After almost 20 years of experience helping our clients move from one home to another, we have found household goods stashed in some interesting places. The Out of Chaos team has learned to look everywhere in a home to ensure everything is packed securely and loaded on the moving van. If you are preparing to move, we’d like to share a few common places you might overlook when packing.
Kitchen
Dishwashers: Family members get into the habit of putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It’s a good habit, to be sure, but it’s easy to overlook the dishwasher on packing day. Some models have an extra rack in the top for holding flatware, so check that rack too. It’s a good idea to scan the bottom of the dishwasher to see if any small utensils are stuck there.
Stove Warming Drawer: Many people store cookie sheets and pizza pans in their stove warming drawer. Remember to pull them out and pack them carefully. Even if your stove is moving with you, remove the items from the drawer. If not, they will bang around and damage the warming drawer and each other. Peek inside the oven too!
Beside the Fridge: Some homes have a narrow space between the fridge and the wall or cabinet. Homeowners often store mops, brooms, or collapsible step stools in there. There could also be pull-out shelving filling the space containing items you need to pack.
Inside the Fridge and Freezer: Transfer foods to a cooler. You may wish to toss leftovers or transfer foods to zipper-seal bags and disposable food containers so you can clean your expensive food storage containers and pack them in boxes.
Under Cabinet Drawers: Drawers that use the space under the kitchen cabinets add plenty of storage to small kitchens. But you can easily forget these items when packing.
Above the Cabinets: We don’t often look up, but we should when we’re packing. If you have space above your kitchen cabinets, make sure you climb up and look to ensure you’ve packed everything.
Upper, Lower, and Corner Cupboards: The saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind,” and that’s true with kitchen cupboards – especially the highest, the lowest, and corner cupboards. Get up on a ladder, down on your hands and knees, and reach into the dark recesses to make sure you get everything.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Behind the Doors: Towels, bathrobes, bathing suits, pyjamas, and more often hide behind bathroom doors. Make sure those items are dry before they are packed.
Top Closet Shelves: You can easily miss items you store on upper shelves (especially those above the lintel). Use a step stool to ensure you get things that may be out of sight.
Shower: Because the shower door is most often closed, people forget to pack toiletries and other items they keep in the shower. If you’ve got a shower curtain, remember to remove it, let it thoroughly dry before packing it.
Medicine Cabinets: People often forget to open and clean out their medicine cabinets, especially if they are built into the wall and behind a mirror.
Laundry and Storage Areas
In a large home, there may be many little nooks and crannies used as storage space you might overlook when packing. Here are a few to double-check:
- Behind, beside, and inside the washing machine and dryer
- Behind the furnace and hot water tank
- Cupboard under the stairs
- Attics
- Crawlspaces
- The rafters in basements, attics, and crawlspaces
Remember to pack and load the contents of your storage locker in the basement of your condo/strata/apartment building!
Outdoors
Garage: Look in all areas of the garage, including in the rafters above the garage door.
Patios and Garden Sheds: Remember to pack lawn ornaments, birdbaths and feeders, children’s play structures and pools! Read our post on how to prepare outdoor items for a move for advice.
General Household
Windows: I think we get so used to looking out our windows we forget that we need to pack the stuff we see, such as items on windowsills, décor/art hanging in windows, curtains, rods, blinds, or other window treatments.
Built-in Storage: You might forget to pack the contents in cupboards in under-the-window seating and other built-in, hidden cabinets.
Entryway Closet: Movers take their loads to the truck through the entry, blocking access to the closet. Check that you have removed and packed everything from this area before the truck leaves.
Electronics: You will likely need your internet until the last minute so save an empty box to pack your power bars, extension cords, and internet routers. This box could be one of the last ones on the truck and one of the first ones off so you can quickly set up the internet in your new home.
Secret Compartments: Many homeowners install secret compartments to hide their valuables. These include false wall outlets and air duct covers, fake rocks, hidden wall safes, hollow-core door stashes, and false-bottom drawers. Make sure you clear all of these out and take the contents with you.
As the last boxes load onto the moving van, take a final tour of your home. Go from room to room and inspect:
- Cupboards and drawers
- Behind doors
- Windowsills and shelves
- Closets and storage areas
- Hidden or secret storage compartments
When you are satisfied that everything is on the truck, let the movers know they can close it up and head to your new home.
There are places you might overlook when packing because it is easy to forget things when you are stressed about moving to a new home. Let Out of Chaos help minimize the stress and disruption with our Stress-Free Move Services. Contact us through our website today.
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