Now has come the time to box up your belongings and begin the real physical process of moving. All the prepatory work you’ve done beforehand will pay off during this phase. Work according to the moving strategy that you laid out.
Start packing the smaller rooms first and work your way to the center. Remember, your first focus will be to attack the “miscellaneous zones” as mentioned earlier. For books, start with the top shelves first, and work your way down. Try and box the books that you refer to more often in their own boxes, with the less “active duty” books boxed separately. This way, if you need to put them in storage or give them away, they’ll be easier to locate. Packing clothes is pretty straightforward, but keep in mind that if you take the time to fold the clothes you’ll be able to fit more in a box. Place the clothes, folded on their sides so you can see all of them at once.
Take your time packing paintings and breakable objects. Wrap all of them individually and put them in a box where they are snug and there’s no room to move around. For breakable objects, moving around means trouble!
Similar care needs to be afforded to packing knives. Wrap heavy paper around the blades and tape them so that the knives are rendered harmless. Perhaps the most critical point of packing boxes is simply labeling what’s inside of the box. A classic mistake that I make is not to use a heavy marker that’s easily visible. A big black Sharpie is an ideal marker to use. Be sure to mark all sides of the box. Later on, you’ll be glad you did !