Moving to another country requires an extensive amount of planning. One of the most significant and time-consuming tasks to complete when relocating abroad is packing your belongings.
Unlike a quick move to a nearby town in the same country, heading overseas requires you to book an international courier. You won’t be able to take all your personal belongings by yourself and will need to rely on your courier to deliver your items safely to your new home.
An easy way to make the moving process as stress-less as possible is to ensure that you pack everything properly. With well-packed belongings, you can ensure that nothing gets damaged, broken, lost, or stolen during transit.
Below, we have covered some top tips for how to pack a move effectively and make the packing process as seamless and simple as possible when you’re moving abroad.
Declutter Before You Start Packing
The less you have to move, the easier, quicker, and cheaper your relocation will be. Take some time to declutter each room in your home to get rid of the items you no longer need or want.
When decluttering, create three piles, with the first pile being items that you’d like to try and sell on second-hand thrifting apps. Create the second pile for the things you’d like to donate to charity and the third pile for the items you want to gift to friends and family.
By decluttering, you can minimize the number of things you need to pack and save money on transportation costs. Plus, you can make some money on the things you no longer need or give them to somebody who will make good use of them.
Keep Valuable Items Separate
You’ll want to keep your most expensive and most valued items to one side when packing for an international move to minimize losses and maximize financial freedom. If possible, transport your pricey possessions in your own bag as you travel to your new country, so there is zero risk of them getting lost or stolen.
Valuables may include jewelry, legal documents, and family heirlooms. Keeping them separate from the rest of your belongings will not only keep them safer but also makes it easier for you to keep track of where they are at all times.
Pack Your Essentials Separately
You’ll need certain items up to and on the day of your move, such as your toothbrush, hair brush, makeup, medications, and legal documents.
It’s a good idea to set aside these essentials in a separate bag or backpack so you don’t lose them during the packing process. You’ll be able to easily reach your essentials by keeping them close by in your hand luggage during the relocation journey.
Use Adequate Packaging Materials
The types of packaging you use to pack your items can make a huge difference in their safety during transit. If you want to reduce the risk of your belongings getting broken or scratched while they’re being delivered by the courier, invest in high-quality packaging that won’t let you down.
You’ll need sturdy cardboard boxes, foam padding, bubble wrap, and strong tape to secure your items nicely. For fragile items, be sure to wrap each individual piece separately with bubble wrap or packing paper before gently stacking them on top of one another in a large cardboard box and including additional foam padding around the edges.
You can purchase a variety of packaging materials from a range of DIY stores or courier brands. You’ll be able to find basic packaging, such as padded envelopes and bubble wrap at your local post office or convenience store.
Pack Room by Room
When you’re packing up your entire house for a move abroad, it doesn’t take long for things to get complicated. To keep things as simple as possible, consider packing room by room. Doing so will ensure you stay organized and avoid a last-minute rush to pack every room as your moving day approaches.
Start with your largest room and pack away as many things as you can, remembering to set aside the essentials that you will need on the day. Move from one room to the next until you’ve completed all areas of your home.
You can either store your boxes in each individual room or gather the boxes from every room together and store them in your garage or an external storage unit, ready for your move.
Label Your Boxes Clearly
Consider using color-coded labels, sticky labels, or written stickers to differentiate one box from the next. Although this process may feel time-consuming at the time, labeling every box according to its contents will make the unpacking process much quicker on the other side of your journey.
Plus, you can use labels to inform the couriers of which boxes contain fragile items and must be handled with care. It’s a preventative measure to keep damages and breakages to a minimum so your belongings arrive safely and on time at your new home.
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