Packing by Room: Home Office

Every room in your house requires different considerations when preparing for a move and your home office is no different. Computer equipment, paperwork and important family records are just some of the things found in a typical home office, all of which need to be carefully packed.

Here are 4 tips on how to do it:

1. Give important documents the care they deserve. If you have a home office, chances are this is where you keep important documents – things like passports, birth certificates, tax documents and financial statements. When you’re moving house, it’s worth some extra effort to keep these items safe and secure. Ideally, you should keep key items like your passport and birth certificate on your person while moving. For other types of paperwork, consider packing them in plastic totes rather than cardboard boxes (they’ll be better protected if it happens to rain on moving day), or store them in a metal filing cabinet that can be locked, wrapped in plastic and moved in one shot into your new home.
2. Keep necessary items close at hand. The days before, during and after a move can be hectic with lots of upheaval and many things happening at once. One way to minimize your stress is to have a clear list of the essential items you’re going to need during this period and keep them easily accessible – perhaps in an overnight bag that carry with you in your car rather than putting it in a moving truck. You can save yourself a major headache by setting aside things like phone chargers, spare keys, chequebooks and laptop power cords early so they don’t accidentally get packed up among your home office items in hard-to-access boxes.
3. Take the time to label boxes in detail. Another great way to avoid unnecessary frustration is to keep close tabs on where you’ve packed what. It may be faster to simply chuck as much as you can into a box and then move onto the next, but spending a few extra minutes to make a packing list is often well worth it – especially if you won’t be unpacking everything right away in your new home. A simple strategy is to label each box with a number and have each number correspond to a sheet of paper where you write down everything that you put in the box. Just be sure that you don’t lose these papers!
4. Use original packaging when possible. If your home office has expensive items like computer monitors, printers or other specialized equipment, ensuring that these are securely packed for your move should be a priority. One of the best ways to do this is to use the original packaging that the items came in when you bought them – think cardboard boxes with customized Styrofoam inserts that perfectly fit and protect your items. Of course, this only works if you happened to save the packaging and it’s still in good shape. If that is not an option, try packing your electronics in sturdy boxes padded with lots of bubble wrap.

With a thoughtful approach to packing, you can have your home office set up in your new place and fully organized in no time.