How To Pack For Your Move
First of all, you should know that Fairfax Transfer's professional movers can safely pack all your belongings and keepsakes in preparation for your move. We've been doing this for our customers for over 60 years and have completed over 40,000 damage free moves. We'll happily do it for you.
That being said, we understand if you would rather pack some or all of your own belongings yourself. It's your grandma's china that's been in the family for over a hundred years that's going into a box, and we understand the sense of responsibility your feel to make sure it makes it safely through the move. We can provide you with all the materials you'll need: boxes, packing peanuts, blankets... the works!
In the following articles, we've tried to answer some of the most common questions our customers typically have when packing their belongings. If you have a question that you can't find an answer to below, please don't hesitate to give us a call. Like we said, we've been moving people to and from Northern Virginia for a very long time, we're pretty good at it, and we're more than happy to help.
The #1 piece of advice we give to people who are doing their own packing is:
Start Packing Early
Movers make packing look easy. Like any professional, they have simply done it hundreds, if not thousands of times. They have honed their packing skills to almost an art form and can pack the entire contents of the average Northern Virginian home in a matter of hours.
Conversely, the average Northern Virginian has packed and moved the sum total of their belongings only a handful times... maybe. For some, it's the first time they're moving where all their belongings won't fit into the back of a sedan.
For this reason, it is VERY important to allot enough time to get everything safely and securely packed into boxes by moving day. The last thing you want to be doing when you pack is rushing. Haste makes waste, and packing quickly is how grandma's china ends up broken on the other end. Slow is smooth, and smooth is safe. If you're going to pack your own belongings, start early and take your time.
The other important piece of advice we give to people packing for a move is:
Don't Pack Your Valuables In Boxes
Money, jewelry, or important papers should all be set aside when you move. Rather than being packed in boxes and thrown in the mix with everything else, carry them with you as you move.
If you have something valuable that is too big to go with you in your car when you move, get it crated.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The moving insurance provided by Fairfax Transfer and Storage only covers items we have packed or where the box has been damaged by mishandling. This is the case with most professional moving companies. If you have valuable items that will be traveling with the rest of your belongings on the moving trucks, be sure you ask for the alternative level of liability coverage for your valuables.
Appliances are probably one of the toughest things to move with. Not surprisingly, many people choose to move without them, deciding that it is just easier to buy a new refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, stove, etc. when they get where they are going. Depending on where you move, this may or may not be so. If, however, you have decided to move with your appliances, there are things to know about how to pack each one.
We at Fairfax Transfer & Storage have been doing this for a long time, and after over 40,000 damage free moves, we've learned a thing or two about how to pack appliances. Rest assured, this is one part of moving you will likely want us to do for you, and we are more than happy to do it. If you have any questions about moving appliances, please feel free to give us a call.
Getting Refrigerators Ready To Move
Refrigerators and freezers are one of the trickier appliances to move with, and they take a little more forward planning than the others, so we'll start with them.
The first thing you need to do is defrost them. Unless you want to stand there for up to an hour holding a hair drier, we recommend you start this process a few days in advance of when the movers show up to give the built up ice time to melt. How many days will depend on how long it's been since the last time you defrosted and how close you live to one of the Washington DC area's many rivers. You'll probably want to park a large pan, pot or bucket in the bottom of the freezer to collect the water as the ice melts. Put a towel under the bucket to catch drips that miss. Once all the ice is melted, thoroughly dry the inside of the refrigerator with towels and leave it open for a few hours to get all the moisture out. If you make it to this step a day or two before you move, put a Damp Rid bucket in and shut the door. This will suck in even more moisture and reduce the ability of mold or mildew to take up residence.
On the day the movers arrive, take the bucket of Damp Rid out of the fridge. Remove all the glass shelving and trays from the refrigerator and pack them separately in a box marked FRAGILE. (Or Fra-Gi-Le, if you're Italian.) Any shelves that are staying in the refrigerator should be wrapped in newsprint. This is to keep them from banging up the inside if they happen to move around, so make sure you cover the edges.
The last thing to do with the fridge before taping the doors shut is put a few drops of vanilla on a cotton ball or two and toss them in. This will make opening the fridge on the other end a pleasant, vice unpleasant, experience.
As much as possible, small appliances should be moved in the boxes they came in. Holding on to boxes is a pain, but if you think you'll be moving from where you currently live (which we're guessing is why you're reading a moving company's website) in the near future (near being within the next five years), it is always a good idea to hold on to them. It is all but impossible for you, Happy Harry The Home Owner, to replicate the packing job that was done at the factory. It survived the trip from China in that box, so it'll probably survive a trip from Arlington, VA, to Reston, or wherever you happen to be moving.
If, however, you are unable to locate the box they came in, small appliances can be packed into the standard, medium-sized moving boxes. Any loose parts or shelves should be either removed and packed separately or secured firmly in place with tape. The appliance should be packed firmly with crumpled newsprint and wrapped thoroughly with bubble wrap before being placed in its own box. Fill any excess space in the box with either packing peanuts or loose clothing. (Old t-shirts and sweatshirts, here folks, not dress shirts and slacks and never around anything that could leak or stain. Should be obvious, but if we don't say it, someone out there will wrap a toaster in their dad's favorite Brooks Brothers shirt and he'll get mad when it arrives at their new home covered in grease and charcoal stains.)
Whether in its own box or in a standard moving box, the small appliance can now be placed in the bottom of a bigger box with other stuff packed on and around it. The reason for doing this is, fewer boxes are easier to keep track of and make it less likely something will get lost between points A and B. Don't forget to add the appliance to the inventory on the outside of the big box it goes in.
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