As a basic rule, allocate one full day of packing per room, twice as much if you have a lot of things. So, if you have a studio apartment, suppose it will take 1 to 2 days to pack; 2 to 3 days for a one-bedroom apartment; and approximately 7 to 8 days for a five-bedroom apartment. As a starting point, plan to spend a day packing your bags for every room in your home. For example, if you live in a studio apartment, it should take you a day to pack your belongings.
If you live in a two-bedroom house, assume it will take you at least three days, depending on the size of the rooms. Add an extra day or two if you're packing for the first time, and don't forget to spend at least one day packing in the garage. Then, touch the items just once, put them in the appropriate stack or pack them in a box before moving on to the next item. A packing marathon just before moving day will put your items at risk (since you won't have time to pack them carefully enough) and cause you a lot of stress (since you won't be sure you can get everything ready in time).
Before you start, make sure you have enough wrapping paper, tape, and boxes because having to stop and run to the store is a waste of time. Special boxes, such as dish and wardrobe boxes, can speed up the process because they are easier to use with specific items. You can even get them ready to help pack other parts of the house and subtract more time. One of the most frustrating parts of moving is packing up your things before you move just to unpack everything once you get settled.
You can have your family help you (your partner, your children (if they are old enough), your parents (if you are moving out of their house) or any other family member who can and is willing to give you a hand) or to reach out to your friends (have a packing party, so you can have fun with your friends) while you prepare your things for the move, or just ask a couple of trusted friends to help you for a few hours every day during the last week before your move). Once you've hired a moving company to handle your packing, you may be asked to send them a list of items in your home that you want to pack. While convenient, packing services can be costly, especially if you want everything you own packed and unpacked. Skilled packers will be much more thorough with work than you, even if you take your time and pack carefully and methodically, going room by room.
All you have to do is pack the essentials and valuables you intend to carry with you, so you can complete the task in several hours. Packing will be less tiring and less stressful, and your items will have a better chance of surviving the relocation intact and unharmed. In a word, how long it will take to pack to move will depend on the number of items you have to move in. Of course, you don't want to hear about it halfway through the packing process, when you've spent weeks sporadically packing and collecting supplies and you don't see an end in sight.
