Moving house can be overwhelming. Moving furniture and adapting to a new apartment seems challenging enough. Meanwhile, you still have to remember to move your clothes. Fortunately, we know a few tricks that will make it easier for you.
To begin with, gather your clothes in groups, depending on their type. It is a good idea to start by stacking the most durable materials at the bottom. This will usually be pants. You can fold them in half, along the legs, and then arrange them flat or cubed – depending on how big your suitcase is. Later, it’s a good idea to stack sweaters. Next you can place blouses and dresses. Finally, it’s best to lay out socks and underwear. These are small enough that you can squeeze them into any empty spaces. Remember that empty spaces promote movement of clothes, which can result in creasing of materials.
Avoiding creases can seem difficult. It usually takes a long time to fold clothes, and yet when you pull them out, most of them are wrinkled. Unpacking then ends up with a pile of clothes to be ironed again. Before putting them in, however, all you need to do is one simple trick. You need to forget about the traditional method of folding clothes in the closet for a while. It turns out that before putting your textiles in your suitcase or backpack, it’s a good idea to roll them. Remove creases, fold the sleeves inward, smooth the surface with the palm of your hand, and then roll them up, starting from the bottom. This will eliminate the number of deformations, and on top of that, it won’t take you as much time as tediously folding into cubes.
You’ve probably noticed more than once while packing that you’re running out of space too quickly. Usually you end up unpacking everything and trying to rearrange it, or looking for another suitcase. It doesn’t have to be that way at all. The key is to use space cleverly. You can put some of your stuff in smaller pockets. Squeezing clothing items into places that aren’t obvious, such as your shoes, is also a good way. You can tuck small accessories into a makeup bag or an eyeglass case. Don’t forget to fasten the case with an internal snap and pull down the adjusters at the end.
Shirt collars can be particularly vulnerable to crushing. You need to be careful not to permanently distort them. To pack them safely, you can use a rectangular piece of cardboard. The pad will serve you as a kind of rack. Use its edges to fold the shirt. Fold both sides of the shirt as close to the edge of the cardboard as possible, and then fold the bottom part. In addition, if you have a plastic collar stiffener, often included with the purchase, you can successfully use it. Thus folded shirt is best placed on top of the suitcase.
Packing all items in bulk is not always a good idea. It is worth remembering that wool easily takes on other odors. On the other hand, poorly transported delicate fabrics can accidentally pull against the zipper and even rub through. A good way to protect your clothes from damage is to put them in separate cloth or string bags. This method will also allow you to let the air out, in a similar way to vacuum packing. So your clothes will take up less space and be protected from unpleasant odors, liquid or jamming. If you are still concerned about unpleasant odors, you can also use scented or aroma-absorbing sachets.
main photo: unsplash.com/Sarah Brown
