Our packers follow the same order in every home, and it works just as well if you are packing yourself. The idea is simple: pack what you use least first and what you use every day last.

If you are still packing the kitchen at midnight the day before, the order was wrong, not the effort.

Start three weeks out with the rooms nobody uses, and keep one box per person for the things you need on the first night.

• Three weeks out: storage, basement, garage, guest room
• Two weeks out: books, art, out-of-season clothes
• One week out: most of the kitchen, keeping a few plates and pans
• Two days out: bathrooms and remaining clothes
• The night before: a first-night box for each person

Label every box on two sides with the room and a few words about what is inside. Top-only labels are useless once the boxes are stacked.