According to data from the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11 times in his/her lifetime. Just reading that makes us exhausted.
Moving is a challenging process. Condensing all your personal items into manageable boxes takes time and skill. One of the most challenging parts of moving is keeping fragile valuables safe.
But our pros are lending a hand with some tips to help you pack fragile items.
How to Pack Fragile Items
Keep your breakables intact with these pro tips:
1: Stock Up on Essential Supplies
Get plenty of boxes – ideally new ones, because boxes weaken over time. Overstuffed boxes are vulnerable to broken items, so get more boxes than you think you’ll need.
Having the right packing paper is essential too. A newspaper might be cheap, but it can leave ink stains. Use it for extra padding, but get blank and clean packing paper for wrapping individual items.
2: Start Early
Rushing your packing is one of the fastest ways to break your valuables. Instead of procrastinating, you can start packing weeks ahead of time.
Fine China, display cases, and other items aren’t essential day-to-day. Start packing these items first and work up to packing more heavily used items as your move date gets closer.
This also takes away some stress in the final days before the move. In the long run, packing ahead and using paper plates for a few days can pay off.
3: Choose Box Sizes Wisely
Pack fragile items that are heavy in smaller boxes. Lighter items can go in larger boxes. You might consider getting heavyweight boxes for, particularly heavy objects.
4: Use Soft Items
For household moving, get creative with the tools at your disposal. You need to pack your towels and blankets, so why not use them to pad dish boxes?
5: Wrap Each Item
To avoid fragile items clanging together and breaking, wrap each with packing paper. You can secure the paper with tape for extra protection.
For highly fragile items, add an extra layer of packing paper.
Stemmed glasses are tricky. To protect the entire glass, use bubble wrap around the stem first. Then wrap it with packing paper.
6: Leave No Empty Space
Extra space will allow items to rattle around and break. Fill all the space between items with newspaper, packing paper, or another filler material.
An often overlooked packing tip is to fill the space inside hollow items like glasses, too. Stuff them with clean packing paper to support the sides and prevent breakage.
7: Go Vertical
Plates, picture frames, and other flat items should be placed in the box vertically. Placing items in vertically will prevent excess weight on the bottom items. But make sure the box is tall enough to hold the items along with padding at the top, bottom, and sides.
8: Label, Label, and Label Again
When you’ve packed a fragile box, label it “fragile” on EVERY side. It’s a good idea to set these boxes in a separate area, too. If you hire movers (or friends), show them which boxes are fragile.
Mastering Your Move
There are many important aspects of a successful move. Knowing how to pack fragile items is just one.
For more helpful moving tips, check out our blog for moving.