Packing fragile items

People who often move know how tiring and time-consuming this can be. Moving and packing are tasks that require you to be patient, systematic, and to know how to approach them. If you know how to do things properly, you’ll be done with it much faster than if you’re completely clueless. If this is your case, then hiring a trustful professional moving company would be just a thing for you. Fragile items are notoriously difficult to pack. So if your relocation includes packing fragile items, it’s necessary to know what to do. Again, if you don’t have the patience or materials, or you’re not sure you have the right skills, leave it to those who are and hire moving experts. In case you’ve decided to go for a DIY move, read on to learn about packing fragile items with ease.

Tips for packing fragile items

Packing fragile items may seem nearly impossible. Not only do you need lots of packing materials and care but you also need to pay attention to how you transport and unpack sensitive belongings. However, you can actually pack all of your breakable belongings and transfer them safely. Most people begin with packing things from the kitchen as most of these items are found here. Luckily, there are many tips on how to pack and move the kitchen the best way. These guarantee you easier packing fragile items as well. That’s especially the case with items such as glasses – drinking and wine, as well as ceramic dishes.

Wrapping the plates and glasses

This is going to be a task that will take a lot of your time. Most households have lots and lots of different kitchen items, all made of different materials and serving different purposes. Considering how many items is commonly found in a kitchen, make sure you have enough time to pack all of them. And if you intend on packing and transporting most or all of your kitchenware, then plan for even more time. Also, make sure to get enough packing supplies. You’ll need sheets of old newspapers, magazines, bubble wrap, and packing boxes. Once you acquire all of the materials, start wrapping the plates and glasses individually.

It’s important you pack each item separately because this will prevent scratches and other damages. Once each piece is wrapped, go ahead and place them carefully in boxes. The bottom of the boxes should be filled with either crumpled paper or some other soft material, but use bubble wrap for best results. The plates should be laid vertically because horizontal placement is more likely to lead to damage and breakage. Remember to fill any empty space with packing foam or crumpled packing paper, but do not overfill the box.

Furthermore, don’t forget to secure the box. Seal it properly with packing tape to prevent the box from opening. You will then want to put a ‘Fragile’ label on it so that you would know what is inside. You could also use a sharpie marker instead of premade labels and write “fragile” on several sides of the box. Drawing arrows pointing upwards is another step that will let your helpers know how to store fragile content correctly. Also, it never hurts to be around and everyone involved knows which boxes require extra careful handling.

Label moving boxes

If you’re using the services of a moving company, seeing the labels will help them when loading the moving truck. This is why it is important to know how to label the moving boxes properly. In case you need to point out any additional information, do it in time so that they would know what to pay attention to. This will also ensure a better quality of their service and you’ll be more satisfied with the outcome.

Packing lamps and pictures

Sometimes, it’s smarter to move items into storage instead of taking them with you. That may be the case if you’re downsizing and you don’t have enough place for everything you own. But there are some we just can’t leave behind. If those are lamps, pictures, and frames we are talking about, then try to pack them in such a way that they will ‘survive’ the transportation. You’ll do this by knowing that these items require double wrapping. So, how to pack lamps for moving properly? Get at least two boxes. One box is for the lampshade, and the other for its base. However, it can be challenging to find appropriate sizes of boxes. Ask around in local supermarkets or borrow some from people you know. If the base is too big for every box you’ve found, then you’ll just have to secure it additionally.

When it comes to moving pictures and frames, take another box and place the picture frames in it. How many frames you’ll put inside the box, depends on the number of frames you have, their sizes, as well as the sizes of your boxes. That is why it is advisable to get as many boxes in different dimensions as possible to ensure better packing. A packing paper should also be placed on top of the box so that the content won’t be moving inside. If they shift in transit it could lead to damage, and if the frames are valuable or they came as a gift, then you’ll have a hard time replacing them.

Use moving blankets

The same problem people come across when packing large lamp bases can occur with large picture frames too. The reason is that picture frames are sometimes bigger than any box you can get ahold of. Luckily, there’s an easy fix. Large picture frames could be secured by wrapping them in moving blankets. Remember to move them separately – each frame should be packed individually. Doing this will also help you handle them easier. Moving blankets can also be used to wrap any other sensitive item in your household, such as kitchen appliances, furniture pieces, etc. In order to save money, approach each of these packings with absolute care to avoid any damage. Most of these fragile items are difficult to restore to the previous state so it’s important you take extra measures of precaution and prevent damage. Take this thought with you the next time you’re about to move.

Packing electronic devices

These actually fall under the category of less complicated items to pack. That is, they are easy to pack if you still have their original packages. They are made to perfectly fit the sizes of the gadgets, TV and computer screens. So you don’t need to worry much. But in case you no longer have the original box, you could go for packing materials and achieve similar results. First, make sure you use paper designed specifically for the purpose of protecting electronic screens. If you use newspapers or anything similar, you could easily damage your computer or TV screen.

Once you’ve protected the screen, go ahead and use bubble wrap to cover the entire piece. Apply double wrapping if you don’t have the original packages anymore. This should be good enough for transporting them safely. You’ll also want to make sure you use packing tape to secure the wrapping in place. Eventually, moving blankets will provide the final layer of protection and absorb any accidental hits. The box that’s big enough to fit your fully packed electronic item is the final step. Don’t forget to mark the box “fragile” so all the helpers would take extra care when handling electronic devices. Also, be careful when unloading a moving truck to avoid breaking any of the carefully loaded items. If you’re still concerned about this, then inform yourself about how to pack and move electronics the right way.

Summary

To sum it all up, there are numerous things to pay attention to when packing fragile items. What you need to pay attention to is that packing such items takes time. If you’re doing everything in a rush, then you risk damaging or breaking them completely. The next thing to have in mind is that you’ll need to have appropriate packing supplies such as packing papers, blankets, bubble wraps, etc. Make sure to have plenty of those as well as boxes to store the items. Once you have all of these you’re ready to start wrapping. In case you’re still not sure about how to pack fragile items and you’d rather let local movers handle them, feel free to contact Dumbo Moving and Storage. We provide complimentary in-house quotes so don’t hesitate to reach out to us!