Packing up the kitchen for a move can be tricky. A little extra attention packing up your dishes can save some money and potential calamity.
It’s easy to toss clothes in a suitcase and toiletries in a bag but moving fragile items in the kitchen is a different story.
That’s why it’s so important that you learn the proper way of how to pack dishes and other breakables so that they make it to your destination in one piece. Check out these tips for protecting your breakables during a move.
1. Learn How to Pack Dishes
Dishes have to be packed with extra care. Make sure you wrap up your bowls and plates individually before stacking them nestled together into a box.
If you have the original box your dishes came in, that’s the best way to transport them. Otherwise, try to buy a special box that is made for transporting dishes called a “dish pack.” These boxes have thicker cardboard and come with dividers or compartments so that your dishes don’t brush against each other.
2. Pack Items for Storage With Extra Care
When you put items in storage, you may forget what is in each box and toss things around with less care than they deserve. Make sure everything that you are putting in storage is packed really well so that it’s still in one piece when you go to take it out.
3. Pack Glassware Individually
Wrap each of your glasses with paper before you pack them so that they don’t rattle against one another. There are special “glass pack” boxes with compartments for individual glasses. It’s the best way to prevent chipping and damage.
4. Don’t Overfill Your Boxes
No matter how well you tape the bottom of your boxes, if you overfill them, they may break open. Make sure that you are reasonable about the amount of weight you put in each box.
As a general rule, try to avoid putting more than thirty pounds worth of stuff in each box so that the box is manageable, and if you want to be sure everything arrives intact.
5. Tape the Box Well
Fragile items are also often pretty heavy. Make sure you reinforce the bottom of every box you use with lots of packing tape.
The last thing you want is to spend time packaging up all of your items with care only to see the bottom of the box fall open and everything break.
6. Fill in All Spaces With Packing Paper
When you are packing breakable items, you don’t want there to be any room in the box for the items to move around. Try to fill in all of the spaces you can with packing peanuts or paper.
Then, test the box by shaking it just a little bit to ensure you can’t hear anything moving around. Chances are, things will shift around a bit once the box is in the truck so add the paper for added protection.
7. Label Fragile Items
When you complete packing each box make sure you label it “fragile” on each side as well as the top. Movers will know to take extra care of that box with the breakable items inside.
Where to Go for Quality Help Moving
Learning how to pack dishes and glassware with the right paper and in a high-quality box is the best way to ensure all of your items make the move intact.
But if you really want to be sure everything runs well, hire a professional moving company to handle your packing and transport.
Are you making a move in the Tampa Bay area? Contact us today for a quote.