Packing can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re about to move your entire household across the country! One question you might have as you start planning your packing procedure is how best to deal with delicate and fragile items—you don’t want those expensive heirlooms, family keepsakes and electronics to break in-transit to your new home!
Luckily, we have a few tips to help you figure out how best to pack some of the trickier items you might have in your home. Read on to learn how to properly pack fragile and breakable items for a move.
Make a packing plan
The first thing you should do when you’re preparing to pack up your breakables is to take inventory of all of the items you have in your home that you think have the potential to break during the move. If there are items that you feel you can get rid of, or pass along to another family member, do so before it’s time to pack everything up. If you move things that you don’t necessarily want or need to keep, you’ll just be wasting precious dollars on packing materials, and precious minutes when your movers knock on your front door.
Keeping a detailed inventory list of all of your fragile and expensive items will prove beneficial while moving. Take photos of expensive items, note their condition, and write down which box they’re packed in. This applies to antique furniture, memorabilia, keepsakes, electronics, and any other fragile high-dollar-value item that you own.
Divide the items you want to pack into piles based on monetary value: if there are things that are worth a good deal of money, you might consider asking a relative to look after them for safe keeping so that you can transport them yourself after your move.
Everything else can be stacked in the “to be packed” pile. Now, you’ll need to purchase the packing materials you need in order to ensure safe passage from your old home to your new one.
Packing materials you will need
According to Moving Tips, you’ll need to pick up a few essential packing supplies from your local moving or hardware store, including:
- Sturdy small to medium sized cardboard boxes
- Packing paper (skip the newspaper, as it can leave black ink marks on your items!)
- Bubble wrap
- High quality packing tape.
Make sure the boxes you choose are strong and clean: any second hand box that was wet at one point, or already has a few indentations in its sides won’t hold up during your move—purchasing fresh boxes from your hardware or office supplies store is your best bet. Your moving company will also be able to provide the boxes you need for your fragile items.
Prepare the boxes for a secure move
Once you pick up all the materials you need, get your boxes prepped: tape across the seams and the sides in order to shore up the boxes. Place packing paper on the bottom of the box to create a shock-absorbing layer, in case the boxes are jostled during the move.
Wrap the fragile items carefully
The next step will be wrapping up your items, and nestling them carefully into your ready-to-go boxes. You’ll want to use wrapping paper to fully cover your breakable items: it’s important to create a whole layer of paper that can absorb shock and prevent breakage. Don’t nestle the items too close together, but also don’t leave too much space. A good rule of thumb is that your breakables shouldn’t be directly touching each other in the box, but that there should be no free space in your box.
Be sure to wrap your items, place them in the box, and then use bubble wrap or more wrapping paper to create space between each item. Use bubble wrap to top off your box if there’s room leftover—a truly secure box that will keep your breakables safe won’t have any room for them to move around in-transit.
If you run out of packing materials while you’re wrapping up your breakables, use items like towels and clothing to pad the boxes and wrap your items with. Also, don’t forget to wrap the stems of your wine glasses with bubble wrap before wrapping the whole glass with wrapping paper!
Make sure to label!
Lastly, make sure you label your fragile boxes, clearly, with the word “fragile.” You can also write things like “glass,” “stemware,” or “collectibles” to ensure that your movers take extra good care of your items. It’s a good idea to leave all of your fragile packed boxes in one place in your home: that way, when the movers arrive, you can show them that the boxes in this specific location should be handled with care due to breakable items.
If you’re still wary about packing certain items that you have in your home, then your movers might be able to help! Call and ask if they provide specialty services in the form of fragile item packing, or custom crating.
Highland Moving is available for all of your packing and moving needs in Vancouver BC, whether you’re making a local move or hauling the whole family across the country. Give us a call today at 604-581-2300 for more information on our services or to receive a free quote!
