Your garage could be home to a range of items you’ve stored over the years.
In fact, a study found that 83% of respondents claimed they used their garage for additional storage, emphasising how if you’re not keeping things organised, your garage can easily become a dumping ground for your possessions.
As such, if you’re moving house, you might not know where to start when it comes to packing your garage.
To pack a garage for moving, you will need to:
- Determine what you can’t pack
- Declutter and organise your garage
- Gather packing materials and prepare boxes
- Pack hand tools in bundles and drain oil and gas from power tools
- Keep garden supplies together
- Disassemble furniture and pack it with cushions
- Label boxes
1. Determine What You Can’t Pack
Before you can pack your garage, it’s essential to determine what you can’t pack.
From paints to paint thinners and flammable items, the typical garage will likely contain a range of items you won’t be able to pack as they’re simply dangerous or wouldn’t be covered by insurance in a removal van.
If you have neighbours nearby, you could explore rehoming these items, else you will have to dispose of these items in a safe, responsible way.
To gain a better understanding of what not to pack when moving with a removal service, check out our blog.
2. Declutter & Organise Your Garage
Moving house is the perfect time to sort through your garage and determine what you can rid of to ensure your new house doesn’t become unorganised quickly.
If you’ve been living in your home for a while, it’s likely that you’ve accumulated clutter and items that you don’t actually need.
From garden tools to old bicycles, your garage could be home to an array of items you might have forgotten about. After all, it’s easy for clutter to build when it’s separate from your living space.
How much space you have in the next house will largely determine how much you keep, so bear this in mind when creating your ‘Keep’, ‘Recycle’, and ‘Donate’ piles.
To get rid of any unwanted but good quality items, you might want to consider having a garage sale.
You might want to consider having a garage sale to help you declutter your garage before moving.
3. Gather Packing Materials & Prepare Boxes
You’ll need a range of packing materials to pack your garage.
Namely, you’ll require multiple sturdy cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, packing tape, and rope or something to bundle your hand tools together.
It’s better to be overprepared with packing materials, so be sure to prepare plenty of boxes with a bed of packing materials that will absorb the shock during transit.
4. Pack Hand Tools In Bundles & Drain Oil & Gas From Power Tools
Next, it’s time to tackle the array of tools in your garage.
If you don’t have a sturdier toolbox, you will want to pack hand tools, such as screwdrivers, Allen keys, spanners, and wrenches, in bundles.
Tie them together with rope or something that can be easily secured, and then wrap them in bubble wrap before placing them in a box to ensure your hand tools are protected during transit.
You will also need to drain any oil and gas from power tools, such as a lawnmower, and ensure that they haven’t been used in the 24 hours prior to your removal company transporting them as this is essential for their safety.
Ideally, your smaller power tools, such as drills, should be packed in the boxes that they came in or sturdy cardboard boxes to ensure they’re secured.
If you don’t have a sturdier toolbox, you will want to pack hand tools, such as screwdrivers, Allen keys, spanners, and wrenches, in bundles.
5. Keep Garden Supplies Together
Garden supplies should be kept together when you’re packing your garage for moving.
This will include everything from garden seeds to garden gloves, but make sure that all of your garden tools are bundled together like you did previously with your other tools.
For garden pots, ensure that each pot is wrapped in bubble wrap carefully, and be sure not to overload the boxes.
This will make unpacking significantly easier, as you’ll know exactly where everything is.
You won’t be able to take fertiliser or weed killers in a removal van, so be sure to dispose of them responsibly before you move.
6. Disassemble Furniture & Pack It With Cushions
If you have any furniture or outdoor furniture, it’s best to disassemble this to save as much room as possible in the removal van.
If you have any camping equipment and furniture, such as tents and camping chairs, these items can also be kept with your outdoor furniture.
Once disassembled, you can pack any chair cushions in the same boxes as the furniture for additional padding before you tape them shut.
7. Label Boxes
Once you’ve taped all your boxes shut, you should label the boxes.
Label the boxes clearly with ‘Garden supplies’, ‘Hand tools’, and ‘Fragile – Power tools’ so your professional removal company know exactly what’s in each box.
While larger items, such as bicycles cannot be packed unless disassembled, it’s still a good idea to write a label with the room where you plan to keep the bike in the new house to avoid any confusion.
From paints to paint thinners and flammable items, the typical garage will likely contain a range of items you won’t be able to pack when moving as they’re simply dangerous or wouldn’t be covered by insurance in a removal van.
We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of how to pack a garage for moving.
At Falconer Removals, we use meticulous moving techniques, passed down and perfected through generations for over 132 years, to ensure your goods are moved with expert precision and kept in perfect condition. Get a quote from our team today.
For more expert advice on how to pack, move and store your belongings — or other FAQs on how removals work — check out our blog page.
Written by Jemima Thomas for Falconer Removals.
