How to Pack a Living Room

When discussing with our moving expert how to pack living room he offered a number of interesting bits of advice that we hadn’t thought of beforehand. What he said in regards to how to pack living room is that it is not a particularly difficult room to pack, yet most people avoid the packing of this room because they believe it is going to take them a while to accomplish. They look at their living or family room and see the TV, the couches, DVDs, books and whatever else they may have in there and they think that the task at hand is going to be a strenuous one. However, when you look at the living room compared to a room like the bedroom, you begin to see that there really isn’t that much that needs to be packed.

For the most part the items in the living or family room are large pieces of furniture and while there are usually some little trinkets and items like the aforementioned, there isn’t really that much that will need packing. Something else that causes the living room to appear to have more in it then there really is the fact that most people spend a considerable amount of time in their living room and so, therefore, it is prone to clutter. If you clean up your living room before you begin the packing process you will begin to see that there isn’t much that needs to be done and the job will seem all the more palatable.

How to Pack Living Room

Like we stated above, something that was reiterated by the moving professional, is that the first thing that you will need to do when you begin packing up your living room is to first take anything out of the room that doesn’t belong there. For instance, if you have children and they leave their toys in the living room you should begin by taking these items to their respective rooms so that they can be packed accordingly. Similarly, if you have a number of magazines in your living room and you realize that you don’t need them any longer, you should remove them from the living room and use them as packing material for the boxes that you are going to be packing.

Once you have removed all of the items from this room that do not belong there you will be able to have a much better idea of what your packing situation truly looks like. For the purposes of this how-to pack living room guide the cleaning up of the living room can occur at any time and does not necessarily need to happen the same day you are packing. In fact, we suggest that you begin the decluttering process a week or so before the actual packing so that the items that are removed can be in their proper place and packed where they belong.

When it comes to the actual timeline of when you should pack your living room this is debatable. On the one hand most people usually spend a considerable amount of time in their living room and so if it is entirely packed up a few weeks before the move then it will be inaccessible and will cause disruption to your routine and life. As we have talked about in other parts of this guide, living in a space that is half packed for any considerable period of time can cause anxiety and so you really want to time your packing right. With that said you cannot wait until the last minute to pack up every room in your home, so after you get done packing the basement, dining room and closets, you should then turn your focus towards the living room.

Sorting and Inventorying Your Living Room

Depending on what you actually have in your living will dictate how the sorting and inventorying process goes. For those individuals who simply have a TV, entertainment center, a few couches and a coffee table you will not have much packing up to do. However, if you have bookshelves filled with books or movies then packing up your living room is going to take a little bit longer.

Later on in this how-to pack living room guide, we will discuss some general packing rules for the living room, but when it comes to sorting and inventorying you want to make sure that you keep like items with like items so that they can be easily packed and unpacked. For instance, you will want to keep all of your trinkets together and the same can be said about books, movies, electronics, and lamps. Once you are done making a full inventory of everything that you have in the room and everything that will need to be packed, you can then move onto the part of the how-to pack living room guide that discusses some general tips for packing.

Tips for Packing Up Your Living Room

When we talked to our professional mover about our how to pack living room guide he gave us a lot of practical advice for the best way to go about achieving a successful living room move.

The first thing that he suggested was that you only use the sturdiest boxes for items like books and movies. The reason for this is that even though these items are small, the boxes that they are packed in usually get pretty heavy. You don’t want to have the box come apart when you are moving it in and out of the truck, so make sure that it is taped enough on the bottom.

When it comes to packing items like lamps the moving professional suggested that you take them apart before you move them. Often times individuals will want to move the lamp as a whole, especially if the lamp is one of the popular ones from places like Target or Walmart, but it is best to disassemble the lamp before moving it and be sure to remove any light bulbs as well.

For electronic items you will want to keep them all together in similar boxes and if you take the cables and cords out of them be sure to put a label around them stating where they go to. There is nothing worse then going to unpack your electronics only to realize that you don’t know which cables go to which item. When it comes to moving your TV if you are having a moving company move your stuff then let them handle this. However, if you are performing the move yourself then your best bet is to put the television in your car and transport it to your new home this way.

Lastly, if you have mirrors or other items that contain glass then you will want to consult with a professional mover as to the best way to pack these up. Often times they will have specific moving blankets that can go over these items that will ensure that they do not break during transport. Attempting to pack and move these items on your own, especially if they are expensive, could result in them breaking, so be sure to ask for professional help and guidance.