It’s great when you have a lot of books that you can turn to and read when you want some quiet time. But this can be a lot of fun until you have to move. Even though it might seem like a simple task because you have to find some really big boxes and put all of your books into them, it’s something that is going to is going to take a lot more thought than you’d expect. You are going to need to start the process by having a strategy that will help you with moving the books safely and efficiently, especially since if it’s not done correctly, it can cause injury. Below are some tips that you can use to do things right.
Why It’s Important Pack Your Books Correctly After Selling Your House
When you think of those things that are hard to pack before moving, usually you think of those items that are oddly shaped, sharp or fragile. Since most books don’t present any of those problems, unless they are really old, they shouldn’t be hard to pack, right? Wrong. The truth is that even though one book is compact, not close to being fragile, and light, putting them all together creates an unruly and heavy package. This is especially so when you have a box full of them. if you are simply unloading the whole bookcase into 2 or 3 moving boxes you are going to wind up with really heavy boxes that are hard to carry. These boxes also can damage other belongings if they fall over in transit.
It’s a lot better if you correctly pack the books using methods that book lovers have used for years. Below are some things that you should know regarding packing books, and these include some great tips for making sure your whole collection arrives safe and sound.
Before tackling the bookcase, you want to go through these tips that you can use for packing up the books and plotting out the steps you should take afterward.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 1 – Go Through the Collection
Chances are that you probably have a couple of copies of the same book. Are both of them really necessary? Or do you have one that is really annotated that’s been carried with you since 10th grade? Chances are that there are at least one or two books you don’t read anymore and when you are moving it’s a great time to go through the whole lot of them.
The other great thing about books is that you can always find someplace that will accept donations. You can call up the library to find out if they are currently accepting donations. You also can take them to the thrift store. There are also apps where you can sell your books online. You can also ask your friends if they’d be interested in your books if you have similar tastes in reading.
If you have a book that isn’t in a good condition, be sure that you are putting it into your recycling can rather than in the trashcan.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 2 – Choose the Correct Boxes
Distributing the weight the right way is one of the most important tricks for packing books. This means that you want to pack them in many small or medium-sized boxes rather than one large box. When you are packing them up in a huge box, it often is going to make them overtake the boxes’ weight limits. This means that you can have issues with safety if you put a lot of them in a big box. It’s a good idea to use a calculator to find out the number of boxes that you’re generally going to need and then add some additional medium-sized and small boxes for transporting the books.
If it’s essential to use the larger boxes, don’t fill them completely.
Of course, there are going to be times when you simply can’t get the boxes that you want or need. if there are a lot of bigger boxes and you aren’t interested in purchasing ones simply for your books, use the bigger ones. However, you want to be smart about it. Use the boxes for books to about 50 or 60%. Then fill the box the rest of the way with things that are lightweight, such as towels or sheets.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 3 – Don’t Put Your Books Inside Damaged Boxes
A faulty cardboard box is going to buckle when it’s filled with heavy items. If you have a damp, ripped, or box that is otherwise damaged, you want to avoid using it for packing your books. Only use boxes that are completely intact. If you can, pack them in bins made of plastic rather than cardboard, since they’re more durable.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 4 – Use Rolling Suitcases Rather Than Boxes
Since you’re going to be moving the suitcases as well, let it work for you. these are great vessels for packing up your books and they will help eliminate the issue of lifting something heavy if your truck has a ramp.
Remember that it still can create a hazard while it’s being transported so it’s important to pack it with some other heavy items. This way it’s going to remain in place. Even if you decide to do this, use the tips below rather than tossing your books into them without having a plan.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 5 – Organize Along the Way
It’s going to be a lot easier to unpack the books when you are at your new home if you’re packing them so that they’re easy to remove from the boxes and put on your bookshelf. The way that you do this is going to depend on the way that you organize the books. Whether you are going by author, book type, genre, or color, grouping them ahead of time is going to help you with saving a lot of time at the new house.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 6 – Pack Paperbacks on Sides/Hardbacks Upright
When you are packing your books it’s much like playing a game of Tetris. Chances are you are going to finagle so that everything will fit together so it makes sense. A great way that you can make this happen is by packing your paperbacks laying down in a stack while your hardbacks are standing up with the spines against your box’s side. This is going to help with distributing your books’ weight the best way. It also will help to keep the pages from becoming torn or bent.
Of course, this is going to interfere somewhat with Tip #5. If you are in doubt, use this style for packing and then organize as you can while going along.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 7 – Fill in Empty Spaces
Even though it’s similar to Tetris, chances are good you’re going to have gaps in between the book piles. So that things won’t shift around, use some balled-up packing paper for filling in empty spaces and stop things from shifting. It’s also possible to use dish towels or socks since you have to pack them anyway and they will do the same thing.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 8 – Treat Your Valuables Differently
The majority of your books are able to be placed inside boxes. However, there are some books that are valuable and that you should treat differently, such as vintage books, comics or photo albums. Based upon the type of book, this could mean that you wrap it up in bubble wrap before you put it in your box or/and keep it separate from the other ones using a cardboard layer.
For those books that are really priceless, pack these inside smaller boxes by themselves or simply with a few other items. Take them in your personal vehicle rather than putting them on your moving truck.
Packing Books After Selling Your House Tip 9 – Remember to Label
It can be tedious to label all the boxes. However, you want to do this, particularly for your books. Along with making it much easier to put them in the correct room to be unpacked, it also is going to help with giving your movers or you a fair warning that the box is going to be heavy. This way they can be a lot more careful when it’s lifted.
Packing Books After Selling Your House – Moving Books Tips
Packing up the books only brings you halfway. So you want to make sure that you are following the right practices when you move your books too. Here are some things to know.
- Carefully lift the boxes with care. Lift with your knees rather than with your back.
- Don’t stack these boxes. You should place them on your truck’s floor. This is going to prevent your boxes from falling over while being transported and damaging those items that are nearby. It also will offer protection while unloading your truck.
- Put them away from anything breakable. If one of these boxes moves around while you’re traveling, you want to make sure that it’s not going to do a lot of damage. Make sure they’re not close to porcelain, ceramic, and glass.
- Follow these steps for how to lift a box correctly so that you don’t risk injury when carrying your boxes of books to and from the moving truck.
There you are. Now you know a bit more about packing up books when you are ready to move. If you are a huge bibliophile, you will want to keep this list handy in case you ever find the need to move to another house someday down the line.
We hope that you found these tips useful for packing up books after selling a house. If you have a house that you want to sell and you are having trouble finding a buyer, contact us to get a fair cash offer. You are under no obligation, and we are ready to answer any of your questions.
