Moving is a challenge and a joy. To ensure that it remains a joy and not an extremely expensive venture where you are disappointed in everyone and everything, make sure you are working with professionals! It may seem like a simple task to move things from point A to point B, but if it is not done professionally, you are likely to find yourself breaking everything. So where do we even begin? The packing stage…
Overall Pro tip- Label FRAGILE on the most critical boxes to help the movers know where to put in a little extra TLC.
Pack in a way that your items will remain safe
1. Plan out the task ahead of time. Packing up an entire home takes time. Set your goals according to your moving date and be realistic about deadlines. If you are in a rush to pack you won’t end up packing efficiently and safely and will end up breaking more than you save.
2. Start making your life easier by minimizing and decluttering ahead of time. Every extra item you have on hand is more work when packing. We recommend starting ahead of time to purge your closet, junk drawers, and sell off clothes to second hand stores or give them away.
3. Ensure to label every single box. We mean it! Even if you think you’ll remember and are sure where those panty hose are, we promise you things will get lost without a good labeling system and likely broken if moved around multiple times.
I would highly suggest going deeper than just labeling by room which is the minimum. I would label the room, and write out as detailed a content list as possible on the box itself on multiple sides.
4. Put aside a bag of critical items that are precious to you and your family and bring them to the new home by hand so you can ensure they will be safe.
5. Make sure you have enough of the bubble wrap and packing tape on hand to not have to be stingy with it when using a lot of the material wrapping fragile items. Know which items you have that are extra fragile and plan to pack them properly.
You can even take them out and put them aside to keep things streamlined even if they aren’t from the same room or category. This is key to keeping the fragile things alive.
6. You can use clothing from the winter months such as scarfs and hats to fill corners of boxes and ensure your fragile items are extra safe and not rolling all around.
7. There are special boxes made with extra padding for exactly this reason to keep your goods safe. These fragile special boxes are designed with dividers and foam to help keep things under wraps, literally.
8. Make sure to put a layer of padding on the bottom of boxes as well as around the items. This easily overlooked spot for padding is a sure fire way to end up with broken goods. Make sure to add extra padding at the corners which usually take in a lot of pressure as movers tend to lift boxes from the corner areas.
The extra layer on the bottom of your cartons with breakables is important as the boxes will likely be moved around a lot by you and the movers and are likely to be jolted in the moving truck. Think about the impact points and how to extra pad them.
9. Make sure each item that you load into your cartons goes by weight and size. Put the heaviest items in the bottom of the box and work your way up. There should be no gaps or room for items to roll around.
Packing tips from our pro movers
- It’s not only about what goes inside, but sometimes about the way you put it in.
- Make sure you utilize the space inside each box to its maximum capacity. Ex: Think smart, when packing drawers, you can stuff socks inside.
- Tape the bottom of the boxes with strong masking tape and ensure it is sealed. The same goes for when closing off a box.
- Use extra bubble wrap and plastic sheeting
- It is best to pack the heaviest items of your box towards the bottom and the lighter at the top.
- Use blankets and towels as extra packing material for padding fragile objects and to separate between glass items.
- Pack electronics carefully and ensure to include their charges within the same boxes. It’s best to usually put all electronics either in one box or in your “essentials” bag. While an electronic item isn’t likely to get broken (besides big TVs), having the cables lost can render it unusable.
Another option
Don’t forget that there is another option to have professionally trained movers come and pack up your house before the move. This is usually done in the hours prior to the move itself.
You will have a fully trained team doing the hard part and saving you the stress. If things end up broken that they packed you of course have their insurance policy to fall back on (but watch out for high liability limits!)
Closing things up
First off, if you’ve made it up to here without breaking anything or losing your temper, great job! When you follow simple but smart packing steps for fragile items, your items are likely to arrive just fine. It’s important to take the extra time wrapping each fragile piece to ensure your favorite belongings arrive in one piece.
Packing is a huge task, but with a proper room by room plan, you can tackle this day by day and keep your items safe and sound. The most important thing to do is take a deep breath and plan out your schedule, room by room so that you will pack efficiently and safely.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where can I get my hands on cardboard boxes for packing?
Most movers are happy to deliver you boxes for a fee when you book with them. You can also buy them at hardware stores. Another option is to go to major chain and grocery stores and request their boxes from their daily deliveries. You can usually find them thrown out by the trash bins and spread all around. With enough pre planning you won’t have to worry about wasting money on boxes.
How can I feel confident I have found an honest mover?
We agree that honesty is the most important quality trait a mover should have. No matter the pricing differences or reviews, nothing is more important than honesty and transparency. Moving APT created a vetted list of movers and has a dedicated team that all day show up to their desk in the office just to read through personal reviews, and check accident records, insurance claims, and other boring documents of our movers on the marketplace.
How can I waste less plastic when moving and be more sustainable?
Moving really does tend to require lots of tape, cartons, and bubble wrap, but this doesn’t have to be an environmental nightmare. Where you can, replace bubble wrap with towels and sheets. Replace tape with ties (but not too many), and see how you can repurpose all these items later on. Do your best without risking the fragile items.
How can I best know the number of cardboard boxes I will need to prepare for my move?
Start with your personalized inventory list to understand the items you have and their quality stage. From there you should be able to estimate how many drawers of smaller items and similar things will require their own boxes.
Your move is able to bring you a first load of movers and you can always request more later or buy them on your own at your local hardware store. As a rule of thumb, always take 15-20 more than you think so that you don’t end up over stuffing your boxes.
How can I stop stressing out about my upcoming move?
Get prepared, plan ahead, take deep breaths, and book on Moving APT to know you have trusted professionals standing behind your decisions. Moving is a profession, we have been at this for 30 years. Let us share our knowledge to save you the stress. When you have pros behind you you can breathe easy.
