Even if you are hiring a moving company to pack for you, you still need to be organized and do some packing yourself.

Get organized.

The worst part of packing is the beginning. No matter how small your home, you can guarantee that you'll look at it and not know where to begin.

If you wander round the house packing bits and pieces, you won't really get anywhere. It's better to take a military approach and tackle one room at a time.

If you're starting way ahead of schedule, you'll find that you won't pack everything in the room all at once. There will be things you'll continue to use before your moving day. That doesn't matter. You'll feel better and achieve more if you take a structured approach.

Even if you hate making lists, now is a good time to make one. You'll feel so much better once you can tick things off as completed! You might consider creating a “Move Notebook” from any blank notebook.

Take your “Move Notebook” through each room of the house and make notes on the following:

• Large furniture pieces. Take a look at the furniture in each room and note whether or not it will need to be disassembled. Chances are if they got into your home, you can get them out. But if a piece was assembled from a box in the room, it might be too big to get out the door or down the stairs. If this is the case, you will need to dismantle them. Jot down in your notebook when you will disassemble them. Can you do it now, or do you need to sleep on that bed and take it apart the day of the move? It's a good idea to dig out original instructions for these items and put them in individual bags with all the screws and nuts etc. Put these bags in a single box that is clearly marked so you can easily find them later.
• Itemize your boxes and rooms. Every time you pack a box or container, write the room it comes from/should go to in big letters on the top. Give it a number. Write the number in your move notebook and a brief description of the contents. This will make it much easier for you to unpack in your new home.
• Special attentions items. Note items that will need special attention, like pets and plants that will need to be transported outside of a moving truck for safety reasons. Most moving companies will not move liquids, even shampoos and lotions. Use as much of these items as possible before the move to minimize space you will need in your own vehicle. Keep in mind the reason these items aren’t moved: They can be spilled or are flammable (such as gas, paint, solvents, cleaning liquids, etc.), so you might not want to move them either.
• Out-of-the-way spaces. Don’t forget key areas of concern…the attic, basement, garage, and storage rooms or sheds. Items in these areas often need special attention. For instance, lawnmowers need to be emptied of all gas and oil. Most moving people will not go into an attic for liability reasons, so note when you will get items down out of an attic.
• Itemize your valuables. For insurance purposes, you will want to note any expensive or rare items and their monetary value. If something falls into the category of “irreplaceable and invaluable,” you may want to transport it yourself.
• Know what is already broken. One of the most surprising things in unpacking is finding damaged items. Upon reflection, you might remember that something was damaged before it was packed. A moving company will attempt to itemize any damage they notice before your possessions pass into their care, but in the rush of packing and loading, this is not always comprehensive. Supplying a list of damaged items to movers when they begin a process will speed their process. You will feel better when you unpack something damaged if you know the movers didn’t break it.
• Note your plan for fragile items. As you work through the rooms in your house ,you should keep an eye out for items that are perhaps not obviously fragile, but that need special packing. For example, if you're looking to move pictures and mirrors, then you need to either wrap them in bubble wrap or some other protective covering.

Pack in advance.

You can make the process easier by packing as much as you can in advance. Before you pack a single box, think about packing materials.

Don't simply assume that you can make do with what you have in the house. Using refuse sacks, bags, and old boxes to pack your prized possessions is no guarantee of protection. You should, however, try to fill suitcases, travel bags, drawers, and the insides of wardrobes with items. This maximizes your use of space.

You can often hire or buy special packing cases and materials from movers or moving rental companies. This is a worthwhile option.

Be careful about recycling old cardboard boxes. Cardboard degrades and the last thing you need is to see everything that you carefully packed fall out of the bottom of a box before it even gets loaded. As a guideline have the following packing materials:

• Strong boxes of various sizes - if you'll be packing books, use book boxes. These don't hold hundreds of books, but hold enough to guarantee that each box can be carried by one person!
• Scissors and a craft knife.
• Something to wrap and protect fragile items such as bubble wrap, newspaper, packing paper etc. Remember that it will cheaper to recycle old newspapers. But ink may come off on items, and you'll have to spend time cleaning them afterwards.
• Marker pens so you can identify what's in each box.
• Rolls of packing tape.
• Screwdrivers and other tools to dismantle any furniture as necessary.

If you are using a moving company, you will want to check the terms and conditions of the contract before you start to pack. Movers have no quality control over boxes you pack yourself and will often refuse liability for damage.

As you go through each room, you will notice items that can easily be packed in advance. Decoration items, clothing that is out of season, books, toys, games, and other rarely-used items can be packed early and set aside against a wall.

Just remember to label each box. Write the room it comes from/should go to in big letters on the top. Give it a number. Write the number in your move notebook and a brief description of the contents.

Identify the destination room of each container. Some people use color coding for this and stick colored stickers on the doors of each room in the new house. You can also use a brief description of the room, so you don’t have to associate a color with a room when unloading gets chaotic.

For instance, “Master Bed” and “Boys Room 1” can translate directly from one home to the other. All your unloaders have to do is match the marker or sticker color on the box or item with the marker or color of the room.

Packing 101

When you are ready to pack that first box, you will minimize problems if you keep a few things in mind:

• Pack like items together. It's useful to try to keep similar kinds of items together when you pack.
• Watch the weight. Make sure that the weight of your boxes is evenly distributed. Don't be tempted to overfill boxes with heavy things - it's far better to place a few heavy items at the bottom and then pack the rest of the container with lighter things. Too much weight in one box will not only cause the person lugging it trouble, but may result in the box breaking. Remember that each box should be light enough to be carried by a single person. If it takes two, it'll just take longer.
• Fill-‘em-up. Boxes should be filled to capacity at all times. Bear in mind that they will generally be stacked on top of each other and they need to be stable enough to cope with this. You can always fill spaces at the top with towels, bedding, curtains, and clothes. This will avoid boxes breaking and will also make sure they can be easily lifted.
• Consider using wardrobe boxes. You can pack most of your clothes in boxes if you like. However, you might want to consider buying wardrobe boxes from a mover or truck rental company. All you need to do is put the box together, hang your clothes in it and they'll keep their shape during the move. This is particularly useful if you want to pack your clothing before the move. You can simply hang your clothes in the wardrobe boxes ahead of the move and use them until you unpack them later. Putting clothes in refuse sacks might seem a good solution, but it can be problematic. They tear easily and offer little protection from damage. It's far better to use clothes to balance boxes, fill drawers and wardrobe spaces etc.
• Pack your fragile items. You can use bedding, towels, and sheets for this too - which gives you one less thing to think about packing, Make sure that the packing around these items is secured with packing tape or string to ensure maximum protection. Cushion the bottom of the box with bubble wrap or paper. Then wrap every item in at least one layer of your chosen packing material. Pack these items sensibly . They need to fit together comfortably enough to avoid moving around, but not so tightly they put pressure on each other. You can use packing material to fill gaps and should finally put another layer of bubble wrap or paper on top. Finally, stick a big label on them saying FRAGILE! Lamps are another example. A lampshade on a lamp base is not a particularly stable thing and it's worth separating them and wrapping them well for protection. Take the bulbs out before you pack them. They may become damaged in transit and either won't work or will shatter. Chair legs are also particularly vulnerable to scratching and other damage in a move - wrap them first and you stand a better chance of avoiding this.
• Secure the box. Finally, make sure that every box you've packed is securely fastened with packing tape. DON'T pack your moving book, the paperwork from your mover, a couple of pens, markers, tape, scissors ,and a knife. Keep them with you; you'll need them at the other end.

Special attention items.

Here are some packing tips to keep in mind:

• The most important box you should prepare is your “Essentials” box(es). You'll fill this as you go along, and it should be loaded last and unloaded first. You can put whatever you think you'll need in here. You could include a change of clothes, night-clothes, toys, toiletries, light-bulbs, drinks, a kettle, tea/coffee, cups, a torch, a telephone . . . whatever you need to get through the move and possibly even a night with no unpacking!
• Take care with your large and valuable appliances and goods. Read the manuals for large appliances - they often contain information about necessary steps to secure them. For example, refrigerators and freezers need to be thoroughly defrosted and washing machines drained before they are transported to avoid water leaks. Their doors and loose inside pieces such as shelves and drawers also need to be tied up or taped down to stop them moving in transport. If you can, pack electrical equipment such as TVs and stereos in their original boxes. This not only indicates special care, but also minimizes damage, as the boxes are exactly the right size for the item. If you don't have the original boxes, try to find ones that are of a similar size and pack any gaps with tightly wadded paper.
• It's worthwhile having one kitchen box that contains enough crockery, pans, cups, and cooking utensils to cover you for making a couple of meals. This means you don't have to unpack your kitchen boxes immediately.

Using friends and family

If friends and family offer to help, consider whether they will help or hurt your process. For example, if you know a friend can’t do anything else while visiting, he or she may be more hindrance than help.

If you can use the help, think of the things they can pack. Kitchen items, for instance, can take a lot of time, yet are not overly fragile or personal.

Books, videos, and DVDs are good choices, as well. On the other hand, you probably would prefer to pack your bedroom. You can ask your volunteers to help move the boxes and/or furniture if you are loading yourself.

Do not ask someone to lift anything heavy that may result in injury. Use equipment such as dollies for heavy items. Friends and family can also be great helps by arranging for meals and snacks.

The most important thing to remember: do not let your move endanger your friendships or family relationships.

Where are the kids?

If your children are old enough to really help, they can be around during the final packing stages and the day you load your vehicle. If they are young, they will just be in the way while you are trying to manage everything in a hurry.

Consider finding childcare for any child younger than 13 or so, or even older, if you think the child will be a distraction. This is a great way for family and friends to help out.