When you decide to relocate, you usually spend most of the time thinking about how you are going to move bigger pieces of furniture and appliances. But what about smaller possessions, like shoes? Knowing tips on how to pack shoes for moving can be crucial since incorrect packing can cause them to suffer some damage.
Do Your Inventory and Sort Your Footwear Collection
The first thing you should do is make a list of every shoe pair you own. This enables you to prioritize and will simplify the whole packing process. You should be able to sort your collection into at least three different categories.
Regularly Worn Footwear
This category includes any footwear that you have worn throughout the year. You can also sort these by material, like leather or suede, or type, such as sneakers, heels, winter boots, etc.
Damaged, Old and Unusable Footwear
We often keep old sets of sneakers or boots, sometimes even forgetting we have them. You should throw out or recycle any pairs that are clearly damaged and unusable. You are unlikely to wear these anyways.
Not Worn, but Still Usable Footwear
At one point in your life, you likely had an impulse to experiment with wearing a completely different footwear style, only to wear them once and never again. In addition to these, pairs that don’t fit anymore are also sorted here. The next section gives you an idea of what to do with them.
It’s Time to Declutter
You most likely accumulated many footwear pairs throughout the years, some of which you only keep because they hold a certain personal value. Ask yourself, ”Do I really need these?” and ”Am I ever going to use them?”. If the answer is no, then it’s time to declutter. You can donate these to a local charity or offer them to your friends and family members. Furthermore, you can sell them in a garage sale or online. By keeping these unused shoes, long-distance movers will charge you more for relocation.
Getting The Right Shoe Packing Materials
Depending on the number of pairs you own, you will require a certain amount of storing and packaging materials. While you may want to save money by using cheaper materials such as a newspaper or colored tissues, these can leave stains and perhaps ruin your favorite pair. It’s best that you use a clean packing paper. Sometimes boxes are needed, as the box provides better protection for your more delicate items.
How to Pack Shoes for a Move
Make sure your shoes are clean before you pack them. If some of them give an unpleasant odor, you can remove it by freezing them, leaving a teabag in, or by using citrus peels. After you finish cleaning them, the process can begin using the materials you gathered beforehand. The best way to pack shoes for moving consists of two simple steps described below.
Wrapping and Packing Up
Stuff your footwear with paper or rolled-up socks, so it doesn’t lose its shape during the packing. Next, you need to wrap each shoe with paper individually. You also want to pack them in pairs to avoid wasting time trying to find the other. Most sets won’t require a lot of preparation, but if you own any expensive heels or sneakers, you may want to add an extra layer of packaging material just in case.
Boxing Up Your Stuff
Boxing up should be your next step after wrapping and packaging. Here are some tips on how to properly box up your footwear:
- Separate the ones you’re first going to use when you start to unpack
- Don’t try to stuff a single box with too many pairs
- Fill the empty space in boxes with crumpled paper
- Label the boxes so you can easily find what you need when you unpack
- Put heavier boxes on the bottom of the carrying containers
- Use original boxes if available
- Consider hiring a long-distance moving company
Create a Shoe Storage Plan
Before your relocation is done, you should figure out how you will unpack all of your belongings, including your footwear. You should use the fact that your shoes are already sorted and organized to arrange your collection in a way that makes sense in your new home. If you haven’t yet planned for where your stuff will go once you move or if your new home has insufficient space, you can rent a professional storage facility. This is especially useful with long-distance moving.
Things to Consider When Packing Shoes for Moving
According to a survey based on 2000 people, six out of 10 people consider moving more stressful than getting a divorce or having a breakup. With this in mind, having a plan and good organization can reduce this stress and make the interstate moving process a lot more manageable. Asking your family and friends to help with the packing can alleviate these symptoms. Otherwise, you can look into hiring professional packers to help with the process. A reputable cross country moving company will handle all of your things, all you have to do is sit back and relax.
