If you have a family full of readers, books can be one of the hardest things in the house to pack--not because the packing process itself is hard (open boxes, add books, seal when done), but because the books themselves are heavy! Most of the time, you do your best to pick up smaller boxes for your books and other heavy items, but when you get down to the end of the packing process, sometimes, you pack into what you have. Not only that, if you have several family members scattering books across the house, you may find that they're located all over the house instead of being in one place--even if that's where they're supposed to be. Thankfully, there are a few ways that you can make packing up your books a little easier.
Gather all of your books up before you start. Go through the house and look under beds, under couches, on bedside tables...all the places where books might be languishing after you or one of your kids has finished them. Get them all in one place before you start so that you don't find yourself cramming them into a box at random later.
Pack your bookshelves first. These are items that you're unlikely to need during the moving process (you can keep out a few favorites for the kids to read, or for you to read when you get a break), so you can go ahead and pack them up and get them out of the way. In addition, packing your books up first will give you a feeling of accomplishment. Packing books goes fairly fast, so you'll have a good start on packing for your move while still accomplishing a lot. Not only that, by packing your books first, you're ensuring that you still have them in boxes that you're able to move easily.
Use this opportunity to weed through your books. Even if you're a huge used bookstore fan and pay regular visits, you don't often handle all of your books one by one quite the way you do when you're packing. Instead of dropping them all into boxes without looking at them, take the opportunity to separate out the books that you don't have any interest in going back and reading again. This is also a great time to sort through your kids' books, which you might not see on a regular basis. Sort out the books that are no longer age appropriate for your kids--but keep in mind that they might want to keep some of their old favorites. Get them involved in the process so you don't accidentally put something they want to keep in the "trade" pile. Taking them to a used bookstore will guarantee you some trade credit, which you can use to purchase books that you'll be able to look forward to reading when you get into your new home.
Consider shipping your books as freight. By boxing them on pallets, they'll be moved by machine instead of having to haul all those boxes of books individually. Work with a shipping service to help make sure that you get the best possible service, and to make sure that your books are packed correctly.
Pack them according to where they'll be shelved at their new destination. It's easier to unpack books that have already been sorted than it is to unpack books that have been tossed into a box at random. Try to put all the books in a series together before putting them in a box. If they're already on the shelf in order, do your best to place them in the box in order, too--it will make the unpacking process much smoother, especially if you prefer for your books to be neatly organized.
Decide how you're going to ship your books and the shelf itself. Whether you're using a traditional mover or shipping the shelf and the books by freight, you want to be sure that you're working with a shipping company that knows how to handle your furniture and your books.
Ready to pack and move? When moving out of the Houston area, our moving services can help make the moving process easier for you. Contact us today for a quote or for more information.
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