Don't be fooled though. Apply some common sense to some of these "miracle tips" and you'll quickly realise just how off the mark they are. Some are even outright dangerous.

If you sense some frustration in this article, it's because we care about you and your move. It's upsetting that people with no experience and a loud platform are propagating absurd tips and tricks that might actually be followed by unsuspecting movers.

With that little rant over, let's explore some of these hacks and their drawbacks.

1) Don't use free boxes from the supermarket.

Have you ever seen professional furniture removalists packing grocery cartons? Why? It would save us a great deal of money - wouldn't it??? - No.

We put a priority on your belongings actually making the trip without being strewn about the truck, or being crushed along with all your hopes and dreams of a smooth move!

Always use purpose specific moving boxes. They can be second hand, as long as they're still in good condition. Just don't skimp here too much, or it will cost you a great deal more in the end.

2) Don't pack your wardrobes, drawers and chests with items to save space and money.

These items are heavy enough without being loaded full of other belongings. Most furniture removalists will refuse to move such items due to health and safety issues.

Add to that, filling storage furniture with other items can result in damage to the piece itself, along with whatever has been packed inside.

3) Don't cut handles in your boxes.

If moving boxes were supposed to have handles cut out of them, they'd come like that. Packaging manufacturers have applied years of knowledge and refinement into developing moving boxes.

Cutting holes into the sides can weaken the boxes, making them vulnerable to crushing or collapse. It also leaves them open to water penetration and are an open invitation to vermin. Proper moving boxes are designed to prevent these problems from occuring.

4) Don't wrap utensil trays in plastic wrap.

At least, not before you have wrapped all the utensils in paper. It may seem like a quick and easy way secure your utensils. It's an equally quick way to dull your knives and have your cutlery clanging about.

5) Don't use plastic storage tubs.

We don't recommend them. Again, you don't see the pro's using them. They'd be able to use and re-use them, saving a lot of money - right?

Again - they're not made for this purpose. Use moving boxes instead. Plastic tubs are susceptible to cracking (especially when weakened by the heat that can build up in the back of a truck or shipping container and exposed to the constant forces applied to them in transit).

6) Don't use dried up painters/masking tape to begin with.

So many times this has been written: "If your painter's tape is dried up, put it in the microwave for a few seconds. It will become sticky again."

This implies that masking tape is, in some way, fit for packing moving boxes.

Packing tape is very strong, doesn't stretch and is very sticky. Masking (or painters tape) is, by design, not very sticky, is easy to remove, stretches and is easily torn.

These are two very different tapes and only one was ever designed to be used to properly secure moving boxes.

7) Be careful when using foam/paper plates between dinner plates.

The tip: "Forget newspaper for wrapping plates: Just pack foam plates between breakable ones to keep them safe."

There's two things wrong here. Again, professional movers don't use newspaper because it will leave grubby marks over EVERYTHING. Also, if you're going to put disposable plates in between dinner plates, make sure that you're still padding and weaving butchers paper around and between your plates to keep them secure. So, the disposables are probably not worth the hassle...

8) Don't use socks to wrap glassware.

They'll just stretch out of shape. Socks are more expensive than paper. They're also less recyclable. Use paper.

9) Don't pack your heaviest items in suitcases.

The tip: "Pack the heaviest of your objects (like books) in suitcases with wheels."

Heavier items should go into smaller boxes. That's because they're reasonably safe and easy to lift and carry, and also because they're less likely to collapse or break under the weight.

There's a box specifically designed for books (aka: the 'book box') and it'd be in the top two most widely used cartons, alongside the 'standard' or 'tea-chest' carton.

Also, when you're loading a removal truck, you'd likely want suitcases to be loaded near the top of the load; not having lots of other items stacked on top of it. A suitcase laiden with heavy books is likely to crush items below it.

It's probably okay to pack heavy items in wheeled suitcases if you're walking directly from your old home to your new one without any steps, lifting, or pesky removal trucks involved.

10) More misguided packing tips:

Tip: "Wrap shoes in shower caps and stack them in a medium-size box." What? Who has that many shower caps? Who wants to re-use them after they've stored your shoes?

Tip: "Enlist linens, towels and socks to protect glassware inside boxes." You will be doing laundry and folding for weeks. If there's any glass breakage, shards will embed themselves into your linen or destroy it. Unpacking is going to be more painful than it should be, with towels, clothes, and linen all dispersed throughout the load.

Tip: "Put any screws or hardware in marked sealable bags, then tape the bag inside the corresponding boxes, or on the furniture itself." I wouldn't recommend taping the bags to the furniture itself. They will be removed too easily, then torn open and strewn throughout the load doing untold damge. Or they'll simply get lost. By all means, use the resealable bags - but label them and pack them into a 'components box' or into the same box as the item itself, where possible.