Social media is lousy with creative ways to pack more efficiently or schlep less strenuously. But most of the moving hacks you see on YouTube or TikTok are just that: lousy. They offer very little in the way of convenience or protection, and they can end up costing you time and (if you hire professional movers) money.
“You don’t want to cut a corner up front in a way that makes loading the truck take longer,” said Kit Dillon, Wirecutter’s Hawaii-based senior staff writer who’s also worked for the past five years as a professional mover (on weekends and holidays). “I see it so often. Someone spends an extra $500 on movers because they wanted to save an extra $30 on packing materials.”
Every move is different, of course. When it’s just you and your car (or maybe you, a friend, and that friend’s pickup), packing fast and loose is bound to happen, and that’s fine. But for larger relocations that involve a rental truck and several warm bodies (be they friends or pros), proper packing can streamline and de-stress the whole process better than most hacks.
To help you out, below we’ve debunked several of the internet’s most popular moving hacks, and we tell you what to do instead.
