Packing Tips

Pack a separate bag with precious, irreplaceable items to carry with you on your own journey: items of sentimental value, important documents, special photographs and home videos. Many have found the pill box very useful. First, of course, it helps you organise your medicine without spilling. The boxes also make good storage for accessories, jewellery and your memory/mobile SIM cards.

Make sure this bag, along with your passports and suitcases, is set aside in a room that you designate out of bounds to the movers and is by your side when you travel. It is easy to realise too late that everything you need for your journey is already sitting in the back of the removal truck. 

Furniture 

The most common kind of damage for transporting furniture is breakage of handles, legs and corners. Make sure you protect these fragile parts well! If you are packing items such as a dining table, do not place it in a box as it will waste a lot of space. Use contour wrapping where the packaging will take on the shape of the item. It may take a lot more effort, but you are now able to place more things underneath that dining table. Sometimes, that is what it takes to save cost.

Remember to secure your washing machine drum, and shelves and accessories in your fridge and freezer, to prevent damage in transit. You could also fill your washing machine drum with soft items like blankets or cuddly toys.

If you are disassembling items yourself such as beds and wardrobes, use sealable bags to store screws and similar accessories securely, and tape the bag to the furniture. You can use tape or rope to keep the furniture parts together for the journey. Taking photos as you disassemble items could assist you in the assembly process overseas.

Clothing

We all have heard this one before – roll your clothes! Not only does it save space, but it reduces creases as well. However, for stiffer garments such as jeans, you are better off folding them. For puffy pieces such as wool or knitted coats, use vacuum packs that suck the air out and compress them to the best possible.

Where possible, place the clothes you think you will need first at the top. Once you reach your accommodation, you can retrieve your pyjamas easily without a mess and the rest of the unpacking can be left for later.

Shoes

When packing, every bit of space counts. Unless you are a hygiene freak, we recommend you stuff your socks or electronic chargers into your shoes. To avoid the soles of your shoes from dirtying other items in your box or suitcase, wrap a shower cap around it. If you have multiple footwear, make sure you wear the heaviest or bulkiest and pack the rest.

Cosmetics

This one is for the ladies. Travel bottles are your best friend if there are some particular liquid products that you absolutely must take it with you. Just remember two things – squeeze your bottles a little before capping to remove excess air and prevent explosion caused by pressure during the flight (for air-freight); and place a cling wrap between the cap and the bottle to prevent leakage.

For eye shadow palettes or pressed powder, place a flat cotton pad before closing the lid to prevent cracking. You may choose to keep the essentials in your carry-on bag for less movement and easy retrieval. Last of all, group all the beauty products together and put it inside a zip bag or pouch for double protection. Any accidents with these can mean that you will have to spend a while doing laundry and without make-up.

Breakables

Wrap breakable items in protective material, but avoid wrapping items directly in newspaper as it can mark your goods with black print. Label these boxes clearly with ‘fragile’ and do not stack them at the bottom of a pile of boxes. 

Put your perfume inside your socks and wrap liquor bottles with clothes. All fragile items should be placed at the center-bottom of your suitcase, with soft items surrounding it for cushioning. For extra precaution, wrap them with something waterproof like a poncho or windbreaker.