Moving is a stressful prospect under the best of conditions, especially the packing. Packing in an     organized manner is tough, as is keeping track of important items. It’s easy to give in and just throw absolutely anything into boxes when moving day approaches. This creates an awful mess in the new home while you try and figure out which mystery box holds a needed item. Fortunately, approaching the process with a little planning can help avert the chaos.

Pack early

If you wait until the last moment to begin packing, your first few weeks in your new home will be spent in desperate, item-hunting disarray. Once you know you’re moving, go ahead and start packing non-essential items. Knick-knacks, books, mementos, seasonal clothing and most DVDs and CDs are examples that can be packed immediately without being missed. Whenever you fill a box, mark it with a number, starting with one. After the move, the numbers tell you at a glance that the highest-numbered boxes are the most important.

Carry Necessities

Get an apron with pockets or a knapsack to hold critical moving supplies that tend to go missing. Packing tape, a permanent marker, scissors and a notepad are a few things you might want to keep with you during the process. As you pack each box and number it, jot down the box number in your notepad and write down a quick inventory. Even noting a few specific items in a box is more helpful than simply labeling by room.

Prepare Move-in Box

Prepare a move-in box or bag for each family member that will go with you on moving day with everything they need for the first few days. Cleaning supplies, clothing changes, bedsheets, a cooking pan and some utensils, personal hygiene supplies, medications and chargers for personal electronics are all things helpful to take along.

Color Code

Try color-coding boxes by room when using moving services like Lafayette Movers to help you find what you are looking for. You can put a piece of colored paper over room entryways of the new house, and the movers will only have to quickly match box colors to the doors to know which room it goes in. Colored ribbon can be used on large, awkward items that can’t go in boxes.

With your notepad inventory and color and number codes, unpacking and finding specific items in your new home will be a snap. Never again will you need to panic over finding that one specific item in a sea of boxes.