Packing clothes for moving can represent many issues, and many people have trouble with this so knowing How to store clothes for moving? will make your clothes packing much easier and allow you to avoid unexpected problems.
In this article, we would like to give you some tips and advice that you can apply to make your clothes packing go as smoothly as possible during your move.
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1. Ways to pack clothes for moving
Things to do before packing your clothes
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Assess your closet
Facing the question of How to store clothes for moving, many people don’t know what they should do in the beginning.
The first step of the process is to assess your closet in order to have an entire picture of what you actually own.
Having a good look at your clothing, shoes, hats, bags and other accessories will allow you to make a decision on which items are worth packing and which items are out of use before packing clothes for moving.
One way to fully assess your closet is by hanging all clothes on hangers in front of you or taking folded clothes out of drawers and placing them on your bed.
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Decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to sell
After carefully assessing your closet, you should divide everything into three piles: keep, donate, and sell.
What to keep is not an easy question so you should better ask yourself several questions: When was the last time you wear this item?
Is the item still fashionable?
Does it fit you properly?
Is it still in good condition?
If you answer these questions, you will know whether to keep, sell, or donate these items, and the process of packing clothes for moving will be much easier.
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Donate gently-used closet items
After classifying your clothes, you may begin with donating gently-used closet items such as shoes, accessories, and so on in your donation pile to the nearest charity organizations.
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Sell closet items that are still trendy or in style
By selling items that are still fashionable or in use on the online platform, you can easily make a little extra money on your clothing items.
There are a lot of popular websites or online marketplaces for you to sell these items.
Another great way to sell your used household goods and clothing are hosting a yard sale.
Additionally, you can sell your used clothing at local consignment stores which would handle everything from pricing the item to selling it.
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Store sentimental closet items
Although there are some clothing items that you might not use on a daily basis, you’d still prefer keeping them in your possession to selling or donating them because they remind you of something important or memorable.
Therefore, you should try storing them in a self-storage unit.
You can visit com’s Storage Center to compare quotes from storage unit facilities near your new home for a safe, secure, and climate-controlled storage unit.
This is a smart solution to store clothes without moving.
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Wash or dry-clean clothing
It is important for you to wash your hanging clothes and folding clothes before packing your clothes for moving.
Otherwise, packing dirty clothes with clean clothes will make all of your clothes stinky, which would result in plenty of mildew problems.
Therefore, you should make sure that everything is properly washed and dried prior to packing.
2. Clothing packing methods and moving supplies
The first step of the process is purging your closet of unused and unnecessary clothing items.
After deciding what to keep, you’ll need to start planning to know how to pack clothes for moving or how to store clothes for moving.
The first thing you can prepare for the move is gathering necessary closet moving supplies such as clothes moving boxes, clothes hanging moving boxes, and so on.
Below are the main items you may consider when packing clothes for a move.
- Cardboard boxes – You can use these boxes for packing folded clothing. Fortunately, they are available everywhere so you can find them on online stores or in marketplaces, big box stores, and local recycling centers where there’s no shortage of cardboard boxes.
- Wardrobe boxes – Wardrobe boxes which are a kind of clothes hanging moving boxes will be so useful when packing clothes that are easy to wrinkle. You can easily find these specialty moving boxes on Amazon.com and in Lowe’s stores.
- Suitcases – Suitcases are not only convenient but also low-cost for you to pack folded clothing, shoes, and more. We highly recommend using suitcases during your next move in case you already have them.
- Duffel bags – Do you already possess duffel bags? These small clothes moving bags are extremely excellent to pack folded clothes and shoes. And remember to have your clothes rolled when using duffel bags to move.
- Vacuum or compression bags – You can vacuum seal clothes for moving in order to condense clothing items without being affected by the elements. Luckily, you can purchase vacuum and compression bags from a number of stores.
Other moving supplies that you should better have when packing and moving clothing items include garment bags, packing paper, hat boxes, plastic bins, shoe boxes, and clothes rail.
Apart from using the right supplies, you can follow 5 more packing methods and tips below for prepping for the move.
- Keep clothing on hangers
- Have folded clothes kept in dresser drawers
- Line suitcases and cardboard boxes with packing paper
- Reuse old shoeboxes
- Protect the jewelry with plastic baggies
3. How to categorize your clothes
The next step is sorting through all the clothes you plan to move after you have already gathered moving supplies and strategized packing methods.
This will help keep everything as organized as possible throughout the move.
You can use one of these four categories to sort through your clothes before packing clothes for moving.
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Sort by material
Have you tried sorting your clothes by material?
There are several different material categories, including cotton items, silk items, linen items, denim items, wool items, cashmere items, etc.
Try this way and you will find it much easier to make doing laundry in the future.
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Sort by season
Sorting clothes by season is an efficient way to help you stay organized during a move, and prevent clutter from accumulating after the move.
For instance, in the case of the summer, you’ll only need to unpack summer weather garments while winter, spring, and fall clothing can remain packed inside boxes and possibly stored inside a storage unit, which will keep your closet clutter-free in the future.
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Sort by pieces
Another way you can try is sorting your closet by pieces.
In specific, you would pack pants with pants, shirts with shirts, shorts with shorts, and so on.
In this way, it will be easier for you to find certain clothing pieces and you will also find the unpacking process much more efficient.
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Keep everything separated for each person
In case of your moving with a family, it’s important to keep everyone’s closet items separate.
This allows every member of the family to have their own labeled boxes and supplies.
In addition, sorting by a person will make the process of packing as well as unpacking easier for everyone.
Besides, this way gives responsibility for the individual to store clothes for moving together.
4. How to pack clothes in wardrobe boxes
Of tips for moving clothes on hangers, using wardrobe boxes or clothes hanging moving boxes may be the best option if you want to look for the easiest, wrinkle-free way to transport your hanging clothes.
These cardboard boxes which are small and portable are specifically designed to hang your dresses, skirts, pants, and other hanging clothes when moving.
Each box is two feet wide and 3 feet long, and there is a built-in metal hanger bar inside the boxes, which is perfect for clothes on a hanger.
Although the cost of these boxes tends to be higher than your average, run of the mill box (think: anywhere from $20 to $50), it is so worthy to possess them when transporting high-end clothing.
Here’s a quick direction on how to assemble clothes hanging moving boxes.
- The process begins withholding the box bottom side up. Next, fold the short flaps down first, followed by the larger flaps. And secure the cardboard flaps with packing tape. Next, have the box flipped over so that the top flaps are open at the top and the bottom is now on the floor.
- Keep the ends of the hanger bar secured inside the cutouts located on the top crease of the box. The hanger bar should pop right into these cutouts without a problem.
- After securing the hanger bar to the box, you can begin hanging your clothes inside the wardrobe box. Make sure that each hanger bar should be capable of hanging eight or more pieces of clothing on hangers.
- Close the two longer flaps on top after you have finished hanging your clothes inside the box. You should have these pieces cut out in the middle.
- Next, take the two shorter flaps and have the outside edges bent down (these should be cut out). As soon as you close these flaps on top of the box, the best pieces should fit perfectly into the middle center cut out. Secure the last top piece with packing tape.
5. Approaches to move and store hanging clothes
It is common that you have a lot of hanging clothes to move such as dresses, pants, blouses, and collared shirts, and don’t know how to store these clothes for moving.
Therefore having at least two or more racks of hanging clothing in your closets is very important.
Don’t worry about how to move these clothes efficiently because there are a number of hacks for moving clothes on hangers to help you.
Below are five easy tips for moving clothes on hangers to your new home.
Tip 1:
The first simple way is to use a clothes rack for moving that you can easily find and assemble to move clothes. You just need to buy a portable clothing rack or a clothes rail.
Additionally, it would be better if these clothing racks also come with wheels attached to make maneuvering in and out of the home.
Tip 2:
Besides clothing racks or clothes rails, you can use clothes moving bags to protect clothing because when moving hanging clothes, they are more likely to get dirty or damaged.
Using clothes moving bags when transporting clothes from one home to another can prevent them from such damage. You can find these bags affordable from $10 to $40 or there are always available, plastic garment bags at the local dry cleaners for you to choose.
Tip 3:
We cannot deny that wardrobe boxes or clothes hanging moving boxes would be a good choice to deal with hanging clothes.
Though its price is higher than the clothes moving bag or trash bag, these boxes for moving clothes on hangers are specifically designed to transport hanging clothes.
In specific, the hanger bar allows for hanging any type of clothing inside, while the clothes are protected from the factors by the corrugated cardboard box.
Tip 4:
A simple cardboard box can be used for packing hanging clothes for moving. You can consider a plain old cardboard box in case you’re in a hurry to move and don’t mind a few wrinkles on your clothes once you arrive at the new home.
Some easy steps you just need to do is to take the clothing off the hangers, fold everything neatly, and place them inside.
If you are looking for a low-budget way to move your hanging clothing, large, drawstring trash bags may surprise you because this DIY option is an efficient way to save money, and successfully move all of your hanging clothes.
The first step begins with packing hanging clothes for moving inside of a trash bag, slip them inside while holding onto the hangers, and tighten the drawstrings around the hanger hooks.
***Remember to make sure to tie and secure the hooks together outside the bag.
You also consider cutting a small hole at the bottom of the trash bag and placing the clothing inside with the hangers towards the bottom of the bag.
Use a rubber band or string to tie and secure the hanger hooks when they are through the hole at the bottom of the bag.
Next, tie the drawstrings at the top to keep everything together.
You can check out this video below for a better understanding of how to move your hanging clothes with a trash bag.
6. Basic moving tips
Last but not least, these all-important basics would be so useful for you when packing clothes for moving.
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Calculate how many boxes you’re going to need before purchasing them
To figure this out, you can try Moving.com’s packing calculator which is free and easy for you to estimate exactly the number of clothes moving boxes that you may need during the move.
All you have to do is to spend time answering several questions, and the number of clothes moving boxes and packing supplies needed will be estimated.
There are also amazing tools that you can check out such as our move planner, moving cost calculator, and other helpful moving tools to assist with all of your moving needs.
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One important thing is that trash bag drawstrings are tied securely
Otherwise, the piece of clothing will fall off the hanger and out of the bag – yikes.
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Clean clothes before and after moving
One important thing you should do before storing or packing clothes for moving is to spend time cleaning your clothes carefully if you want to prevent musty smells from pervading your future closet.
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Don’t pick up more than you can handle
As you are in a hurry or just want everything to be done as quickly as possible, you try to put all those shoes, shirts, and pants into one heavy box.
As a result, no matter how you try, you will get troubles to move more than you can handle by yourself. Therefore, you can ask a friend or family member to help you with heavy wardrobe boxes, dressers, and boxes full of shoes.
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Don’t overstuff your boxes
One problem arising when packing clothes is that you may overstuff your clothes by hanging moving boxes and regular boxes with items, which will only damage your boxes and make them harder to carry.
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Secure each box with packing tape and label clearly
By securing each box with packing tape on both sides and labeling boxes clearly with a sharpie or color-coded label, you can find it easier to find your clothes after you move.
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Carry valuable clothing items with you
You should consider taking valuable clothing items, such as those with sentimental or monetary value, with you to ensure that nothing happens to them when you want to hire professional movers.
You must consider perfect preparation to store clothes for moving.
7. The Minimalist Move: Way for a lighter load before packing
Minimalism is the notion that you just keep the things bringing noticeable value to your life and get rid of everything that doesn’t. In other words, you can live well with less, which doesn’t mean living in a bare, stark white room without color and personality.
A frequent mover could learn how to pack clothes for moving from this minimalist trend. So why don’t you take this time to consider what you own and then decide to toss the things that no longer serve a purpose for you?
Here’s how to pack clothes for moving by grasping the minimalist move to make your entire moving process easier.
7.1 Come up with a plan of attack
The minimalist move is all about decluttering so if you haven’t done it before, it will take you a lot of time to handle when packing clothes for moving.
In the decluttering plan, you should ask yourself two main questions: one, what types of things you’re going to be getting rid of, and two, what you’re going to deal with them.
For instance, some items like furniture require you to plan more detail.
In specific, if you intend to donate them, you’ll have to know what sorts of items you’ll be disposing of and decide on your options for how to do so.
You should consider some categories of the stuff below before packing clothes for moving:
- Furniture
- Clothing
- Papers
- Books
- Toys
- Kitchen items
- Décor
- Holiday decorations
- Outdoor gear
- Gadgets
The amount of time of this decluttering process will depend on your home size, how much stuff you own, and how long it’s been since you’ve sorted through all of these things.
Planning ahead will allow you to make a decision on what needs to be done and ways to tackle your minimalist move in the most efficient way.
7.2 Start sorting
Knowing how to store clothes for moving in the style of minimalism is not easy at all.
After finishing the first step, you have to move to the next step of sorting.
You can start working anywhere in your house, just pick a room, a drawer, or a category of items and get to work.
Each item that you decide not to keep will be sorted into one of three piles:
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Donation pile
You can donate new or gently used items that someone else may need.
However, you should consider carefully how and what you will donate.
You can check out some places like schools, libraries, community centers, animal shelters, and non-profit organizations and give suitable items to these places.
A site that may help to list items for donation that local organizations can request and come pick up is Zealous Good.
Another way is making some calls by yourself and asking if a particular organization is interested in what you have.
This not only is a meaningful job but also reduces the quantity to store clothes for moving.
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Recycle pile
Some items such as papers, glass, and plastics are obvious to be sorted into this pile, but you also should take things like batteries and electronics, appliances, and even crayons into account because they can be recycled at some particular places.
Check out Earth911 for tips on how to recycle hundreds of different materials.
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Trash pile.
For items that you can’t, either repurpose or recycle, and you no longer want to keep so just throw them away.
However, you should try your best to choose things that you can donate and recycle before ending up with too much going to the landfill.
You can make additional piles if you need as well as choose sites you’re planning on donating to and/or recycling at.
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Follow the general rules of decluttering
The next step of the process of packing clothes for moving in minimalist style is saying goodbye to things that you’ve carried with you for a long time, which may be one of the most difficult parts that a minimalist may face when packing clothes or items for moving.
However, something in your possession for years may have no value.
The following guidelines below will allow you to speed up the decluttering process and figure out what really matters to you.
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Don’t keep an item just because you think you should.
No guilt can be found in minimalism.
For example, you’re keeping a pair of shoes that your uncle gave you on your birthday a few years ago just because you are afraid that you will hurt his feelings, let it go.
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Don’t keep an item that causes you misery.
Everything you own should give you positive energy every day so don’t hold on to things that make you distress, and remind you of failed relationships or clothing that you want to fit into but can’t.
You should throw those sorts of items away because a happy life cannot have negative energy.
That is the reason why everyone advises that we should store clothes for moving and enjoy your freedom.
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Don’t keep an item you haven’t used in a year and don’t plan to use it in a year.
The 90/90 rule that many ultra-minimalists always remember is that if you haven’t used an item in 90 days and don’t plan to use it in the next 90 days, get rid of it.
Not to be so extreme, we can consider a year as a good marker to go by.
For clothing, just follow the first: if you haven’t worn it in a year so don’t mind tossing it.
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Don’t keep an item you wouldn’t buy again.
It is such a waste of resources to keep an item that doesn’t serve a useful purpose in your life, and you even don’t want to buy it again.
This is because sometimes we just get some stuff without really thinking about whether we need it or not.
So be careful and think about it before buying anything.
7.3 Consider temporary storage
An effective way that minimalists often take when packing clothes for moving in case they will find it hard to get rid of items that you know you don’t need but can’t also keep them is getting rid of those sorts of things temporarily.
And you will see how things go while knowing that you still have the chance to get them back.
As time goes by, you’ll soon realize that you don’t actually miss them all that much.
Considering temporary storage is particularly perfect for sentimental items such as childhood stuffed animals and books, or gifts from other people.
You can practice storing these sorts of items by setting aside a box and setting them in there for temporary storage.
Instead of renting a storage unit or bring the box into your new home either, you can ask a friend for a space to store it with them for a couple of months or just keep it in the trunk of your car.
And one important thing to remember: saying goodbye to these things is different from destroying them.
Until you realize that their absence is nothing, you can donate the items to people who can appreciate them as a way to give them new life and new purpose.
7.4 Set goals
The final step of the process of packing clothes for moving in minimalism trend is trying to really set your mind to items that could help you find a way to justify keeping just about anything.
The process begins with setting some firm goals for how much you want to get rid of and then stick to them as well as helps keep yourself accountable. You can set goals by item or by amount.
For example, you can get rid of a third of your clothes or fill up one extra-large box with donations.
Setting goals is like a game more than a chore, with the reward for achieving your objective that you have fewer things surrounding you.
A minimalist move doesn’t mean you have to throw all things away.
If it’s too overwhelming for you to think about decluttering your items or to assess your items so extensively when packing clothes for moving, you can try doing just a little bit, which may make a difference in the future.
Simply having less stuff could be beneficial and gives you easier, less stressful moves.
So don’t hesitate to try the minimalist move trend and find out just how much you can gain when you lose your stuff.
Conclusion
Figuring out How to store clothes for moving from one place to another may be one of the biggest pains that many people are facing. And if you are in the same problem, we hope that with a little organization and some useful tips we mentioned you will know how to store clothes for moving like a pro.
Further Reading:
- How To Make Pipe Clothing Rack
- DIY: Rolling Clothes Rack
- Clothes Hanging Rack For Laundry Room
- Baby Clothes Storage Ideas For Small Spaces
Tags: garbage bags, moving day, moving truck, save space, start packing
