Packing room by room: the order that saves your sanity

The trick to packing a whole house is to never once try to pack the "whole house". You do one room, finish it, shut the door, and move on. Going room by room in the right order keeps normal life ticking along almost to the last minute, and it's the difference between steady progress and a home full of half-filled boxes with a week to go.

Pack in order of how little you use it

Start where you won't feel it, finish where you actually live.

1. Storage spaces first, garage, shed, roof space, the spare room nobody sets foot in. You won't miss any of it, and it's usually the bulkiest, so clearing it early frees up real room to stage everything else.
2. Formal and rarely-used rooms, the good dinner set, the books, the decor, the second lounge.
3. Bedrooms, out-of-season clothes and spare linen now, everyday clothes near the end.
4. Kitchen, keep a few plates, mugs and bits of cutlery out until the last couple of days. You'll want them.
5. Bathroom and the daily bits, that's a morning-of job.

One room, properly finished

Fully pack and label a room before you crack open the next one. A house that's half-done in every direction is how things go missing and how the whole job starts to feel like it'll never end. A closed, labelled, finished room is something you can actually point at and feel you're getting somewhere.

Label for where it's going

Write the room it's headed to at the new place, plus a quick line on what's inside, and put it on the side of the box rather than the top. You can't read the top once they're stacked three high. "Kitchen, everyday plates and mugs" beats "kitchen stuff" at 8pm on night one when you're hunting for something to eat off.

Keep one box back for yourself

Whatever order you settle on, set aside a clearly marked box, or a suitcase, with chargers, medication, toiletries, a few kitchen basics and a change of clothes. It travels with you, not on the truck. Get that one thing right and your first night in the new place needs no unpacking at all.