If you have a good handle on the many responsibilities you have to handle during your move, from forwarding mail to selling or donating the things you won’t take with you, you may want to get an early start on packing. This process is both a crucial one for a successful move and a task that can take a lot of time to finish. Of course, you also have to consider what you can easily pack early and what else you simply can’t have boxed up until you unpack in your new home.

Let’s look at how early you should start packing for you move, as well as some strategies for packing early without cramping your style or your day-to-day life.

Start with the easy stuff

There are some things you simply don’t need access to on an around the clock basis. This depends on the time of year, where you live, and where you’re moving to, so you’ll have to think through the specifics of your move. Some easy places to start include:

• Seasonal clothing you won’t need currently or at your new home, from winter coats to shorts and bathing suits.
• Extra sheets, blankets, linens, towels and similar items.
• Out-of-season sports and recreation equipment.
• Most, although possibly not all of, your books, movies, video games and other types of physical media.
• Most of your dishes – leave enough to comfortably cook and serve your family, but pack away things like fine china, serving dishes for special occasions, kitchen gadgets and similar items.
• The contents of guest rooms and other areas of your home that don’t see regular use.
• Heirlooms, antiques, art and other items that have sentimental or aesthetic but not practical value.

Starting with these items will allow you to get a head start on packing without disrupting anything especially important, making the rest of the packing effort that much easier. One thing to keep in mind is that towels, blankets, pillows and certain casual clothes can all be used to pack up fragile things like glasses, mirrors, antiques and similar belongings. You may want to put these items in boxes but not seal them up, then pull from them as necessary when packing delicate possessions.

Planning when to pack the things you need

As with many packing questions, a lot of the answers depend on your personal needs. After you have the less regularly used items put away and have gotten closer to your moving day, you can start considering what else to put away in the final weeks and days in your soon-to-be old home.

Clothing is a good place to begin. Could you pack up most of your formal clothes, but leave a few outfits to wear to the office in the week or so before your move? Can you do a few loads of laundry before moving day and simply re-wear some more casual items as well?

Non-perishable foods are another area where you can get a bit of an early start. You may want to bring certain items, like expensive or uncommon herbs and spices, along with you during the move. In other cases, you may want to donate inexpensive and easily found shelf-stable foods through the Move For Hunger program. All you have to do is make sure your local Loves Movers agent participates, let them know you’ll have a donation and set aside any unopened, non-perishable food. Your agent will do the rest!