Simple Cheats to Organize and Pack Your Stuff for Convenient Storage

It is easy to make a mess and ignore it. But when it comes to packing our stuff and organizing it in a storage unit, we are made aware of the volume of mess that we have created. With unsorted items lying here and there, the task at hand seems more daunting than it actually is. You need to learn the ways in which all of your stuff may be packed properly and made to fit in the available space without much hassle. 

Proper Packing Makes a Big Difference

What is proper packing? The first thing that you need to understand is that not every item can be packed in a common Packaging Material. A lot depends on the specific nature of the item that is being packed. Fragile items need to be individually wrapped in wrapping paper or bubble wrap to protect them from collisions with other products that are packed along with it. But make sure that these packages are labelled as “FRAGILE” to provide appropriate indication about the nature of the contents.

Boxes are the universally preferred packing material wherein you can store just about anything in it and the box can be secured by taping it properly. Plastic bags should be avoided as much as possible as it causes an increase in humidity levels in the interior and this can cause mildew which may in turn damage the product.

You also need to focus on the weight distribution in the packages as the weight should be spread evenly. Keep a check on the weight of the entire package to see that the weight does not exceed the maximum capacity of the package. In the case of items like books, it would be better to keep them flat and to pack them in smaller boxes as they tend to be pretty heavy. Keeping the size of the package small would be beneficial in moving them around.

Importance of Arranging the Packed Items Systematically

Packing your things is just one aspect. You also need to ensure proper arranging of the packed items before storing them or shipping the products. The first thing that needs to be done is the determination of the frequency of access to the stored products. In the case of packages that are sent to foreign locations with strict or multiple customs clearance, it is important to keep the packaging lose enough to allow them to open it and check the contents without damaging the entire package.

Similarly, when you are planning on storing your stuff, then you need to

1. Store the largest items against the side walls and this should be worked forward.
2. Place any large furniture in a vertical position to optimize space utilization. All furniture that are capable of being stacked up should be stacked in a proper manner to ensure better storage of the  items.
3. Keep fragile items inside wardrobes or on Strong Boxes to prevent them from crashing.
4. Group the boxes together and place them as per their weight and dimensions. This should help you  to distribute the weight properly without causing one area of the storage unit to get overloaded.

Always Plan Beforehand

Don’t wait till the last minute to pack things and store them because you might not have the right materials or the tools to pack properly. Moreover, you would not be able to decide which products should be placed in which package. This generally happens when you are not aware of the quantity and type of things that need to be packed. So make sure you sort out the items and then make a list of the requirements so that everything may be placed at the right place and in the right quantity.

Having Trouble Packing Fragile Items? Here are 7 Tips to Help You Out

Irrespective of whether you are planning on relocating your residence, or you are shifting your office to a new location, there would always be some fragile items that will give you a tough time during packing. You can never be too careful with these items because if they break, then it takes a lot of effort to repair it. In certain situations, it becomes impossible to repair it and the only possible resolution is to get a new one. So if it is an expensive vase or a delicate frame, then you would be in a lot of trouble.

Don’t let fragile items scare the hell out of you. Here are 7 tips that will help you to ensure their safety and proper packaging.

Always Prepare the Moving Boxes Correctly

This is the most crucial stage in the packing process. It is obvious that you would be going for the regular Moving Boxes or boxes made from corrugated packaging material. You need to focus on the packaging when you are dealing with heavy items or fragile products. The best way to go about doing it is to make sure that the base is secure as this is the area that is bound to collapse if it is not taped off properly. Make sure that you tape the bottom of the box in an “X” pattern. This should give it better strength. Additionally, you may put crumpled paper in the bottom to provide more cushion. 

Upgrade the Moving Boxes If Required

Like mentioned above, with delicate and fragile items you can never be too careful. It would be wise to do away with the old Packaging Materials and boxes. Instead, get high quality boxes that are not only durable but provide adequate protection from external impacts and forces, and this is really beneficial during transportation. This also helps to reduce the risks that the products are subjected to during transit.

Only Use Good Packing Paper

Generally, we make use of old newspapers or other things to provide cushioning to the fragile products. Newspaper is the most commonly used packing paper and it is good. However, if you wrap it around anything, the ink tends to get rubbed on to it. This can be really off putting if you have an expensive or delicate fragile item. It is also rather cumbersome to remove the ink that has rubbed off from the newsprint. The best approach is to use an unprinted paper as it gives the same quality but has the benefit of having no print at all. This may be slightly expensive as compared to newspaper, but if you are on a low budget then you may use both in combination to achieve the desired result.

Fill in the Gaps

The first rule of packing fragile items is that they should not move while being transported. So make sure that you fill in the gaps with adequate padding and other cushioning materials that the things are packed tightly. People usually think of using packing peanuts and this would be a good option if it wasn’t so expensive and if it did not create a mess every time the package was opened. You can use old paper or other simple materials also.

Wrap Each Item With Care

In the case of bowls, glasses or other small delicate items, it would be better if they were to be wrapped individually and then placed together because they tend to rub against each other. For glasses and other items with a hollowed centre, you need to crumple paper into a ball and then stuff it into the gap. This needs to be followed by wrapping the item with paper or other wrapping material. However, in the case of plates, it is better to stack them up and then wrap the entire “tower “of plates. It is much easier to handle it this way.

Listen to the Package

This is the best way to check whether you have packed the things properly. If there is any mistake or faults with the padding, then you would be able to hear a clink or a thud upon shaking the package. So add more cushioning till the time the contents are so intact that they don’t move and you don’t hear anything.

Go With the “Top-Light and Bottom-Heavy” Approach

Irrespective of the type of fragile material or the quantity, you should always place the heavy items at the bottom while leaving the light ones for the top. Even with proper packaging, if you place heavy items on top, then the contents in the bottom are at a risk of being crushed under the weight. 

Selecting the Right Packaging Material for Shipment

The difference between safely delivered products and damaged products is the use of proper Packaging Material. During shipment, various products are exposed to different conditions and damage inflicting situations wherein the contents need to be packed with suitable packing material if their security is to be ensured. I am sure you would not want the contents to be damaged in any way when they are received at the destination.

The following tips should help you to select the right packaging material for shipment.

·         Evaluate The Storage Needs For The Products

This is the first and most crucial step in the packaging process wherein the product’s characteristics need to be evaluated for understanding the storage environment required for its safe delivery. The key factors that need to be evaluated include dimensions, weight, fragility, shelf life, special storage temperatures (cold, hot, freezing, etc).

·         Consider the Mode of Transport and the Nature of the Transit

Road transport media involve a lot of rough handling and the packaging needs to be durable enough to bear such handling. In the case of marine or air transport, the shipments are usually stacked in groups and then these are kept intact for a major portion of the transit. This means that they do not experience any major forces, except for the ones where the products stored within the package may vibrate in their position and hit against one another.

It is also important to analyse the nature of the journey to which the product would be subjected. Multimodal transports would inflict greater damage to the consignments during handling so the packing material should be durable enough to withstand such wear and tear without compromising the safety of the contents.

·         Check the Inspection Requirements

Inspection requirements play an important part in the selection of required packing materials. At times there may be a single checking requirement. But there are cases when the consignment needs to be inspected multiple times during the transit and this calls for packaging that can be opened and packed without much hassles. If you use a pretty rigid packing material, then it would become quite cumbersome to expose the contents for inspection. So choose wisely.

·         Go Green

With everybody striving to achieve sustainability in their business operations, you should also adapt to the green initiatives wherein the packaging materials used by you should either be made from eco-friendly materials or they should be recyclable. Not only does this increase your contributions towards ecological conservation, but it also reduces the overheads costs due to decreased costs of packing materials. 

Cardboard Boxes Can Teach 5 Learning Dimensions to Kids

Kids have immense learning potential and they are not confined to books or traditional learning methods. They can learn quite a lot by simply interacting with inanimate things. You never know what they might get to learn by simply playing around with a Cardboard Box or a rubber ball. But the fact is that a cardboard box can teach your kids 5 learning dimensions. Hard to believe? Just recollect some memories of your school days when you were taught basic physics with such simple items. Sometimes the simplest of things can help us to understand complex explanations. Let’s take a look at the 5 learning dimensions that kids learn from cardboard boxes. 

Imagination 

No adult in the entire world can match up to the imaginative capabilities of a child. If you find this hard to believe, then just watch them playing around with inanimate things and listen to them as they weave their story around it. A simple branch or a stick could be a powerful wand to them. An ordinary piece of cloth, when tied to their shoulder (like a cape) can make them feel like Superman. Tiny bits and pieces can be used in the most beautiful and creative ways possible.

You don’t have to go too far to analyse this. Give your child one of your used customized boxes and watch as it becomes a castle, a fortress, a ship, a home and various other things. You may have ignored the box after its purpose was fulfilled, but in the hands of a child, the box still has plenty of usage left. Unless the child gets the opportunity to explore his imagination, he won’t be able to develop this key skill which has made common men into masters of their field of work. So the next time you find your kid playing around with common stuff, encourage the child instead of chiding him. 

Spatial Exploration and Awareness Have you ever wondered why kids are naturally drawn into getting inside spaces such as holes or boxes or even small beds? It might be difficult to understand at first, but these are the signs of spatial exploration and awareness. As kids grow, they are naturally inclined into relating their size with that of objects around them. This is the reason behind children constantly testing their relative size with that of objects around them as the ratio keeps changing with age. 

While objects may be more or less constant in size, the child’s physical characteristics change with time and this gains the interest of the children. If you can recall some of your childhood memories, you would understand the reason behind you interest in trying to unlock the latch of the door. Initially, you had to take the support of some kind of a platform to reach it, but as your height grew, not only were you able to unlatch it easily but it also gave you happiness. Let kids explore their space and become aware of the relativity of different sized objects. 

Asensory Experiences 

All of us have become accustomed to providing kids with rich sensory experiences as it is good for the development of the senses. But sometimes, even asensory experiences can be a learning experience. Unless you provide the child with a lack of sensory rich environment, he won’t be able to grasp its importance.

If you consider simple cardboard boxes or even White Corrugated Boxes, the colour is pretty bland and has nothing much to offer, the smell of the material is also subtle in nature, the sound made when you bend the cardboard is also muffled and not “rich” enough to excite your sensory receptors, the smooth sides do not provide much chances for inference and the structure of the box implies emptiness. 

The interesting part about such asensory environments is the way in which children comprehend these things and then go about exploring it. Such experiences help the kids to develop their senses even further. 

Sense of Control 

What is the one thing that is always expected from children when it comes to playing with cardboard boxes? Kids love to hide inside them. In terms of developing a sense of control, the child initially hides inside the box and tempts you into explore every nook and corner. When the time is just right, the child will come out of hiding and startle you. This sense of control requires patience, analysis and proper judgement to achieve the desired effect. All of these aspects are rather difficult to teach with conventional methods, but with these games, you can help the child to understand the things in a better manner. 

Experiencing a Secure Environment 

Irrespective of whether it is a child or an adult, all of us are comforted by the sense of security where we may bundle up. We all need our personal space which we may call our own. For kids, it is the small spaces inside cardboard boxes that they find extremely comforting. This is just a small step in encouraging them to find their own space that not only gives them comfort, but also a feeling of security.

Honey! I Packed My Kids!

So you are planning on relocating. Not a big deal, right? You could say so if you do not have toddlers or kids around. But if you think that managing relocation, especially packing your stuff, with kids around would be a breeze, then you are mistaken. Things could get out of control and you could end up packing your own kids if you are not careful because for them, this is a fun playground and they can hide behind your stuff. They could also damage themselves with sharp tools that are often used while handling different Packaging Materials.

You need to ensure the safety of your children, and you need to manage things in such a way that they do not add to the already existing hassles of moving. You could try to involve them in the packing process and make the entire thing a fun experience. Here are some tips that could help you to make relocation as safe and fun as possible.

Keep Plenty of Lead Time

Do not keep things till the last minute. Keep sufficient lead time and make sure that you plan things ahead of time. Start sorting out things slowly so that when the time comes to pack them up, you would not have to spend a lot of time in organizing things.

Make Sure You Keep Dangerous Materials Out of Reach

Even if you have ordered Relocation Boxes for moving your stuff safely, there are tool such as scissors, knives, etc that could be dangerous if left unattended in the hands of kids. You would not want them to hurt themselves with it. So always keep an eye out for them and the moment you see them playing around with such things, take it from them and keep them out of reach.

Involve the Kids in the Packing Process

Not every item in your house would be fragile or sensitive. Pillows, bed sheets or other things can be managed by kids and they would love to be involved in all the activities. You can even use their help in labelling the boxes. This will keep them engrossed and it would keep them out of harm’s way as well.

Get Ready to Lose Your Slumber

The best time to pack delicate stuff is when children are not around. This would be a difficult thing to manage during the day. So you could carry on your work after they have gone to sleep. But make sure that you work in silence, lest they should wake up and spoil your efforts.

Save Your Kids’ Stuff for the Last

If you pack your kids’ toys and other knick knacks, then it would be difficult to manage them. Keep their things for the last and let them play with their stuff so that you have adequate time and opportunity to organize your packages.