When Should I Start Packing to Move?

By Digital Piece of Cake

One of the most common questions people ask before a move is when to start packing. The answer depends on the size of your home and how much stuff you have, but starting too late is far more common than starting too early. Here is a week-by-week packing timeline that works for most moves.

8 Weeks Before Your Move: Start Planning

Eight weeks out is the ideal time to begin the mental work of packing. You are not boxing things up yet, but you are creating the foundation for an organized process. Walk through every room and take inventory of what you own. Identify items you want to keep, donate, sell, or throw away. This decluttering phase makes the actual packing faster and reduces your moving costs since you are paying to transport less stuff.

6 Weeks Out: Gather Supplies and Pack Storage Areas

Six weeks before your move, start gathering packing supplies. You will need boxes in multiple sizes, packing tape, bubble wrap, packing paper, and markers for labeling. Start packing items you rarely use: seasonal decorations, books you have already read, guest bedroom items, and anything stored in closets, attics, or basements.

• •Holiday decorations and seasonal items
• •Books, DVDs, and media collections
• •Spare linens and guest room supplies
• •Garage and basement storage items
• •Artwork and wall decorations you can live without for a few weeks

4 Weeks Out: Pack Non-Essential Rooms

With a month to go, start packing rooms and items that are not part of your daily routine. This includes formal dining rooms, home offices you can temporarily relocate, spare bedrooms, and decorative items throughout the house. Label every box with its contents and the room it belongs in at your new home.

2 Weeks Out: Pack Most of the House

Two weeks before moving day is when packing ramps up significantly. At this point, you should be packing everything except the items you use every single day. Pack your kitchen down to one set of dishes, a pot, a pan, and basic utensils. Box up most of your clothes, leaving out only what you need for the next two weeks. Pack bathroom items down to the essentials.

• •Kitchen: Pack everything except one place setting and basic cooking supplies
• •Bedroom: Box up off-season clothing, extra bedding, and decor
• •Living room: Pack books, games, decorations, and non-essential electronics
• •Bathroom: Keep only daily toiletries out, pack everything else
• •Home office: Back up important files and start packing paper files and supplies

The Final Week: Last-Minute Packing

During the last week, you are finishing off the remaining items. Pack your daily dishes and utensils, the last of your clothes, bathroom toiletries, and bedding. Prepare your essentials box or suitcase with everything you will need for the first night in your new home: toiletries, a change of clothes, phone charger, medications, snacks, and important documents.

Moving Day Packing Tips

On moving day itself, ideally everything is already packed. The only things left should be the items you used that morning: your toothbrush, the sheets from your bed, and the last few personal items. Box these up quickly as the movers begin loading. If you are hiring professional movers, they can also pack for you. Full-service packing typically happens the day before the move and takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders.

How Long Does Packing Actually Take?

As a general rule, expect packing to take longer than you think. A studio or one-bedroom apartment can be packed in a weekend if you are focused. A two-bedroom home usually takes a full week of evening packing sessions. Three bedrooms or larger homes need two to three weeks of consistent effort. If you have lived in your current place for many years, add extra time because accumulated belongings always exceed expectations.

The bottom line: start earlier than you think you need to. No one has ever regretted being packed ahead of schedule, but plenty of people have scrambled to throw things in boxes the night before movers arrive.