready for shipment by moving day.

See also: Should you pack yourself or hire professional packers

4) If you’re moving with portable storage containers, the pod(s) will be dropped in front of your home and left at your disposal for a predetermined period of time (a few days, a couple of weeks, a month, etc.). You need to pack and load your belongings inside the container(s) within that time frame.

Therefore, when using a pod moving service, it’s best to start packing about a week before the date when the pod will be delivered to your home – this way, you’ll be able to pre-pack your least needed items ahead of time, load the pre-packed boxes in the pod when it’s delivered (so they’re out of the way and you don’t need to load everything in a hurry), and continue packing your items and loading the container at your convenience.

When you’re ready, the pod movers will pick up the container and deliver it to your new address.

See also: Portable moving containers and pod moving companies

5) If you’ve opted for a self-move, it will be up to you to pack your items and transport them to your new home. You need to start packing as soon as possible, as you’ll have a lot of moving tasks to take care of and won’t be able to dedicate much time to the packing job – you’ll likely only be able to pack a couple of boxes a day, so you need to start really early (at least a month before your move).

Bonus tip: When packing by yourself, you can speed up the process by throwing a packing party – invite your friends over to have some fun together while getting your stuff packed up. Just make sure you have the necessary packing supplies ready and come up with a plan beforehand so everyone knows what they need to be doing. With many helping hands, your items will be packed in no time.

In case you’re planning to have a packing party (and know that you can count on your friends to do a good job), you don’t need to start packing for your move early – most of the job will be done in a day.

So, to sum it all up:

When to start packing for a house move?

• If you’re moving a small household, it’s advisable to start packing a couple of weeks before your move date;
• If you’re moving a large house, be sure to initiate the packing process at least a month in advance.

Keep in mind, though, that the best time to start packing will also depend on the distance of your move and the type of moving and packing services you’re using – as detailed above.

All things considered, you should start packing sooner rather than later.

How to pack for a last minute move

So, it is recommendable to start packing as soon as your move is confirmed. Ideally, that will be a few months before your move date, so you’ll have plenty of time to plan your relocation, sort out your items, provide packing supplies, and pack at your convenience.

Sometimes, however, you may not have months – not even weeks – to prepare for your move. You may need to move on a short notice. In such a case, you won’t be able to start packing weeks in advance – you’ll have to get your stuff ready for moving within days.

To be able to do so much work in so little time, you’ll need to start packing immediately – and you’ll need to pack very quickly:

• Pare down your possessions as much as possible – donate your unneeded items to local charities that will come to pick them up or give them away to family and friends;
• Purchase quality packing supplies from your chosen moving company or from the nearest department store;
• Take photos of your belongings before you start packing them – it will be faster than making a detailed moving inventory and you will have proof of the pre-move condition of your items;
• Know what not to pack, so you don’t waste time packing non-allowable items that the movers won’t load on the moving truck for safety reasons;
• Set aside your essentials and valuables so you can take them with you;
• Ask family and friends to help you get your belongings ready for moving;
• Pack one room at a time;
• Stay focused and eliminate distractions – if you have pets and/or young kids, arrange for someone to take care of them;
• Pack clothes as they are – transfer your garments into wardrobe boxes or use garbage bags to pack your clothes directly from the wardrobe, hangers and all;
• Leave lightweight, non-fragile items in their drawers – wrap the drawers in plastic wrap to keep their contents safely in place;
• Pack small items in sealable plastic bags;
• Print labels on adhesive paper.

Better yet – hire professional packers. The experts will complete the job in the fastest, safest, and most efficient way possible and you will be able to take care of other important moving tasks.

Related: How to pack for a move in 3 days

Helpful tips to start packing for a move

Now you know when to start packing for a move (right away) and how to pack quickly and efficiently. To make things easier, however, you also need a good packing strategy:

• Sort out your items and decide which of them you’re going to take to your new home. Get rid of everything you don’t need or don’t like anymore and make a detailed inventory of the items you’re going to pack for moving;
• Get the necessary packing supplies. You can’t begin the packing process without suitable packing materials, so you need to obtain the necessary supplies (cardboard boxes of assorted sizes, packing paper, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, packing peanuts, foam padding, packing tape, moving blankets, etc.) ahead of time;
• Create a packing calendar, so you can keep up with the packing challenge and keep track of your progress – prioritize the packing jobs, break major tasks into achievable mini-goals, and set up clear deadlines;
• Know where to start packing and what to pack when. Start packing your house from the rooms and premises you use least frequently – handle the storage areas with priority, then move on to the guest room and the library (study). Pack your rarely used items, non-essential items, and out-of-season items first. Follow an efficient packing timeline so you have access to the things you need on a daily basis and still manage to get all your belongings ready for shipping until Moving day;
• Make sure you pack a few boxes every single day – doing a little bit at a time will be easier than packing all day long and crossing things off your packing list every day will give you a great sense of satisfaction. Most importantly, the packing process will be progressing quickly and steadily;
• Avoid packing mistakes that may result in lots of wasted time and money;
• Keep your packing motivation up – listen to some rhythmic music while packing, reward yourself for every completed major packing task, etc.

Be sure to allow some extra time in your packing schedule – a packing task may take longer than you thought, some unforeseen problems may slow down the packing process, there may be days when you won’t be able to spend as much time packing as you planned to, etc. Having a time cushion will help you avoid frantic packing and keep stress at bay during the hectic relocation period.

Whether you’re eager to start packing for your move or dread the very thought of it, the moving truck will be at your door on your chosen move date and when it comes, your items have to be ready to go. So, stop wondering when to start packing for moving house and get down to work – there is nothing to wait for (and all those boxes are waiting for you).