Packing Tips - How to Pack a Home Office
Packing a home office can be time consuming particularly if you have a lot of files, and/or you have lived in your home a long time.
The biggest thing that people accumulate in a home office over time are books, magazines and paper. In many people's home offices old papers are put into file bins and grow larger and larger each year. Some of this paper needs to be saved, such as old tax records, but most of it does not. Throw out all papers that you don't need before you even start packing your home office.
- Donating books to a library and recycling old paper like coupons that are 10 years old will feel great.
Moving is a wonderful time to really organize your home office before you move. After all, there is no point in moving items that you no longer need. This will not only decrease the cost of your move, but it will make moving into our new home office a breeze.
The two main moving boxes that you use to pack your home office are the following:
1. All Purpose Moving Box
2. The Optional Office File Moving Box
To learn how to pack a specific item in your bedroom, click one of the tabs below.
When moving and packing books, there are only a few important things to remember. The most important thing to remember about moving and packing books, is although one book is not heavy, several books together inside of a moving box can quickly and easily become too heavy to carry. Therefore, always pack your boxes inside of the All Purpose Moving box. This moving box is designed for books and will be difficult to over pack.
Book packing guidelines
1. If you are moving out of state, make sure you carefully review which books you want to pack and keep, and which ones you could donate or sell at a garage sale. The reason is, when moving out of state you are charged by the weight. Books are heavy, which will increase the cost of your move.
2. Even if you are moving locally, sorting through your books to decide which ones you want to keep is still a good idea. You don’t want to pay movers by the hour for books you don’t want.
3. Stand books upright vertically in the moving box, with the spine next to the side of the box snugly fitting.
4. Be careful about placing books inside of a storage unit that does not have temperature controls. Books can be damaged if they are too dry or too moist.
5. Always pack books in the All Purpose Moving Box. This box is designed not to get too heavy and is ideal for packing books which can get heavy.
6. Alternate packing heavy books and lightweight books in each moving box. The light books and the heavy books together will provide stability and prevent against the moving box becoming too heavy.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that you always pack and transport your photo albums yourself, versus having them shipped. Pictures are priceless and can not be replaced if damaged.
General Guidelines when packing photo albums
1. Do not place photo albums in any type of storage unit if you can avoid. Even slight temperature changes can damage photo albums.
2. Always use the All Purpose Moving Box, as it is designed for packing books and packing photo albums. The All Purpose Moving Box is small, yet deep enabling you to easily fit your photo albums, without your box getting too heavy to lift.
3. Place photo albums on their side, lining them up next to each other.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that you pack binders inside of the All Purpose Moving Box. This box is smaller in size so if your binders are full with paper they won’t get too heavy, yet these moving boxes are also deep so you can place your binders upright inside of your moving box.
General Guidelines when packing binders
1. Crumple newspaper on the top of binders before you close your moving box. This helps provides added strength for the moving box, further protecting your binders.
2. Place binders upright, lining them up next to each other.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that you pack CDs/DVD's in the All Purpose Moving Box. If you have a CD holder that circulates, often the CD/DVD entire stand will fit inside of the All Purpose Moving Box as it is a deep moving box.
If you do pack an entire CD stand inside of a box, make sure you tape around the CDS so they do not fall out. Wrap packing paper around the CD case and fill with crumpled newspaper or clothes until the moving box is completely filled and supported with padding.
Write FRAGILE on your moving boxes, as CDS are delicate and need extra care when moving. Always store CDs/DVD's out of direct sunlight and far away from any heat sources. Heat can cause damage to CDs.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that when packing office supplies in your home office like tape, scissors, paperclips, pens, calculators, high lighters and other small items, you use the All Purpose Moving Box.
Office Supply Packing Tips
1. If you are packing printer paper and other tablets, place these items on the bottom of the All Purpose Moving Box. They are heavy and are ideal to line the bottom of the All Purpose Moving Box to fill up the box to maintain it’s maximum strength.
2. If your home office has a plastic holder that separates your office supplies in a drawer such as scissors, tape, calculator, paperclips, often you can remove this entire divider and place inside of your moving box. Ideally place this divider on top of the paper that you have lining the bottom of the moving box. Simply wrap your office supply divider with packing paper or newspaper so you will be able to layer other lightweight items, such as unused pens sealed in bags, on top.
3. Place any tacks or paperclips in a sealed bag so they don’t spill all over your moving box.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that when packing a computer or packing a laptop, that you always use the manufactures box and packing supplies that your computer was initially packed in.
Computer Packing Tips
1. Backup all Files: Moving Box Delivery recommends that you “back up” your entire computer up on a disk or removable hard rive before you move. This includes backing up your financial records, documents and even your pictures and Itunes music. Although unlikely, things can get broken during a move, and there are some items that can not be replaced by insurance. The information on your computer is one of those irreplaceable items.
2. Label each cord for your computer with what it is and where it goes. What may seem obvious when you are taking it apart is not obvious when you are moving into your new home and all your appliances and electronics have cords. An easy quick tip for doing this is to place these cords in a plastic bag, and insert a piece of paper in the bag with it’s label.
3. Use the manufactures box: The manufactures box is the best choice of packing electronics like computers. However, if you no longer have this box, then the next best option is to use towels as protection.
Towels are wonderful supplies for padding computers inside the moving box. Place a few towels on the bottom and sides of the moving box. Keep filling the moving box with towels until your computer is completely padded and would not move. This same approach can be used for a monitor. You want the moving box to be completely filled and insulated as much as possible. Moving trucks are much bumpier then cars, so you want to insulate the box to protect.
4. Carefully pack cords: Place your mouse and cords inside of the moving box, not touching your computer. (Separated by a towel)
5. Place FRAGILE on the outside of the box.
6. If you can move your laptop yourself, Moving Box Delivery recommends that you move it using the laptop carrying case.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that when packing files, you spend some extra time with your files before you decide which items your are packing, which files you are putting in a “special safe box” and which ones you are discarding.
People can easily and quickly accumulate lots and lots of paper over time, paper that you don’t have to keep and move. This includes coupons from 10 years ago, receipts from 15 years ago, or old magazines that you have already read many years ago.
- When you are moving, it is an ideal time to go through your files and organize them BEFORE you start packing.
Office Supply Packing Tips
1. Any discarded files should be shredded. It is worth purchasing a shredder, as you will be discarding files that have all sorts of private information about you and your family on them.
2. Place all of your important documents into a moving box that you will move yourself if you can. This box should contain important files like birth certificates, social security cards, passports, marriage certificates, business licenses, mortgage papers, IDs and other important items that you would not want in another person’s hands.
3. If you can not move your important file box yourself, place towels around your important items and label FRAGILE. Seal this moving box shut and put them in the bedroom to move.
Very important: Never write “important documents” or ID information on the outside of the box.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that when packing a printer of fax machine, if possible, you always use the manufactures box and packing supplies that your computer was initially packed in.
Printer Packing Tips
1. Remove all of the trays and dividers and pack in the moving box separately. These items can easily get broken if left on the printer.
2. Take an old towel and wrap around your printer. This helps insulate your printer when it is riding inside of a bumpy moving truck.
3. Label each cord for your printer with what it is and where it goes. What may seem obvious when you are taking it apart is not obvious when you are moving into your new home and all your appliances and electronics have cords. An easy quick tip for doing this is to place these cords in a plastic bag, and insert a piece of paper in the bag with it’s label.
4. Place FRAGILE on the outside of the box.
Moving Box Delivery recommends that when packing printer paper or yellow lined paper tablets in your home office, that you use the All Purpose Moving Box. Remember, one piece of paper is light, several pieces of paper together quickly become heavy.
PAPER PACKING TIPS
1. If you are packing printer paper and other tablets, place these items on the bottom of the All Purpose Moving Box, filled half way up the moving box.
2. Never put printer paper on top of lightweight items.
3. If you have a lot of paper to move, fill half of your moving box with paper, and then put office supplies on top. This helps ensure that your moving box does not get too heavy, and also provides added protection for your office supplies like scissors, tape and calculators, which are difficult to fill a moving box up on their own.
4. If you have loose printer paper, place a file folder in the box, so the paper is tightly snug in the moving box. This will help prevent corners from being bent.