Let’s get moving

Two of my friends recently moved—one from condo to condo, the other from condo to house. The moves were only within metro Honolulu, but it’s still a huge effort, no matter how far you’re moving.

In preparation for their moves, we did some research to make sure we were doing it right, and found some tips from Sears.com.

If you have so much stuff that you have to get a moving truck, think of it as being in three sections, from the front near the cab to the back doors. Fill every possible space in a section before starting to fill the next one.

In the front:

• The heaviest pieces go on first, because having the most weight near the cab makes the truck more stable.
• Place appliances against the front wall of the truck, and near the center (as opposed to the left or right of the cab). Make sure each appliance has protective padding so they don’t get scratched, then make sure they are all fit snugly with padding in between.
• Remove cushions from sofas and chairs and put them in plastic garbage bags to keep them clean. These can be used for protective padding, as well.
• Rectangular pieces such as dressers and large boxes go on the bottom; medium boxes and somewhat irregularly shaped items such as chairs go on top of them, and small boxes and loose items go on the very top. Pack all the way to the ceiling.
• Pack small and odd-shaped items into every available space that remains between larger pieces to make the load tight so it doesn’t shift.
• In the space that remains on the front wall, load large boxy pieces such as entertainment centers and dressers.
• Load mattresses and box springs on their sides—not on end—against the wall, touching the sofas.

In the middle section of the moving truck, put heavy boxes on the bottom and lighter boxes above them. Fill in the gaps with small items and/or any other padding items that are left.

Load the final section closest to the door with remaining boxes and unusually shaped items such as the lawn mower, trash cans, bikes anything else that doesn’t fit into the other sections.

Obviously, every move is different, so these are just basic guidelines. To get more moving tips, you can also check out Sears.com.