Packing up your entire life and moving into a new space is anything but easy. Transporting a ton of stuff from one place to another is daunting and intimidating, especially when you don’t know where to start. But the key to a successful and stress-free move is to use moving hacks. There has to be some method to the madness of moving because shoving everything you own into boxes just isn’t going to work. If moving is something in your near future, use these hacks to make the experience much more straightforward:

Use toilet paper rolls to pack cords
Between our phones, laptops, TVs, all the other technology we own- we all have a ton of cables. Packing cords can be complicated, but to make it easier, wrap the wires inside a toilet paper roll.

Use your shirts to safely pack breakables
The biggest fear of moving is opening up a box to a bunch of broken glasses. To prevent that, place a folded shirt in between glasses, so they’re cushioned just in case something falls.

Use plastic wrap to cover liquids
Nothing is worse than traveling somewhere, opening up your bag, and realizing your shampoo burst and spilled everywhere. To keep liquids secure, wrap them all in plastic wrap before packing.

Pack your suitcases
You have to move the bags anyway, so why not pack them, too? Pack your suitcases with heavy items, as the wheels will make transporting them more manageable.

Don’t forget to defrost your fridge
You don’t want to be rushing out the door on moving day and suddenly realize you forgot to defrost the refrigerator- do it at least one day beforehand.

Use styrofoam plates to cushion regular plates
Similar to how you can use shirts to cushion glasses while packing, a good hack to prevent breakage of dishes is to stack them with a styrofoam plate in between.

Roll your clothes
We all know the hack of rolling your clothes in your suitcase when packing for a trip, but the same applies to moving. Roll your clothes into boxes for more comfortable and more compact packing.

Label boxes on the side
Chances are you’re going to stack many boxes on top of each other, and if you label them on the top, you’re not going to know what’s what. Instead, label all boxes on the side.

Put wine glasses in liquor boxes
Liquor boxes are conveniently separated into sections, making them perfect for packing wine glasses. Save old liquor boxes, so moving glasses will be a breeze.

Pack purses with small items
I mean, purses are meant to hold stuff, so why not use them for packing?! Stuff all your purses and bags full of as many small items as you can fit. Just make sure you remember where you put what.