You should know by now that packing up your house for a move is the task that will definitely take up the biggest chunk of your pre-move time.
Even within the various packing projects that lie ahead of you, you will quickly learn that there’s a huge difference between packing your garage – with all its power tools, hand tools, and all types of odds and ends stored there through the years – and packing up your bedroom where the items are usually well-organized and the packing process should be pretty straightforward.
When it comes to packing clothes for a move, you probably feel somewhat like an expert. After all, you’ve packed clothes in handbags, travel suitcases, and storage boxes so many times that now you can do it with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back, right?
Besides, clothes are neither fragile nor heavy, so there’s no real danger of breaking them or worse – breaking your back while carrying them.
And yet, packing clothes for moving is never as easy and straightforward as it seems at first glance. Being in too much of a hurry or being too careless can still lead to damaged or even ruined pieces of clothing – something that is never a good idea, especially when it comes to expensive designer clothes.
Make sure to follow these practical tips for packing clothes efficiently so that you can save time, space, and money during the home-packing process.
How to prepare clothes for packing
Even if time whispers in your ear to do it, you shouldn’t just take your clothes hastily out of your closets, wardrobes, and drawers and stuff them quickly into random moving boxes.
That’s just not the proper protocol for packing up your clothes and doing it will just cause more harm than any good.
Here are the steps you should follow to prepare your clothes for packing:
Step 1. Sort your clothes
While clothes are much lighter than books, for example, they are surely more voluminous and will fill up the space they are placed into too quickly.
Practice shows that it doesn’t make much relocation sense to move absolutely all your clothes with you to your new home since such a decision can prove to be too costly in the end.
- Money. Keep in mind that no one will reimburse you for the money you waste on moving clothes to your new home that you will never wear again – irrelevant, outdated, outgrown, or worn-out pieces of clothing.
- Time. And what about all the time you will lose packing your clothes for moving and later unpacking them only for some of those pieces to be left forgotten once again for years to come?
- Space. The available room in your new house is not to be underestimated either. As mentioned earlier, clothes like to eat up large storage spaces for breakfast, so think about this pending issue before it’s too late.
So, be proactive and sort out your clothes before the actual move to keep post-relocation problems and headaches away from your new home’s doorstep.
Step 2. Group your clothes
Our packing clothes tips continue with another must-do step when getting ready to pack your clothes in moving boxes – to group your garments.
The process of grouping your clothes according to their materials, sizes, purposes, and seasons will help you greatly speed up both packing and unpacking:
- Packing speed boost: Similar clothes tend to require similar handling and treatment, so you will be able to place your pieces in moving boxes much more quickly.
- Unpacking speed boost: You will know exactly which boxes contain which pre-grouped clothes so that unpacking can be done as fast as possible. Moreover, pre-grouping will enable you to prioritize your unpacking tasks by taking out only the types of clothes you will need first – for example, leaving the job of unpacking your winter clothes for later during a summer move.
Step 3. Pre-pack the clothes you won’t need until after the move
Once you’ve sorted out and grouped your clothes, you will know perfectly well which pieces you won’t need before you move out. If possible, pre-pack those pieces of garments in advance to save precious time later when Moving day approaches.
Such clothes include but are not limited to
- Out-of-season clothes. Logic says that you won’t need your winter clothes during a summer move, and vice versa. What this means is that you can begin to pack your out-of-season pieces of clothing ahead of time.
- Specialty clothes. Chances are that you won’t need your formal clothes until after the move is complete. Look for any types of clothes that are meant for specific occasions and make sure you pack them up before the rest.
See also: How to pack winter clothes for moving
How to pack clothes for a move
What is the best way to pack clothes for moving?
There are a few great options for packing clothes fast and efficiently when moving house.
Option 1. Standard cardboard boxes
Pick medium or large cardboard boxes (most clothes are lightweight) that are strong and clean to hold your pieces of clothing. If you’re moving on a budget, then it’s a good idea to look for various ways to get FREE MOVING BOXES for the house-packing job, not only for the task of packing up your clothes.
Place a few sheets of white packing paper on the bottom of the cardboard container, then transfer your neatly folded clothes into the box.
Make sure to stack the pieces nicely and snugly into the available space in each box so that you can fit more clothes and reduce or even prevent wrinkles in the process. You should still leave enough space on the top so that the flaps of the box can close normally without any extra pressure.
Finally, close the box, seal it with tape, and label it appropriately. Easy, right?
Option 2. Wardrobe boxes
The best way to pack clothes on hangers is to use the so-called wardrobe boxes.
Wardrobe boxes are conveniently tall and equipped with a hanging rack on the top – the perfect solution for packing hanging clothes without wrinkles. Such boxes make the task of transferring all the clothes from your closet or wardrobe into the moving containers a piece of cake.
The only catch is that quality wardrobe boxes are much more expensive than standard packing boxes – one wardrobe box costs anywhere from around $14 to roughly $23. Also, those boxes take up plenty of space.
Might be useful: How to make a wardrobe box for moving
Packing clothes in wardrobe boxes is the ideal option when you’re moving expensive clothes, delicate garments, and formal clothing.
Read also: How to pack hanging clothes for moving
Option 3. Suitcases and travel bags
Besides using the convenience and protection of wardrobe boxes, take advantage of other clothes receptacles that are meant for housing and safeguarding clothes on the road – suitcases and travel bags.
Make sure you use them for your more expensive and delicate pieces of clothing.
The downfall of this clothes packing option is that these perfect clothes carriers probably won’t be enough as there wouldn’t normally be more than a few suitcases in one household.
Option 4. Vacuum bags
Vacuum seal bags can do a great job shrinking down considerably the size of your packed clothes. They are especially efficient when it comes to voluminous winter clothes such as jackets.
However, the practicality of vacuum bags can be somewhat questioned due to their tendency to tear and rip off relatively easily during transport.
Option 5. Garbage bags
In case you cannot afford to purchase brand-new wardrobe boxes, garbage bags can be used as a super cheap alternative to pack hanging clothes for moving.
Simply poke a hole in the bottom of a clean garbage bag and pull it over a few hangers with the clothes intact and all.
Then, tie the loose ends of the trash bag at the bottom, secure them with packing tape, and you have yourself a nice bundle of clothes to move to your new house.
Good to know: How to use garbage bags for packing and moving
Take advantage of our tips for packing clothes above and enjoy a faster packing experience and a smoother move in general.
However, if you strongly feel that you won’t have sufficient time to pack all your clothes before your moving date, your best option is to call in professional packers who have considerable packing experience and have been trained to do an outstanding job packing clothes for a move.