When moving home, many people tend to leave their garages, attics, or basements until last. This can often lead to things being forgotten, or you in a mad dash to get everything into a box before the movers arrive.

Most people underestimate the time it takes to pack up all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, often not realising how much they have hidden in these out-of-the-way areas.

Garages, in particular, are a real problem for people who are moving house.

They underestimate the time it takes to pack up all those tools, car equipment, and miscellaneous odds and ends that have been put there over time.

Don’t get caught out like so many other house movers, learn how to pack your garage up properly, without forgetting anything, stressing yourself out, or wearing yourself out physically.

Table of Contents

Sort your Garage Out Before Moving!

Before you begin packing anything, you should give your garage a really good sort out. The chances are, you don’t even know half of what you have in your garage until you start going through it.

It doesn’t make sense to pack everything in your garage, especially if you don’t remember what you’ve got in there. It also doesn’t make sense to take it all with you if you haven’t used it in several years – it’s obviously not crucial or essential.

Think about the amount of time you’ll waste packing things you’ll never need or use again, and the cost of moving several more boxes of stuff.

The thing with clearing out your garage is that it’s hard to know where to start. There often can be so much stuff, all piled on top of one another, that it seems impossible that there is actually a garage under there.

The trick is to tackle it methodically and logically, and you’ll notice a difference in no time at all.

Here are some helpful hints to get your garage spick and span:

Divide up the garage into different sections, but do it logically. For example, put everything car-related in one spot, all tools, and power tools in another, gardening equipment and machinery in a different spot. This will make it easier for you to see just what you’ve got in some sort of order.

Stick to one section at a time. It can be tempting to flit between the different sections as you spy different things, but try to resist temptation and work through each section methodically.

Have a designated spot for everything you want to keep. There will be some stuff that’s highly obvious such as things that you use often. Mark this pile very clearly, or you could risk throwing stuff out that you desperately wanted to keep!

Similarly, designate one spot for things you don’t want. This will be stuff that’s broken or no longer works, and very old things that you don’t, and haven’t used in a long time. Again, mark this spot clearly, you don’t want to accidentally pack a ten-year-old drill that no longer works!

This one’s up to you, but you can also designate a ‘maybe’ pile, for things you’re not sure about. Some people like to go back a day or two later and look at this pile with fresh eyes, so they’re able to make a decision. Some people don’t need a maybe pile, they’re ruthless in their decision-making and a maybe pile would just slow them down.

There is no right or wrong way to sort your garage out, all you need to do is make sure that you’re working through everything slowly and logically.

How To Pack Your Garage Up For Moving House

Once you’ve organised and sorted your garage out you should be left with two, maybe three piles – yes, no, and maybe. If you have a maybe pile, now is the time to look through it and decide on what stays and what goes. Now is the time for hard decision-making.

The no pile, you should work through methodically to decide what to do with it. Some things will obviously be for the bin, but there might be other things that could be donated to charity, or sold. Decide on this, pay a visit to your local tip or charity shop, and get rid of this pile completely!

Now you’ll (hopefully) be left with just your yes pile. Here you should try and keep things organised into their respective categories – garden equipment, tools, car bits, etc.

Get the Right Packing Equipment

You can’t start packing up anything if you have nothing to pack into, or with. Make sure you get plenty of boxes, packing paper, and tape too. Make sure that the supplies you’re buying are good quality, with nice, strong boxes to hold the heavy things often found in a garage.

Sometimes, the easiest way to get these supplies is direct from a moving company. They’ll know what the best equipment is for you, and you can often get a discount if you’re using this company as your movers too!

Don’t Pack Hazardous Materials

Most removal companies won’t move certain hazardous items. Most of the things that aren’t allowed are combustible and/or flammable. This means paint, oil, fuel, chemicals, car batteries, pesticides, etc.

All things that are often found in a garage. Check with your mover about what you’ll be allowed to take with you, and make sure you don’t pack anything that could jeopardize the move.

More Helpful Packing Tips

If you have a load of things that are too good for the bin, but you don’t want to donate to charity, you could always have a garage sale before you move. Another reason you shouldn’t leave packing up your garage until last – you won’t have time to do this. A garage sale is a great idea because you’ll get rid of what you don’t want, and make a little extra money too!

While packing up anything with small parts, you should keep all of these parts together in a small plastic bag, labelled with what the parts are. Many people often find that sticking this bag to the object the small parts belong to is helpful as well. Try and keep screws, nuts, and bolts for specific things together and clearly labelled. This will make life easier for you once you get to your new house.

Make sure to mark every bag and box with what’s inside it and the word ‘garage’ on it. That way, you know it’ll go to the right place, regardless of who’s moving it. Make sure you also write fragile on any boxes that contain delicate or breakable items. It’s best to write this on at least two sides of the box, as well as the top.

It’s also a good idea to keep a small box full of useful tools close at hand. Things like screwdrivers, nuts, bolts, and allen keys are all really useful to have when you’re packing and unpacking; so keeping them separate will save you loads of time and effort, trying to find something you’ve already packed.
You can keep this box away from the rest of the stuff in the garage, and label it accordingly, making it easier for you to find at a later date.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our article and find it helpful. For more house moving tips you can visit our blog section here. If you have any queries about your house removal or simply want an estimate, please get in touch with Curtiss & Sons by calling 023 9298 5830, our friendly team is here to help you.