Packing up a household is hard enough, but if you don’t pack your moving truck effectively, your belongings might not all fit. Moreover, nothing worse than having to make a second trip when you thought you only needed one! The following tips, however, can help you pack your moving truck to make the best use of all the possible space.

When in Doubt, Get the Bigger Truck

First, you’ll need to rent a moving truck. You should do this well in advance to secure the type of truck you need on the day you need it. It’s always better to pay a bit more and secure a big enough truck, especially if you’re not sure if the smaller model will accommodate all your items.

Pack the Heaviest Items First

Be sure that you move the heaviest items into the moving truck first, such as your washing machine and dryer and refrigerator. Also, you’ll want to make sure you keep the truck balanced so don’t stack all your heavy items on one side. To avoid scuffs and scratches, you can wrap your refrigerator and other items with blankets to protect their surfaces.

Go Long

Once the heavy items are in place, you can add long items like mattresses and couches. You can use heavy boxes to ensure that your mattress and box spring remains upright during the move.

Heavy boxes

You’ll want to move your heaviest boxes next as they’ll make a good support for lighter boxes. Take care to push these boxes in between your heavy appliances or in any open gaps to make use of all the space in the truck.

Light Boxes

Once the heavy materials are moved, you can transfer the light bins and boxes to place atop the items already placed in the truck. Be sure that any boxes labeled as fragile are stored where they won’t be jostled or crushed should the load shift. In fact, you might want to transport fragile items separately.

By following these tips, you can pack your moving truck more effectively than if you just stuff items in any which way. You’ll also fit more in your truck when you take care to pack in accordance with this plan.

Sources

1. TruckPlease, https://www.truckplease.com/

2. About Home, “How to Pack and Load the Moving Truck,” http://moving.about.com/od/movingityourself/a/loading_truck.htm