Clothes can be easily ruined during a move, so you'll want to take extra care to ensure that everything in your wardrobe is properly protected so all your clothing can make it to your new home unscathed. Here are some tips and methods you can use to pack your clothes in a way that keeps them safe and secure when moving.
Declutter your clothes
Before you start packing for your move, you'll want to sort through your clothing and decide what you want to move with you - and what you want to leave behind. Here's the best way to declutter your clothes:
- First, get rid of your unwanted clothes such as items that are out of fashion, are ripped, or that you never wear. This can save you time and space once you start packing.
- If you have clothes that are still in good condition, you can sell them online or to a vintage shop or donate them to a charity.
Choose your clothes to pack for moving
Once you get rid of unwanted clothing, now it's time to sort what you've decided to bring with you to your new home.
Make sure to sort your clothes by the following categories:
- Sort by material : Natural and cotton fabrics can easily get creased in transit, so pack them separately in vacuum-sealed bags (see below). Meanwhile, woolen clothes take up more space so you may need some extra boxes to pack them. For synthetic clothes, you can easily pack them into moving boxes as they don't crease easily.
- Sort by season : Sorting your clothes by season will help you find and pack all the clothes you might need right away. It will also keep you from unpacking clothes for the wrong season, such as unpacking summer clothes during winter.
- Sort by size : Small items like ties, towels, and underwear can be packed into one box. Just be sure to carefully label items when you're packing them in a single box.
Materials required for packing clothes
Once you have sorted through your clothing and decided what you want to take with you to your new home, you can start packing them carefully using the following packing materials:
- A wardrobe box or a large moving box
- A stack of clean packing paper or unprinted newsprint paper
- Storage containers or suitcases
- Vacuum sealed bags
- A roll of packing tape
- A permanent marker
Methods for packing your clothes
Once you've gathered all the required materials, use the following methods to pack your clothes:
Method 1: Packing clothes in wardrobe boxes
There are some clothes which can easily get wrinkled in transit. To keep them from getting wrinkled during the move, hang and pack them in wardrobe boxes. Here's the best way to pack your clothes in wardrobe boxes:
- Assemble the wardrobe carton and put the included bar into place.
- If you have any clothes on their hangers, you can simply transfer them directly onto the bar of the wardrobe box.
- Make sure not to pack hanging clothes too tightly together.
- Each box has about two feet of closet space, so make sure you have the right number of boxes to fit all of your clothing.
- Since the wardrobe boxes are designed to hold only hanging clothes, don't pack anything at the bottom.
- Once you've packed all your clothes in the wardrobe box, close the box and tape the top of it shut along the flaps, making sure to secure the bar in place. Tape the other seams as well.
- Finally, tape the top of the box a few times to hold the carton together.
Method 2: Packing clothes for storage
If you want to pack your clothes for storage, use suitcases or any other storage containers to protect and pack your clothes. If you have clothes that are already packed away, double-check that there is nothing in the containers that might damage the clothes, then simply tape the containers up as they are.
Method 3: Packing clothes in vacuum-sealed bags
Vacuum-sealed bags can be used to pack off-season clothes to keep them from getting dirty. Vacuum-sealed bags are more efficient because they can shrink down to save you space during your move and in storage. But when you're packing your clothes in vacuum-sealed bags, make sure that they are folded neatly and packed perfectly in a storage container.
Method 4: Packing clothes in a dresser
You might have some clothes that you keep in your dresser that you want to move without emptying your dresser. In such a case, you can simply store your clothes on the dresser shelves with some packing paper laid on top.
Though packing and moving clothes inside the dresser is a good strategy, don't overpack the dresser. If you have too many clothes to fit inside, you can pack anything that doesn't fit in moving boxes.
Method 5: Packing clothes in moving boxes
Follow the below steps to pack your clothes in moving boxes:
- First, fill the bottom of your moving boxes with packing paper.
- Then lay neatly folded clothes in a single layer.
- After each layer, place a sheet of packing paper on top, then lay down another layer.
- Once you've packed all the clothes in the box, place one final layer of packing paper on top of everything for cushioning. Then, seal the box with tape.
Once you've finished with each of these boxes, take a permanent marker and label each box with its contents and destination.