It's always nice when you have several weeks and plenty of spare hours to slowly work on packing up your home prior to a move. However, this is rarely the reality. More often, you're crunched for time and forced to pack up everything in your home within a day. This day of whirlwind packing is sure to be a busy, stressful one. But thankfully, there are a few things you can do to prepare for this day of packing, helping to make it simpler and less stress-inducing. Try to find time to tackle these preparatory tasks the a few days before or the night before.

Organize your packing materials.

You don't want to waste time scurrying from room to room, looking for an empty box and then for the packing tape. You can avoid a lot of this running around by gathering all of your packing materials in one corner of a room. Place a paper sign on the wall that says "packing materials: put them back here when you're done!" to remind your helpers to stay organized.

Also take a minute to ensure you have all of the packing materials you need. If you're short on boxes, tape, bubble wrap, or tissue paper, run to the store for more now so you're not forced to take time out on your busier packing day.

Set up a refreshment area.

It might seem like taking breaks will slow you down, but in fact, taking a few minutes to regroup and refresh yourself every hour or two will help you stay focused and motivated on packing day. And you wouldn't want anyone to get dehydrated! Set up a corner with basic refreshments, like some bottled water, granola bars, and fruit. Though you may be tempted to supply your helpers with beer, as this seems to be customary, hold off on that until packing day is over. Alcohol makes dehydration more likely when you're running about, especially on warm days, and it might slow down your otherwise productive packing team.

Sequester the family pets.

If someone accidentally lets the cat escape out the door, that one incident can consume hours or your busy packing day. And having to trip over the dog every time you walk through the living room is annoying, too. Make plans for any pets on moving day, whether that means having a friend babysit them at their home or sending them off to a local doggy daycare. 

Set aside jewelry and important papers.

This is especially important if you'll be having friends and family members help you pack. They won't necessarily know what's important -- so they might accidentally pack necessary paperwork at the bottom of a box or put your jewelry in a place where you won't easily find it when unpacking. You can keep yourself from having to worry about these precious items on moving day by taking the time to pack them up and set them aside ahead of time.

Make a list of tasks for each helper.

When you have helpers, they can end up falling over each other and unsure of who is supposed to be doing what. You don't want to end up with five people trying to pack the silverware and nobody willing to help in the living room. So, sit down and list out each helper's name. Then, list tasks under each helper's name. Show everyone their expected tasks when they arrive, and you'll save a lot of time because everyone will be more focused. 

If you're really short on time, you may want to consider hiring packers like Redondo Van & Storage. Since they do this every day, they'll be able to get everything into boxes and into your moving truck a lot faster that your dedicated, yet inexperienced helpers.