10 October 2012
If you're taking a career break, you probably have a lot of stuff to pack up. Whether you're putting it into storage or leaving it in a sympathetic friend's garage, it's a big job! Here are 10 tips to make it a bit easier.
- Get lots of parcel tape and put it in a box with screwdrivers, allen keys, scissors, old newspaper, resealable bags, strong bin liners, labels and marker pens. Label the box 'In use - do not seal'. Put a spare roll of toilet paper in there too, plus tea, mugs, milk and sugar.
- Get help from a variety of friends. You'll need muscle to shift the big stuff, and someone with OCD to dust your books before boxing them up.
- Use those bag for life type carriers for charity shop stuff. Label them 'charity shop' so they don't get mixed up with your stuff.
- If you use bin liners for packing, make sure you label these and your rubbish bags clearly BEFORE you start. Otherwise someone will take a bag of rubbish to the storage place and throw out your bag of winter clothes!
- Use wine boxes for books and other heavy things - they are small but you won't be able to lift a bigger one.
- When taking furniture apart, put all the screws in one of your resealable bags and fix it to a piece of the furniture with packing tape.
- All the packaging in the world won't save books, photos, old love letters, clothes or electrical stuff from getting damp. Make sure you have a dry place to store these things.
- Label things in detail. You think you'll remember what 'Simon's box of cool stuff' means in 6 months' time. Trust us, you won't.
- Leave plenty of time. It always takes longer than you think it will.
- Feed and water your helpers. People will go home if they get hungry.
Do you have any tips for packing up a house? Leave them in the comments below!