Whether working, exercising, out for an evening or simply lounging around, don’t you always wish you had the perfect shoes for the moment? Wouldn’t it be great to have a pair for every occasion? Well, whether it’s perfect or not, it’s almost always a necessity to have shoes on your feet. In my opinion, a girl can never have too many shoes! And, I know quite a few of my male friends who would agree. Life is short, buy the shoes…right?
Until it’s time to move and suddenly the glorious shoe collection, or even only a few pairs, become completely overwhelming. Seems easy enough to just throw your shoes in a box and move on to the next task; however, that’s not the most effective method, and can easily ruin shoes. If you’re in need of some helpful tips on how to pack your shoes for a move, check out these suggestions.
Match and Organize Your Shoes
Are you like me…with some more important pairs organized on shoe racks and shelves, and others stuffed in unorganized bins overflowing at the top? If so, Step 1 is to match and organize your shoes. Get them in pairs, and then group them with similar shoe types: tennis shoes, summer shoes, and sandals, winter shoes, and boots, work shoes, etc. Once the shoes have been matched and organized, you’re ready for Step 2.
Review and Clean
Now that all shoes are matched and organized, determine: which ones haven’t you worn in more than a year; which ones are too old and used; which ones always hurt your feet; which ones are out of style, and then…get rid of them. Put them aside for donation or a garage sale. This will lighten your load, and make it easier to pack the shoes you choose to keep. But before packing, take a damp cloth and clean all of your shoes. Wiping shoes down before packing eliminates unwanted dirt and grime in your moving boxes. Also make sure not to pack shoes that are wet, as moisture from wet shoes can grow mold if boxed for any length of time.
Wrapping and Packing Your Shoes
If you’ve saved the boxes your shoes came in, use those boxes for repacking. It’s helpful to wrap the shoes in packing paper before putting them back in the box. You can even tape one side of the box to ensure that the lid will not come off during the move. Then, pack the various smaller shoe boxes into a larger moving box. Be careful not to pack the larger box too full, or you may wind up making it too heavy to carry.
If you didn’t save the original shoeboxes, wrap the shoes in packing paper before placing each pair into a larger moving box. Lay a sheet of packing paper out, place the shoe(s) at the edge of one corner and then roll until you have a tight package. Using packing tape to secure the packing paper after you’ve rolled them up is an option too. Or, depending on how many pairs you have, pack them tightly enough to keep the paper down. Remember to put heavier, more solid shoes in the bottom of the box to avoid crushing/damaging lighter, smaller pairs.
Another option is to opt for specialty moving boxes specifically for shoes! There are three shoe box types that you might like: generic, women’s or men’s.
Loading for the Move:
When it comes time to load your shoe boxes for the move, make sure you pack the boxes carefully into the truck or trailer. Even though you tried not to, did you pack the boxes too full, and are they now super heavy? If so, make sure you don’t place them on top of smaller, more fragile boxes. The same goes for placing heavier boxes on top of shoe boxes. If you have only a few pairs in a smaller box, make sure you don’t set something heavier on top, and wind up smashing the shoes.
Do you have any helpful tricks of the trade when it comes to packing and moving shoes?
(Flickr: larrywkoester, collinanderson/via cc)
