When to Start Packing for a Move: Your 4-Week Packing Timeline Explained

I’m Joaquin Trapero, owner of North Removals with over two decades of hands-on experience in the moving industry. Let me tell you: deciding when to start packing for a move can make the difference between a smooth transition and a last-minute scramble. Over the years, I’ve seen how setting a clear timeline significantly cuts down on stress. If you haven’t done so yet, you might benefit from reading our helpful articles on how to pack effectively and our detailed end of lease cleaning checklist to complement your preparations. In this article, I’ll share my best strategies to ensure you stay organised from day one.

I’ve worked with individuals and families moving from cosy apartments to sprawling estates, and one common thread in every successful relocation is a well-planned packing schedule. Decluttering and organising your belongings in advance will reduce stress and anxiety a lot. Whether you’re juggling kids, pets, or work responsibilities, taking control of the packing process early on helps everything fall into place more seamlessly.

In the coming sections, I’ll walk you through a four-week packing timeline that I’ve refined throughout my career. You’ll see how to break down each stage so you’re never left rushing at the eleventh hour. By following these steps, you’ll protect your valuables, reduce unwanted chaos, and free up time to appreciate the excitement of settling into a new place. Ready to streamline your packing and make moving day a breeze? Let’s dive in together.

How Long It Takes to Pack for a Move by Home Size

Moving timelines vary greatly depending on your home’s size and needs—but having a clear plan makes all the difference. To simplify your moving journey, we’ve prepared an easy-to-follow packing timeline from North Removals. This infographic breaks down essential tasks starting from one month before moving day, helping you stay organised, stress-free, and ready for a smooth transition into your new home.

Packing times for your home can vary significantly depending on the size and complexity of your residence. As illustrated above, smaller apartments typically require only a day or two, while larger homes may take up to a week or more to properly pack. Factors influencing the complexity include the amount of furniture, personal belongings, delicate or specialty items, and the organisation required. Planning ahead based on your home’s size will help ensure a smoother moving process.

4 Weeks Before the Move: Strategic Preparation

A successful move begins long before moving day, and to achieve this you should start organising yourself four (4) weeks in advance, thus optimising the entire process. Some aspects you should consider are as follows:

1. Digital Inventory: Key to Organised Packing

Making a digital inventory is a useful strategy, integral to protecting your possessions. For a perfect move, you will need to use technological tools enabling you to take pictures, categorise, and price out each item in your boxes. Some of the professional practices you can follow are:

• Classify by ´value´: Organise your belongings according to value criteria, such as sentimental value, economic importance, current functionality, potential future use, etc.
• Photograph important items: Capture high resolution images, document the physical condition of objects, conduct precise economic valuations, categorise articles intelligently, and back up this information on multiple digital platforms online.
• Define your packing strategy: Start by sorting your stuff into groups of fragile and non-fragile things, and choose specific materials for each category of items (crystal and glass, techno gear, jewellery, books, clothes etc)

Pro tip: You can easily instal specialised moving inventory apps such as Shortly or Move Match.

2. Professional Packing Kit: Must-Have Supplies

Professional packing is a comprehensive approach to protecting and optimising the transport of your belongings, where each selected material responds to a specific need. Boxes and wrappings become a preservation system. Some of the essential supplies you should consider when moving are as follows:

Small Boxes (20 x 30 cm): They will support a weight of 10 to 15 kilos, have a structural resistance and are good for books and documents.

Medium Boxes (40 x 40 cm): The weight capacity of these boxes is 15 to 20 kilos, they are ergonomically designed and flexible for clothing and kitchen supplies.

Large Boxes (60 x 50 cm): These boxes have structural reinforcement and a maximum weight of 25 kilos.

Professional Packing Tape: An adhesive shield designed to convert simple boxes into security containers, capable of sealing and protecting your belongings with a resistance that challenges any risks in transportation.

Specialised Markers: Label boxes using thick tipped markers, always writing the contents and the destination room. Marking with clarity prevents confusion and unpacking will be much faster and more efficient.

High-Density Bubble Wrap: This molecular shield hugs your most delicate items, forming an invisible buffer from impacts, vibrations, or temperature fluctuations during the move.

Smart Identification Labels: These stickers are your route map through the move.

Pro tip: Use dehumidifier gel sachets inside boxes with electronics and delicate devices to create a protective microclimate for sensitive objects. This technique absorbs congruency, prevents condensations and protects against sudden temperature variations.

3. Reduction Strategy: Declutter for a Fresh Start

Reduction is perhaps the most vital step because it requires very meticulous analysis of each and every one of your belongings to decide what you’ll keep and what you’ll throw away, or donate, or sell. Check our guide to see where to donate furniture.

All objects should be classified by their functionality and potential future use—rather than their economic value. We recommend following the strategy of: keeping, donating, selling and discarding:

• Keep: High functionality objects, objects of sentimental value, frequently used, and hard to replace.
• Donate: Perfectly good clothing, useful furniture, complete books, and usable appliances that you don´t feel are a good match for your new life.
• Sell: Items in very good condition, that hold their value, will be loved by new owners. Consider holding a garage sale or advertising items on eBay.
• Discard: Objects irreparably damaged, obsolete technology, duplicates, and items which are not practically or sentimentally valuable to you anymore.

Pro tip: If it’s been a year since you touched an object, it doesn’t have any sentimental value or it doesn’t serve a purpose, then discard, donate, or sell it and see this as a personal renewal, rather than a loss.

2 Weeks Before the Moving Date: Pick Up the Phone!

This is the phase when planning becomes action. Now is the time to move on from general plans to specific details and arrange every aspect of your move with great precision. For the next two weeks, the main thing you will be doing is preparing, confirming and starting the actual process of packing.

1. Moving Company Booking Confirmation: Lock in Your Move Date

Confirm booking details carefully. Make sure to verify truck size, included services, and insurance: (for Melbourne-based moves, consider our specialised packing and moving services at North Removals).

• Check for exact date and time of collection.
• Confirm the truck dimensions to make sure everything fits in it.
• Get a detailed list of the services that are included.
• Insurance liability policies should be discussed with the removalists.
• Get the direct phone contact of the supervisor for the day of moving.

2. Packing Protocol by Zones: Room-by-Room Breakdown

At this point, it is important to design and execute a packing protocol by zones, which you can divide as follows:

Kitchen:

• Pack kitchen utensils by categories.
• Bubble wrap to protect fragile items.
• After you disconnect and clean them, pack appliances.
• If you can, store small appliances in original boxes.
• Clean refrigerator properly, disconnect and defrost it 24 to 48 hours before the move.

Bedrooms:

• Use bubble wrap to protect items that can be easily broken.
• Pack clothing you won’t use for a while, the clothing that is out of season.
• Vacuum bags or boxes will help you save space.
• Take apart beds, wardrobes and tables and put screws and other parts in labelled zip bags.
• Cover furniture with covers, or bubble wrap.

Living Room:

• Pack electronics, paintings and decorations.

Bathroom:

• Organise products that will not be used until you are in the new place.
• Leave out the basics that you will need on the morning of moving, shower gel, toothbrush etc.
• Pack some decorations such as curtains, rugs, etc.

Office/Study:

• Pack electronic equipment and books you do not need to use right now.
• Manage important documents by scanning them, storing digital copies in the cloud, using external storage as backup. Keep original documents in a safe travel folder including your passport, identity documentation, certificates, contracts, deeds, and medical documentation

Pro tip: If you’re relocating from or into a smaller place, check our Apartment Removalists service to simplify your move.

The week leading up to your move is the most important time, the smallest details can make your move run smoothly or end up in chaos. Some of the things you must do at this point are:

1. Final Checklist: Double-Check Your Packing

A final review is absolutely essential, to ensure that everything is packed right. Now you should begin to put everything you have left until the last moment into their boxes.

2. Survival Kit: Essential Items for the First 48 Hours

Your lifeline during the first 24 to 48 hours after moving will be your survival kit. It is an independent bag or suitcase containing everything essential to survive, without needing to open boxes.

3. Cancel Current Services: Notify Providers Early

To cancel your services at your current residence, you will need precise administrative management. Each supply company must be officially notified of your upcoming move, you must request final metre readings, manage deposit refunds and update addresses in banking services and subscriptions. It is recommended to record each communication in documentary form and keep copies of cancellation documents.

4. Say Goodbye to Your Old Neighbourhood!

Before you are on the road and leaving your area, it is nice to say goodbye to neighbours and people you have known, and may not see too much of when you are in your new place. 

North Removals: Your Best Ally for When to Start Packing for a Move

Breaking your tasks into weekly milestones is the key to a low-stress relocation. By mapping out your packing timeline, assembling the right supplies, and tackling one area at a time, you’ll stay on track and keep that sense of control. Whether you live in a compact studio, a sprawling family home, or you’re planning a regional or interstate move, this structured approach ensures a smoother experience.

I remember helping a family who nearly skipped labelling their boxes because they felt too rushed. When moving day arrived, they scrambled to find essentials in the chaos. My team and I pitched in to reorganise, and they breathed a huge sigh of relief. Stories like these remind me that no matter how big or small your move may be, a well-thought-out plan makes all the difference.

At North Removals, we understand that each move is unique—whether you require specialised assistance with NDIS relocations or find yourself needing urgent support through our Same Day Removalists service, we’ve got you covered.

If you’re looking to make your relocation seamless, I’d love to bring my years of experience to your upcoming move. At North Removals, our goal is to transform packing and moving into a positive, stress-free journey. Get in touch with me and my dedicated team to book your move date. Together, we’ll set you up for a fresh start in your new home with confidence and peace of mind.