The average American moves 11.4 times in their lifetime. So chances are, you’re either planning on moving now or sometime in the near future.
Whichever one it is, it might be your first one. So you might have some questions in your mind, like how long does it take to pack a house?
If you’re wondering the answer to this question, then you’re in the right place. We’ll discuss all the factors that affect how long it’ll take for you to pack up your house or apartment.
Some Rules of Thumb
Obviously, every person is different, as are the contents of their households. But in general, you should allocate 1-2 days per room you have to pack.
So, for instance, if you have a 1-bedroom apartment, plan on 1-2 days to pack. And if you have a 4-bedroom house, plan on 4-6 days to pack.
Keep in mind that these estimates assume you do all-day packing. If you can only do so on and off, then expect the time to pack to go up significantly. Or if it’s your first time moving, then that may take more time as well.
In those cases, you should double or even triple your expected packing time.
Of course, if you have a partner who lives with you and will be going to the same place, the helping hand they lend will make things go a lot quicker as well. This is provided that you don’t argue about how the it should go.
How to Pack Your House Quicker
While some of these tips might be better used way before your actual move date, some of these can still help, even if you’re on a short timeline.
Read on to get some useful tips on how to pack your house quickly.
Start Slowly
You can start a month or so before your actual date, but just pack really slowly. This can be very helpful if you work full-time and feel like you never have any time leftover to take care of packing.
If you break up what seems to be a monumental task, it’ll be a lot easier to handle in small chunks through a longer period of time.
A good way to go about this is to pack things you rarely use first. As time passes, you can slowly fill up the boxes with more things that you won’t be using. By the time you get around to the last few days before your move, you’ll have far fewer things to pack up; all that’ll be left are probably things that you need to use up until the very last minute.
Declutter Early On
If you’re the type to let things pile up, then you have to stop ASAP. Clutter can actually negatively impact your mental health, which can cause the time you remain in your old house to be unnecessarily more stressful.
As soon as you can do it, you should declutter your home. Go through everything and decide whether or not it’s vital to keep. If not, then put it into either a “throw away,” “sell,” or “donate” pile.
In the end, take everything in the “throw away” pile to the dump and everything in the “donate” pile to the appropriate places. Then, start listing the “sell” items online, such as on Facebook Marketplace.
The sooner you can do this, the better. Not only is this better for your mental health, but it’ll also help cut down on the things you bring with you to your new place. Plus, you might make some extra money as well!
Get Help From Family and Friends
There’s no shame in calling up your family and friends, and asking for help. They’re your loved ones after all, and they want to help you succeed in life. If they have any spare time, they’re sure to come help you with the big milestone coming up.
Make sure you show your gratitude by buying them dinner or treating them to a few drinks afterward. They’re sure to appreciate these small gestures.
Hire Professionals to Help You
If you don’t have any close friends or family to help you, or if they’re all busy around the time of your move, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do it alone.
Removal companies are available to help with basically any aspect, which can be especially helpful in busy areas. For instance, you can get helpers who pack for you.
This will make things go a lot faster, and they’ll also ensure that fragile items are packed properly so they’re as protected as can be in transit.
Not only that, but professionals will also take extreme care while they’re transporting your belongings.
And once they get to your new house, some of them can help you unpack everything so it’ll only take a fraction of the time if you had done it alone.
How Long Does It Take to Pack a House? It Depends
So how long does it take to pack a house? It depends on a wide variety of factors. But in general, you should expect to spend at least a day or two on each room you have in your house.
Of course, you can always speed up the process. Whether it’s by starting early, enlisting the help of your loved ones, or hiring professionals to assist you, there are plenty of ways you can ensure everything goes more smoothly and quickly.
For more interesting reads, check out our other articles about housing.
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