Safeload Coverage
Packing for a move can feel daunting. With so many household items to pack, it can be easy to forget about your clothing.
Although clothes aren’t as fragile or heavy as some other items in your house, packing clothes for moving is tougher than you think. It takes strategy, the right supplies, and some patience.
Luckly, as the moving and packing experts, Moving Help® created this guide that outlines the best way to pack clothes for moving in five easy steps.
1. Declutter and Organize
Whether you’re a fashionista with a closet full of outfits or a full-on minimalist with only the essentials, your first task is to declutter your wardrobe. Not only will this make packing easier, but it’ll also help you unpack and settle into your new home faster.
The best way to declutter is to separate your clothing into three categories:
- Keep: Clothing that you know you’ll wear again in the near future.
- Donate: Clothing in good condition that you haven’t worn in a year or more.
- Discard: Clothing that is tattered, falling apart, or otherwise unwearable.
With your clothing sorted, you can organize the items in your ‘keep’ pile by season or type of clothing to pack even more efficiently.
You also should clean your clothing as needed to prevent bad odors, dust, and mildew from making the trip to your new home.
2. Gather Boxes and Clothes Packing Supplies
As tempting as it may be to throw your clothes in some trash bags and laundry baskets and call it “packing,” you’ll be better off using moving boxes and packing supplies. Using moving boxes keeps your items safer from damage and makes it easier to stack your clothing in the moving truck rental for a more efficient move.
Here are the packing supplies we recommend:
Use moving boxes for anything that folds; large moving boxes are best for lightweight articles of clothing like undergarments, socks, T-shirts, and pajamas, and medium moving boxes are best for heavier types of clothing like denim, pants, and sweaters.
Fold your clothing to maximize space in the boxes (more on that later).
Don’t Forget Moving Box Alternatives
Moving boxes are great, but don’t forget to make use of packing alternatives like suitcases, duffel bags, gym bags, backpacks, and other containers that are specifically designed for clothing. These items can be used for packing shoes, belts, hats, and other accessories that might not fit well into a moving box.
3. Choose a Folding Method for Folded Clothes
Not all folds are created equally. How you fold your clothing can positively help or negatively hurt the amount of space you have in your moving boxes, so be sure to fold your clothing correctly.
Here are three common types of folds:
Military Fold
The military fold — also called the ranger roll — is one of the best methods for folding clothes to save space.
Try it with soft, lightweight items.
For shirts, start by laying the shirt flat, then fold the bottom couple inches of the shirt inside-out. Fold the left side over about a third of the way, then fold the left sleeve back onto itself. Fold the right side over the left side and fold the right sleeve back onto itself. Finally, roll the shirt up as tight as possible, starting from the collar, to make it look like a burrito.
For pants, lay them flat, then roll the waistband over the top a couple of inches. Fold one leg over, smooth out wrinkles, then roll the pants up tightly from the top to the bottom.
Flat Fold
A flat fold is a common type of fold used for T-shirts, jeans, sweaters, and other clothes you would keep in a dresser. You probably already do a flat fold when you put away your laundry-on-laundry day.
To do a flat fold with T-shirts, fold both sleeves inward, then fold the bottom up either in seconds or thirds. To flat fold pants, fold one leg over the other, then fold them into thirds. Be sure to smooth out wrinkles as you go.
KonMari Fold
The KonMari Fold, made famous by legendary organization guru Marie Kondo, is useful for folding T-Shirts and other lightweight garments.
Start by folding one side of the garment to the middle. Then, fold the other side the same way. Be sure the sleeves are neatly folded over, and you’re smoothing out the wrinkles. You’ll then fold the shirt in half lengthwise, then fold the shirt in thirds.
When packing folded clothing into moving boxes, be sure to pack lightweight items in large boxes and the denser items in medium boxes and always pack from heaviest to lightest.
4. Keep Hanging Clothes on Hangers
Not all clothes need to be folded. In fact, you’ll save plenty of time and keep your clothes in pristine condition when you keep your hanging clothes on hangers using wardrobe boxes.
U-Haul has four wardrobe boxes:
- Large Wardrobe Box: Great for dresses, jackets, and long hanging clothes.
- Medium Wardrobe Box: Great for dress shirts, dress pants, and sweaters.
- Small Wardrobe Box: Great for T-shirts, shorts, blouses, and sport coats.
- Laydown Wardrobe Box: Great for shoes, linens, and other non-hanging items.
Wardrobe boxes come with a metal handing bar, so you can effortlessly transfer clothes from your closet right to the box for safe keeping. All you have to do is seal the box using box tape and your hanging clothes are ready to move!
5. Save Space With Vacuum Sealing
To save space and truly maximize your efficiency, try vacuum-sealing your bulkier clothes before packing them in a box. Not only does vacuum-sealing greatly increase your space, it’s also effective for protecting delicate clothes from dust and debris during a move.
Learn more about vacuum-sealing clothing for storage.
Bonus Tips for Packing Clothes for Moving
- Keep a change of clothes or two unpacked so you have a clean outfit on hand.
- Consider keeping some clean socks unpacked to use them as padding for fragile items.
- Even though clothes are light, don’t overpack your boxes with too much weight.
- Line your moving boxes with packing paper for protection from moisture.
- Hire Moving Help for packing and unpacking assistance to make the packing process go faster.
- Use the bottom of wardrobe boxes for shoes and folded linens.
Move Your Closet With Moving Help
Ready to get moving? With your closet packed, you can book labor-only movers from the Moving Help Marketplace to load and unload your wardrobe for a faster, hands-off move.
Since 2002, Moving Help has been the go-to choice for DIY movers who want to save time moving. Book Moving Help today.
