Packing up the garage is one thing people often procrastinate when it comes to their move. This is understandable since garages contain a lot of miscellaneous items. On top of that, many garage items are challenging to pack. It can feel overwhelming. To help make your move less stressful, we’ve gathered our best tips on how to pack your garage for a move.
Declutter Your Garage
The first step to packing up any room is to declutter it. Organize your items by what you’re going to keep, sell, donate, or dispose of. Keep trash bags handy so you can immediately throw away things you can’t keep, donate, or sell. After you gather up all the items you can sell, you may want to consider hosting a moving sale to make some extra money before your move.
Gather All Your Packing Materials
Make sure you have all the right moving supplies for packing your garage. It is important to have the right supplies to keep your belongings safe and prevent injuries. You’ll need sturdy moving boxes. A flimsy box that falls apart while moving is the last thing you’ll want to deal with. In addition to sturdy boxes, you’ll need moving blankets, bubble wrap, packing paper, and packing tape. A packing tape dispenser is essential for saving time.
Specialty boxes are also great to have when packing your garage. For instance, sport utility boxes may come in handy if you have tall items to pack. These boxes are usually 48’’ tall. They are great for storing items like golf clubs or tents.
Separate Items You Can’t Pack
There are some items that movers can’t pack by law like hazardous or flammable materials. This includes gasoline, power tools with fuel still in the tank, or any lawn or garden equipment that has fuel. Make sure to empty out the fuel in all your power tools and equipment and properly dispose of it. When moving your grill be sure to remove the charcoal and propane tank first.
Other items that movers can’t move include paint, aerosol cans, and car batteries. Gardening items that movers can’t pack include pesticides, herbicides, plants, soil, and fertilizer. In addition, movers aren’t able to pack many cleaning supplies including liquid bleach or cleaning solvents.
Clean Items Before Packing
Before packing your items away, it’s best to clean them first. You don’t have to give every item a deep clean. But at the very least, you’ll want to wipe items down with a damp towel. That way you can avoid bringing any dirt or dust to your new home. If there are any fridges or freezers in your garage, be sure to empty them out and clean them. Defrost and dry them before moving.
Pack Up All Your Tools
After you empty out all power tools of fuel, they are safe to pack away. If you have the original boxes your tools came in, it’s best to use them. Disassemble all chords and batteries, but keep them in the same box to stay organized.
If your hand tools are in a toolbox, you can keep them there. Make sure the box is locked shut or wrap it up. Plastic storage containers are wonderful for storing any loose tools. Tools are usually too heavy to store in cardboard boxes. If you have any loose garden tools, be sure to wrap them up for safety. When packing large garden tools, keep them bundled together. You can tie them together with rope or wrap them in a large moving blanket.
Label Your Boxes
Just like we recommend labeling all your moving boxes based on rooms, we recommend labeling your garage boxes “Garage”. That way you can bring these boxes straight to the garage. We also recommend writing the contents of each box for easy organization.
Hire A White Glove Moving Company
We hope you’ve found these tips on how to pack your garage useful. If you’d rather hand off this tedious task to the professionals, consider hiring a white glove moving company like Megan’s Moving. Our top-rated moving company offers full-service moves so you can focus on the excitement of moving into your new home. Request a quote for your full-service move today!