Happy It’s Moving Day
Make the Most of your Moving Truck Rental
So it’s moving day, and you have your moving truck, and your stuff, so you’re ready to go – right? Wrong! You have no idea how to efficiently pack a moving truck! You need a plan! Here are some Storage Inn packing tips to help make your moving day easier. And don’t forget The Storage Inn offers free moving truck rentals or free moving van rentals for new storage unit tenants.
Be prepared – In order to do a safe and efficient job of packing your moving truck, you’ll need the items below. Most of these are available at your local truck rental store, or local self storage facility, like The Storage Inn!
Hand truck and dolly – These are a must for moving heavier items around the inside of the moving truck as well as loading and unloading.
Furniture pads, bungee cords, packing tape, and stretch wrap – Use the furniture pads and stretch wrap to protect your items. The bungee cords and packing tape can be used to secure your items, and to keep them from shifting, as well as for keeping doors and drawers closed.
Boxes – Your local self storage facility should have a variety of moving boxes available, including some made specifically for packing fragile items like dishes and glasses. Most also have wardrobe boxes available, to help make moving the contents of closets much easier.
Remember to…
Keep items In the cab, that you might need before you unpack the back of the moving truck, Such as a small tool kit, overnight items, or extremely fragile items.
Disassemble furniture – Remove legs from chairs and tables where possible, and drawers from dressers and cabinets, until placed in the moving truck or moving van, to make moving and packing easier.
Visualize – If possible, place as many of your furniture items as you can on the ground outside of the moving truck before loading. This will help you to visualize how the items might best fit into the truck.
Load it up
Heaviest items first – Be sure to load heavy items such as appliances, file cabinets and boxes of books toward the front of the trailer, nearest the cab. Distribute the weight as evenly as possible. this will help to give you the safest conditions for driving your rental truck. Keep in mind that you are also packing floor-to-ceiling. Place your heavier items on the bottom, while saving lighter items for the top.
Protect your stuff – Be aware of how your items are packed, and how they might react to a rough ride. Use furniture pads and stretch wrap to protect your items, as well as bungee cords, and/or packing tape, to secure everything for the ride.
Box it up – Boxes pack best with other boxes, so save space if possible, to stack all of your extra boxes. You want to clearly label your boxes, and pack the heavier ones at the bottom, and lighter ones toward the top.
Save the soft stuff from the furniture – When packing, keep your pillows, couch cushions, blankets, etc., set aside. As you finish loading each quarter of the truck, stop and look at your packing job so far. Imagine your items as your truck is being driven along over a bumpy road. Does it look like any of the items might bounce around? If so, use your pillows, blankets, and cushions to fill in the dead spots between items. Your goal should be to arrange your items so that they are as close to one solid piece as possible. Think of your items as pieces to a jigsaw puzzle – solve the puzzle, and enjoy the ride!