If you’ve made an informed decision to pack up your things without professional assistance of any kind, then one of the things you should keep in mind from the very start is that some household items will always be easier to pack safely than others.
For example, packing your books should be easier than packing breakable kitchen items such as plates and glasses, while protecting your towels should be even more straightforward than keeping your books safe on the road between the two homes.
As it turns out, nothing is simply too easy during a house move, so the task of packing towels for moving should not be grossly underestimated simply because you could still make a few packing mistakes that may cost you a lot of wasted time and maybe even some frustration in the process.
Towels are not fragile in any way so you shouldn’t be too concerned about them getting broken during transit. Unlike clothes, they can’t even get wrinkled while being transported between the two homes.
And yet, wasting too much good storage space and ruining some of your best towels due to improper packing are just two of the mishaps that could result from the underestimation of the concrete packing task.
Read on to learn the best way to pack towels for moving: quickly, safely, and efficiently.
Prepare the necessary packing supplies
The very first step to packing towels when moving is to get hold of the proper packing materials. The good news is that there’s nothing complicated about this initial step.
- Cardboard boxes. You’re going to need large cardboard boxes because towels are usually lightweight and voluminous at the same time. Remember that you need large boxes for lighter items (clothes) and small or medium boxes for heavier things (books). Feel free to use second-hand moving boxes – a good way to lower your packing expenses – as long as those containers are perfectly clean and sturdy.
- Packing paper. You’re going to need sheets of clean, white, soft, acid-free wrapping paper when packing your towels for a move. The paper sheets will provide an extra level of protection during the house move.
- Packing tape. A few rolls of high-quality packing tape should be enough for all your packing needs.
- A permanent marker. A set of color marker pens will help you label your boxes the right way but a single black marker should also be enough in most cases.
Sort out your towels before packing
The second step when packing towels for a move is to sort out your soft items prior to packing them up. You can complete the sorting process following these two criteria:
- Condition. If you have brand-new towels that you’ve never used before, those will certainly be the ones you take with you, so set them aside for packing. Out of the used towels you have in your home, you should set aside the ones that are stained, torn, or just too old or too used up in general. However, do NOT throw away the towels you won’t need anymore simply because you’re going to NEED them one more time as padding materials.
- Size. Sort out all towels according to their size as well. This way, you’ll be able to pack them much more neatly and snugly inside the boxes. Alternatively, you may even decide to use medium cardboard boxes if you have too many small towels that will fit inside them perfectly.
Good to know: How to declutter your home before moving
Use some of your towels as padding materials
The good thing about packing towels for moving is that you should use most or some of the soft pieces to wrap them around breakable items, thus creating a thick protective layer.
In its essence, some of your towels can be used effectively as substitutes for bubble wrap because they have similar protective properties. And the great news is that those padding substitutes come at no extra cost for you – that is, unlike bubble wrap, towels are free since you already have them in your home.
In addition to being used for protecting breakable items, towels can also be awesome space fillers inside boxes that contain delicate items. So, when you’re done wrapping breakables in packing paper and bubble wrap, and then arranging them inside sturdy containers, feel free to use towels to fill up any remaining spaces inside the boxes. The idea, of course, is to prevent the fragile items from shifting inside the cartons during transport.
Remember not to use brand-new towels as padding materials and space fillers because that could potentially ruin them.
Leave packing your towels for last
As a general rule, you should leave packing your towels for last. But why is this important, you may wonder?
You should start with the things that are tougher to sort out and pack up simply because they take (much) longer to protect properly. In other words, begin the packing task from the things that are difficult to pack simply because you’ll have more time and more energy to tackle them.
As moving day approaches with each passing day and your energy starts to diminish, you’ll be left with the items that are fairly straightforward to protect for the upcoming move.
Also, another reason to leave packing your towels for last is that you should use some of them for padding your breakables and for filling the spaces inside cartons. For this purpose, be sure to pick only towels that you would not mind too much if you found them somewhat ruined after the move.
Read also: How to use packing paper when packing for a move
Pack your towels correctly
Ultimately, the best way to pack towels for moving – the ones you won’t use as padding and filling materials – is to arrange them carefully inside large cardboard boxes.
Here are the steps that will help you pack up all the towels you have decided to move with you to the new home:
- Step 1. Inspect carefully the cardboard boxes you plan to use to pack your towels and other soft goods such as bedding items – sheets, blankets, pillows, cushions, and even comforters. Discard any cartons that look suspicious – that is, have signs of pre-existing damage.
- Step 2. Line the bottom of each container with two sheets of clean wrapping paper. The purpose of the bottom paper layer is not so much to serve as cushions (towels are soft enough to absorb any shocks or vibrations along the road with zero chance of damage) but to keep your household towels clean.
- Step 4. Inspect each towel before you transfer it inside a box to make sure it’s completely dry before you pack it up for transport. Never pack wet towels because mold might start to form even before the new home is reached.
- Step 5. Fold your towels and arrange them snugly inside the box. Remember to use the storage space as effectively as possible – press down slightly onto the arranged towels to get out any trapped air inside the container.
- Step 6. Insert a few sheets of packing paper between the folded and arranged towels, if necessary, to fill up any extra empty space and keep the soft goods from shifting around the box. When packed snugly enough, you won’t even need to use any space fillers at all.
- Step 7. Place one sheet of wrapping paper on the very top when you’re done packing up the towels, close the box, and seal it shut using packing tape.
- Step 8. Label the packed container by writing TOWELS on two of its sides.
See also: How to pack bedding for moving
That’s it – it wasn’t that hard packing up your towels for a move, was it?
You should definitely consider packing up everything that you can by yourself before your movers arrive – by doing so you are very likely to save both time and money.
However, if time is very much against you (for example, during an emergency last-minute move), then do hire professional packers to protect your household items faster and safer than you could ever do it on your own.
