How to safely pack fragile and valuable items?

How to safely pack fragile and valuable items?

It’s finally time for one of the biggest projects in your life – moving. It is fun, it is exciting and if you play your cards right – you will enjoy it. But, in order to ensure smooth relocation,  you need to plan everything ahead. Planning your move to the last detail is an essential task if you want to avoid stressful relocation. And stress is the last thing you need during this undertaking. Moving is expensive and time-consuming, hence you going to need a lot of patience and nerves to stay calm. That is why you are going to make a watertight moving plan. And the first thing will be to pack your home as a pro. Packing is a very delicate operation, especially when you are about to safely pack fragile and valuable items. In this article, you’ll find some very useful fragile items packing tips and tricks.

If you’re moving for the first time, and don’t have any packing experience, you don’t need to worry. Packing is fun, way more fun than you might think. It’s the first step to your new life in the new home. And as you’re going to pack your entire life, get ready for emotional moments. Especially when you find some long-lost photo album or your childhood toy. Don’t get surprised if you figure out that you lost 3 hours remembering some life situations, because you will. And that is why it’s really important to start packing on time. Therefore, you need to think about timing when making a moving plan. That means you need to reserve enough time for this task. And once you do that, add one more day, just to be safe. And you can always call your friends to help you and make a day out of it.

The first step towards safely pack fragile and valuable items – Packing plan

So, as we mentioned before, it is essential to make a proper packing plan. Even though it might sound silly at this moment, soon you’ll see that packing is more complex than you thought. There are so many things you need to include in the packing process, particularly if you want to safely pack fragile and valuable items. Just like you will make a good moving checklist, it is necessary to make a packing list as well. The packing list will be your number one friend during this process, as it is the best way to track your progress.

For this, you will need a pen and paper. And do not get this wrong, it is not that someone is doubting your remembering skills. But, no matter how good you are, once you find your self in the middle of the packing mess, there is a big chance that you will forget some small detail. And here is all about details. If you forget to label a few boxes or do it wrong, it can prolong your unpacking in the new home. And unpacking is art, just like packing. So, just to be a hundred percent sure, write everything down, and keep that piece of paper close to yourself. If you keep notes about what is where it will speed up truck loading, unloading, and unpacking. And most important of all, you will know exactly where to look particular item if you need it at some point.

Now, let’s cut to the chase. Here are things you need to sort out in order to safely pack fragile and valuable items:

• Decluttering and Sorting
• Getting necessary packing supplies
• Packing and labeling
• Getting rid of unnecessary items

Decluttering and Sorting

It is time to choose what you are moving to your new home. In all honesty, you have some belongings that you are not using anymore or appliances that are not working for quite some time now. And you do not want to bring those stuff to your new living space. Especially if you are moving far from your current city. So, it is a decluttering time. The most important thing in this part of packing is not to be too emotional. And there is something you should know – you need to pay the transport of your belongings based on their weight. So, once get a quote from your long distance movers, make sure that you do not include unnecessary stuff.

Once you start selecting items that you will bring with yourself, make 2 groups. The first group will consist of things that you will pack. Let’s call this group “to bring”As you are placing items on that side, write them down. That is the best way to make your packing list. Now, the second group will contain items that you do not need anymore. we’ll name this group “to get rid“. For now, let’s focus on the “to bring”. We will tell you what to do with another group later.

It is important to do this part planned. So there is no going to the next room before you finish the current one. It’s important for two reasons. First, you will ensure that everything is covered. Second, it will be easier for you to sort boxes by premises once you unload the truck at your final destination. And one more thing. As you writing down items on your packing list, mark fragile items. This way you will be able to safely pack fragile and valuable items.

Getting necessary packing supplies

Once you finish with decluttering and sorting, it is time for shopping. No, it is not that kind of shopping. You do not need to buy more items to move to your new home. Instead of going to the shopping mall, you need to visit the local hardware store. What you need is to make sure you have everything you need in order to safely pack fragile and valuable items. Here is what you are going to need:

• Boxes – lots of them.
• Wrapping paper and tape
• Air bubble packing and packing foam.
• Labels
• Moving blankets
• Rubber Band
• Protectors

And whatever else you can find. Once you are there if you spot something you think might be useful – take it. There is never enough of packing supplies. When it comes to boxes, you can always try to find some free at the local grocery store, bookstore or on the Internet. It will take some of your time, but you can save a nice figure on that. As you can see from the above list, there are many protective items. That is the only way to safely pack fragile and valuable items. Don’t try to save on that part because you will risk damaging or breaking something. Now, if you break a couple of regular glasses or plates, that is ok. You can always buy a new one. But, a family portrait or crystal vase you have, that is something you need to transport safely.

Finally, if you do not have time for shopping, or you do not like that part, there is a solution. High Level Movers Toronto have the perfect packing supply option for everyone’s taste, all you need to do is choose from their wide pallet of supplies packages.

Packing and labeling

Now that you know what you want to pack, and have necessary packing supplies, it is time for actual packing. This is the crucial part if you want to safely pack fragile and valuable items. Make some time in your agenda, as this is something you shouldn’t do in a hurry. Hopefully, you already have a packing list and you know which items must be handled with extra attention. So, if you have everything you need, here is how to pack certain fragile belongings.

Glasses and Dishes

When packing these items, make sure you pack each item separately. That means you need to wrap each glass or plate with wrapping paper. And here is one extra tip. If you have some old newspapers, you can use that instead of wrapping paper. The result is pretty much the same, but you will save some money. Before you wrap a glass, you should fill it with additional paper. Once you wrap the glass, use scotch tape or wrapping tape for extra security. Place everything in the box, piece by piece. If there is empty space between items, fill it with packing foam. Once the box is full, close it and seal with wrapping tape. Make sure that you label properly. You can add a number on the label as well, and mark items on your packing list so you know what is in each box.

Mirrors and Large Fragile Items

Now mirrors, windows, picture frames, and similar objects are tricky when it comes to packing. Just one small bump on the road can cause severe damages. And even the smallest crack, in this case, means replacing the whole glass part. So, in order to prevent damages, here is what you should do. Fist, take the paper tape and form a star. Fist find the center, and tape from that place to the left edge, right, bottom and top edge. now you formed a plus. In order to form a star, tape diagonally but through the center again. Once you tape both diagonals, you have a star. This part is essential, as now your mirror can absorb vibrations without any consequences.

Next, you need to protect the frame. For this, you can buy a foam frame protector, or you can simply use pieces of thick paper or cardboard. Once you do that, wrap the whole thing with air bubble packing, and you are done. If you have smaller mirrors or pictures, it would be wise to use mirror corrugated box which you can easily find on the Internet. Finally, if you are moving high-value art or antique items, you shouldn’t risk at all. These items are usually precious and, more importantly, priceless, hence it would be smart either to crate them or hire fine art movers.

Other fragile items

We could make a short how-to tutorial for every type of fragile item you might have, but it would take us too much time. The most important thing is to safely pack fragile and valuable items, whichever they might be. Up to this point, we went through some of most usual fragile things. For all others, that we didn’t mention, like vases, jars, fine ceramics, or candleholder, you should use the same principle. And that principle is – stuff them, fill them, wrap them, and double-wrap them. There shouldn’t be empty space anywhere. Uso your common logic and all protective packing supply you have, and you’ll be fine.

But, whatever you are taking with yourself to your new home, fragile or not, make sure to have moving insurance. Sometimes it will be a part of the quote you will get from your movers, and that is fine. But, if that is not the case, ask your moving company to give you additional offer for moving insurance. This insurance will cover all your belongings during the transport. And, as you will not be able to oversee the whole process, you must be sure that there will be no surprises. In case of any damage, you will get the appropriate compensation. And if you do not need to activate this policy once the truck is in front of your new porch – even better. But do not risk. It is always better safe than sorry.

Final tips

And that is it. You are finished with packing. More importantly, you did everything in order to safely pack fragile and valuable items. And one more thing – if you are moving across the Canadian border, make sure you do not have anything from the list of Restricted and Prohibited Goods. The last thing you need is legal problems or any kind of problems during relocation. And remember – start on time, make a good moving plan, keep notes, and have your packing list next to yourself all the time.