packing breakable things

greeneyes

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:32 pm

I've never done this before, so for all of you who have moved, what's the best way to pack breakable things like china, glasses, etc?

TIA!

Rivky

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:34 pm

When I moved I wrapped my stuff in newspapers. It really helped. Plus the boxes that had the breakable stuff I made sure were handled w/ extra caution.

bubbles

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:35 pm

I wrap everything in newspaper. somethings in bubblewrap-the very fragile things. Make sure theboxes are packed tight and there is no empty spaces that also prevents things from breaking. GOOD LUCK!!

pinktichel

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:35 pm

wrapped everything in layers of newspaper. Not a thing broke, but that was for a local move.

louche

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:40 pm

Bubble wrap is the best but expensive and not environmentally good. Styrofoam pellets are good cushioning material but like bubble wrap are $$ and an environmental nightmare. Newspaper, and lots of it, both to wrap the items and fill in empty spaces in the box, is the best. After unpacking you can use the paper to wash your windows and then put it in your garden as mulch.

For dishes that you eat from, wrap first in plastic bags so that the ink doesn't get all over them., then use newspaper for cushioning.

Divided cartons like wine cartons are good for glassware.

pinktichel

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 1:46 pm

louche wrote:

For dishes that you eat from, wrap first in plastic bags so that the ink doesn't get all over them., then use newspaper for cushioning.

what a great tip... wish I had known this. Would have saved me a lot of time washing and drying my china (set for eighteen) and regular dishes.

justanothermother

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 2:06 pm

Uhaul sells dish and stemware packs, They are fairly $$$, but easy to use and work well.

Strawberry

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 2:45 pm

I moved from NY to Israel. I sent my china and glassware by lift so I needed to pack very well. I bubble wrapped each item and packed very tightly with towels to fill empty spaces and cushion each wall of the boxes. I was so happy that NOTHING broke-eventhough they throw the boxes!

It took me forever to wrap everything in bubble wrap but it was well worth it!

Twizzlers

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 3:21 pm

newspaper, newspaper, newspaper....and d ont leave any empty spaces. good idea about the plastic bags though, that would have saved me tons of time later!

also, just a tip, u can order online from usps.com boxes in every shape and size FOR FREE! I found packing fragile stuff in smaller boxes (and then putting a few into a large box) very helpful. good luck!

greeneyes

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 4:51 pm

Wow, thanks so much for all your quick replies!

Louche, when you say to wrap the dishes in plastic bags, do you mean that each dish should be in it's own bag?

montrealmommy

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 8:51 pm

also to save $$ use wht you have in the house - we used linens, pillows, towels, stuffed animals and even clothes as fillers (and sometimes packing matieral!) This also saved on the # of boxes I needed.

note on the dish/glass kits from Uhaul - they are great and reusable. We saved them for each move (we've moved 4 times); the compact pretty well and are sturdy enough to not lose their strength after multiple uses.

flowerpower

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 8:52 pm

I used lots of newspaper and bounty for fragile things. B"h nothing broke.

HooRYou

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 1:58 am

montrealmommy wrote:

This is what we did. I packed all of my breakables in towels, blankets, linens, thick sweaters, whatever. Nothing broke and I didn't buy packing materials.

Rutabaga

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 2:32 am

My fil is in the packaging business. He provided most of our boxes and packed up all our fragile items for us. Not a single item broke. For dishes, he created partitions within the box so that each size plate/bowl was tightly enclosed in its own section. He placed one of those wavy cardboard sheets in between each item in the stack. All the glasses/mugs were wrapped in newspaper. Everything was wedged in very tightly so nothing would shift in transit. Partitioned wine cartons were particularly useful for packing glasses and stemware.

Really helpful packing/moving tips:

-Label each box with a number and keep a master list of what's in each box.
-Label each box with the name of the room that you want the movers to place it in. (If you have boxes going to different bedrooms, you may want to post signs on the doors stating which room is which so the movers know where to put the boxes without you having to direct each one. Most other rooms are pretty obvious.)
-Don't box up anything that you might need shortly after you arrive at your new home. Bring it with you in your car rather than send it with the movers.
-Keep your valuables out of sight so as not to tempt the movers. (I temporarily left my good jewelry and silver with my mother when we moved, and dh put our computer in the car.)
-The first thing you should do when you get to your new home is make up your beds. By the time you are ready to go to sleep that night, you will be too exhausted to go hunting for your linen and bedding.
-Have plenty of cold drinks on hand. Moving is thirsty work and both your family and the movers will appreciate the drinks.

FYI, there is such a thing as a wardrobe box that comes with a bar. All you have to do is take your hanging clothes out of the closet and hang them in the box. That saves a lot of time (no folding!) and you don't have to worry about things getting wrinkled in a suitcase.

louche

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:03 am

HooRYou wrote:

montrealmommy wrote:

This is what we did. I packed all of my breakables in towels, blankets, linens, thick sweaters, whatever. Nothing broke and I didn't buy packing materials.

I hope you first wrapped the breakables in something disposable like plastic bags or paper. If anything did break in transit--and it does happen sometimes, no matter how well everything is cushioned--, you'd have debris in your diapers, shards in your shorts, and slivers in your socks.

louche

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:03 am

greeneyes wrote:

Louche, when you say to wrap the dishes in plastic bags, do you mean that each dish should be in it's own bag?

Of course. But make sure, if there's writing on the bag, that the writing is on the outside.

Last edited by louche on Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:33 am; edited 1 time in total

red sea

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:28 am

louche - great idea - you shoulda been around to tell me that before I got ink all over my dishes Sad

And one dish that wasn't unpacked for a very long time has the words all over it & I cant get it out

louche

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:32 am

red sea wrote:

louche - great idea - you shoulda been around to tell me that before I got ink all over my dishes Sad

And one dish that wasn't unpacked for a very long time has the words all over it & I cant get it out

Yeah, well, after years of unpacking my mother's Pesach dishes and having to vigorously wash them before they could be used, it occurred to me that maybe there's a better way.

Have you tried alcohol, nail polish remover or WD-40?

red sea

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:41 am

no, just soap, I guess I should bring out the big guns, ty louche

greenfire

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:43 am

this is why you're supposed to save the boxes the dishes come in ... What

louche - if newspaper print gets on the dishes (& I know they do) - why would you wash your windows with newspaper print ... Confused