Tips for Packing Your Home Office when You Move

Packing your home office might mean throwing things away. I know you hate to throw out your tax forms from 1995, but moving forces you to reduce the clutter. Another thing you have to remember when packing the home office is that you must care for your electronics. Computers, printers, fax machines and copiers require special treatment if you want them to survive the move to your new home.

Packing Your Home Office: Separate Into Piles

Your best bet for packing your home office is to separate everything into piles so that you can go through them systematically. Papers, for example, should go into one pile, while disks should go into another. Put your office supplies in another pile, your boxes in another and your electronics into another. This should help you to keep track of everything and to label boxes appropriately.

Packing Your Home Office: Use File Boxes

You can purchase file boxes at your local office supply store for just a couple dollars each, and these work great for transporting file folders, paperwork and other loose documents. You might also want to purchase legal tote boxes if you have a large amount of legal-sized files; it is never a good idea to transport your files in your filing cabinet, as the doors might easily slip open on the road.

Packing Your Home Office: Secure Electronics

Your computer, printer, fax machine, scanner and copier should be packed carefully. If you have purchased foam inserts or bubble wrap, you can use that, or you can simply wrap them in sheets and towels from your linen closet. Make sure that your electronics aren't shoved up against one another and that screens can't be compromised or broken.

Packing Your Home Office: Make Friends with the Trash

This is also a great time to clean out your home office; anything you don't need should go straight into the trash can. For example, you probably don't need your tax records from 1995 or your expense reports from 1998. Keep everything that you might need for the future, but dump everything else to make packing an easier task.

Packing Your Home Office: Disassemble Furniture

If your desk, table, hutch or other office furniture can be "taken apart", now's the time to do it. For example, my desk is largely a one-piece affair, but the hutch can be removed from the top. This will make moving much easier and will save your back when having to move heavy pieces. You should also remove drawers, sliding shelves or other attachments that can be stored in separate boxes.

Packing Your Home Office: Put Utensils in Plastic Bags

Writing utensils and other office supplies should be stored in plastic Ziploc bags and placed inside boxes for safe-keeping. Whatever you do, don't just dump a pile of pens into a box because unpacking will be a nightmare. The same goes for scissors, three-hole-punches, post-it notes, pads, highlighters, notebooks and stamps. If you can, use heavy-duty bags that aren't likely to break or tear.

Packing Your Home Office: Divide Heavy and Light Items

When packing your boxes, try to divide the heavy and light items to make each box easier to manage. For example, if you have one hundred CD-ROM cases with their enclosed media, don't try to stuff them all into one box because it will be too heavy. Instead, put twenty-five CD-ROM cases in four boxes, and fill up the rest of the room with bags of office supplies or with towels and linens. The same goes for books, stacks of paper and electronics.