It may not seem that hard to figure out how to pack bedding for moving, but as with any other piece of the packing process, there’s always a most efficient way to do it. When time is of the essence, and you’re staring down your entire kitchen still in need of boxing, proper packing of the easy things can make all the difference.
When you have limited storage space and you want your soft goods to arrive nice and clean in your new home, here’s what you need to do.
Gathering the right packing materials
Even if you’re using professional movers, you can pack bedding for moving on your own. The process begins by gathering supplies. Since bedding and linens aren’t fragile items, you can ditch the bubble wrap. However, make sure you have packing paper to ensure bedding and soft goods arrive clean.
Grab a few large cardboard boxes to make it easier when packing pillows and other bulkier items.
A proper packing materials list should also include plenty of packing tape and a big permanent marker to label each box. You may want to consider writing ‘fragile’ on your boxes, as well, just to prevent a heavy box from being stacked on top, smooshing everything inside.
Vacuum storage bags
One specialty item that comes in handy when packing bedding is those oversized plastic bags. Even better if they’re the vacuum kind where you can suck out any trapped air and condense your bedding. You’ll be able to fit more than twice as much into a single large box.
This particular packing supply makes it easier to pack comforters and pillows especially, but can also protect linens.
To use these bags properly:
- Place folded bedding and linens into the bag while it’s laying on its side. Don’t go past the fill line.
- Seal the bag and check it to make sure no air can get inside
- Secure your vacuum hose to the vacuum port on the side of the bag. There’s usually a plastic cap you have to pop off.
- Turn on the vacuum and leave it running for around two minutes to get all the air removed. You’ll know it’s done when you can’t see any empty space inside the bag and it stops condensing.
- Quickly remove the hose after shutting the vacuum off, and put the valve back on to avoid air from reentering the bag
The tight seal on these bags is essential to ensure air can’t get to the space inside and that it fully shrinks down.
Make your bedding into padding materials
If adding even more boxes to your growing pile seems too much, you can also skip boxing them up separately and use them to protect fragile items. Blankets work great to cover TVs and larger pieces of furniture that won’t fit into a box. Sheets are ideal to wrap fragile items. Boxes lined with extra bedding are extra cushioned and can keep items like dishes and glasses safer. Even a pillow at the bottom of a box provides a protected space inside for fragile items.
Packing bedding and linens for moving
Is your home a hygge paradise? In other words, do you have a ton of plush blankets covering every surface? Even if you have a lot of bedding to sort out, the best way to pack bedding is to save it for last. Even though this goes contrary to the idea of packing up what you don’t need first, saving your extra bedding for last means you can use it for packing material if necessary. Bedding and linens are also some of the easiest items in your home to pack up. You can definitely load up a moving box or two pretty quickly when it’s just full of bedding.
When packing bedding, you don’t have to separate bed sheets from blankets to pack everything. But, there is a method to the madness that helps conserve space in moving boxes and ensures everything arrives clean at your new home.
How to pack blankets and comforters for moving
Whether you top your bed with a blanket or comforter, both need packing up to arrive safely at your new home. The best way to pack blankets is in a medium box. Fold packing paper on the bottom, and set aside another piece for the top layer. You don’t want to cram a lot of packing paper into the box, though. It takes up valuable space.
Fold down the blankets as flat as possible to conserve space, and stack them up. Make sure there are minimal empty spaces once you’re done and ready to seal the box shut. Securely close it and taped it up to prevent moisture from getting into the box.
Packing comforters differs from packing blankets simply based on the bulk of the bedding. Comforters are an ideal candidate for those vacuum storage bags, but you can use other packing materials, as well. If you can’t flatten your comforter down enough, you’ll still need to try and push out as much excess air as possible as you fold it. You can then slip it into a garbage bag to keep it away from dust, insets or moisture.
Large boxes work best for comforters, which you can pack up either folded flat or rolled up like a sleeping bag. The perk of doing the roll is that it’s easier to compress the air out.
How to pack linens for moving
Unlike blankets and comforters, bed sheets fold down into tight, tiny bundles. As long as you can figure out how to fold that fitted sheet, you’re golden.
Each sheet set can get wrapped individually in packing paper to protect it, but you should also line the top and bottom of the box with a folded sheet of packing paper. This double-layer of coverage keeps out moisture and dust without having to shove bed sheets into plastic bags (which you can also do.)
When packing linens, you can do a separate box for each room, or combine them all together.
How to pack pillows for moving
Packing pillows is a slightly different beast. While moisture is the enemy of all bedding, it’s especially tough on pillows. Moisture leads to mold, and pillows aren’t so easy to wash clean. For that reason, pack pillows with extra care.
You’ll have to smoosh out the extra air in them, but bagging these guys up in trash bags is a great way to keep them clean and dry. After you get all the trapped air out, you might want to pack something heavy on top of the pillows to keep them flat. Maybe a layer of blankets, or even those bulkier winter coats.
You can also pack your pillows in their pillowcases. This provides an extra protection layer, and a pillowcase is much easier to wash. Any small, or decorative pillows can skip the cardboard boxes completely. To pack small pillows, slide them into a dresser drawer instead.
Additionally, never use newspaper to line your pillow box. The ink can run. Instead, opt for clean packing paper as your padding around the box.
How to pack your mattress for moving
Aside from the bed itself, mattresses can present a challenge. They’re bulky, impossible to grip and kind of big for a box. But, like everything else, you can pack a mattress.
Starting with a totally dry mattress (yes, you sweat at night) that’s totally naked, set it up on its side. Slide it into a mattress storage bag, which you can most likely get from your movers. Use packing tape to seal the bag completely closed. It will keep out dirt, bugs, dust and moisture, a mattress’ enemies.
Just be careful when sliding it around your home and into the moving truck. You don’t want to puncture the bag in transit. It’s also a good idea to put your mattress in first so you can brace it with your moving boxes and furniture. Turn it on its side and lay it against a wall of the truck so it takes up the least amount of space.
How to pack towels for moving
Towels can also easily get bulky, so fold them up as flat as possible. Line your moving box with packing paper to keep the dirt away, but instead of packing in a pile, consider laying in your folded bundles vertically. By the time you get a row done, you’ll have a colorful line reminiscent of a filing cabinet.
This strategy helps eliminate unused space that can occur when you pack towels in a stack. Make rows of like-sized towels and secure the box with packing tape.
Bedding for your essentials box
Although you can wait until the last minute to pack up all your bedding, as you’re loading it all into those large boxes, don’t forget to set aside one set of everything. This set goes into your essentials box, the one you’ll open first in your new home.
One of the first things you’ll want to do when you start unpacking is to make your bed. You may also want to shower off the moving grime that night. Adding bedding to your essentials box ensures you have a clean set of all your soft goods ready to go when it’s time to unwind that first night in your new place.
Preparing bedding for a move
No matter how you pack bedding for moving, the most important thing to remember is that one final sheet of paper is on the top. It sounds silly, but that’s the protective layer that keeps dirt from getting down into the box and prevents you from accidentally cutting into your bedding when you’re opening a box.
As part of your packing plan, knowing this and all these other bedding packing tips, you’ll easily tackle the complex process of moving with more time for those other boxes full of fragile items, dinnerware and more.
Source: rent.com