How to Pack Fragile Items for Moving

Packing up and moving delicate items—from vases and fine ceramics to antique furniture and paintings—is an everyday process for our experienced domestic removal experts at AnyVan, so we understand how it can be a daunting and demanding task better than most. Even properties featuring minimal interior design practices can require far more cardboard boxes and hours of labour than first expected.

Taking time to organise and carefully consider how to pack and protect your belongings is crucial for a successful move. Arriving with boxes of broken possessions will cost you money and delay the time it takes for you to feel settled in your new home. For first time movers, such as students, breakages can be even more distressing.

We recommend leaving yourself plenty of time before the big day to work your way through packing, and to identify your most valuable and vulnerable belongings. The more careful and organised you are at this stage, the quicker and easier you’ll get unpacked at the other end.

Packing and moving delicate furniture

Despite their proportions or weight, large, heavy or bulky items can sometimes be starved of much-needed attention during a house move. Often they’re pieces of furniture that have been in the house for so long that no one can remember quite how they got through the narrow doorways in the first place.

But leaving these logistical challenges until last only increases the likelihood of your goods incurring damage on the journey.

Where possible, these items should be dismantled into smaller parts early on in the packing process. This will give you more time and flexibility when considering how best to arrange them in your chosen transport vehicle. Left in their entirety, the pieces may be an awkward shape to load and transport; the larger the surface area, the more likely it is to be scratched or dented.

Heavy furniture that cannot be taken apart, such as antique furniture, requires a lot more planning and special treatment. It goes without saying that you should never try to move heavy objects alone. The specialist large item couriers available through AnyVan are all experienced in helping people to move house are accustomed to stepping in to offer assistance in these situations.

Hard furniture can be wrapped in blankets using soft materials. You can use a mixture of bedding, sheets, towels and blankets to prevent the likelihood of dents and scratches.

More often than not, hefty items are damaged when homeowners have underestimated how many hands are needed to safely manoeuvre the piece out of their living space. Our professional handlers offer more than just strength, they are highly specialised and can calculate how best to transport difficult items between homes without putting it, or any of your other possessions, at risk.

How to pack glassware and ceramics

Fragile items like glasses and plates are vulnerable at the best of times, but in a house move, they’re even more at risk. Often expensive or rich in sentimental value, it is important to be particularly vigilant when wrapping and arranging any glass or ceramic goods.

Use small boxes for packaging these items, making sure they have firm sides that will hold their shape during the journey. These boxes should be kept light and not overfilled, with enough padding to prevent the individual items coming into contact with each other inside the box. Bubble wrap, tissue paper or protective cloth should fill any empty spaces to stop items from moving around.

Every box containing fragile goods should be clearly labelled as such, and the label must be immediately visible. These boxes should never be put underneath anything - except light clothes and duvets. Such soft items can be used to hold them in place and offer another layer of protection during transit.

Ensuring safety for electrical goods

From toasters to flat-screen TVs, electrical goods are heavily relied upon in everyday life. Discovering, after arriving at your new home, that any of these objects are broken will make your first few days much more stressful than they need to be.

Take some time to consider which appliances you’re going to want access to on move-in day. A laptop and kettle, for example, will add a welcome level of comfort and familiarity when you first arrive.

As with heavy furniture, dismantling any large electrical goods will reduce the risk of damage. This includes taking out any cables and leads to better protect the sockets. These pieces, which may include remote controls and chargers, should be wrapped separately and in a clearly labelled box so that nothing gets lost during the move.

If you’ve kept any of the original packagings and it’s still in good condition, it’s ideal for protecting the same belongings during the move. Even if the original boxes have pre-printed labels or pictures of what is inside, make sure to clearly label it as fragile and indicate which way up it is to be handled.

When wrapping items in protective layers, make sure nothing which should scratch or mark the surface gets trapped inside the wrapping. Taping over any holes, corners and edges will also strengthen your packaging, and prevent any tears or excessive strains.