How to Safely Pack Dishes and Other Breakables

Whether you’re moving or just clearing space, packing your dishes and other breakable items can be one of the slowest and most difficult parts of the process - but it doesn’t have to be! With the right materials and a little patience, you can easily overcome the ordeal ahead and become a packing pro!

Here’s how to get started:
 

Get the Right Packing and Moving Supplies

Before you start packing your dishes and fragile items away, you’ll want to make sure that you’re fully prepared for this task. By investing in some simple packing supplies you can ensure that your dishes and other items are safe no matter how rough the journey is to their new destination.

Here’s what you’ll want to get:

• Small – medium sized moving boxes
• Dish boxes (if available)
• Packing paper
• Bubble wrap
• Packing tape and dispenser
• A marker or label maker

You can typically find most, if not all of these items at your local hardware or building supply store.
 

Setting Up Your Boxes for Moving or Storage

Setting up your boxes for packing or moving may seem like a straightforward task but you want to ensure that you’ve prepared them to handle both the weight and fragility of your dishes and other breakable items. It’s important to avoid using large boxes as the combined weight of your dishes may make it too difficult to pick up safely or cause the box to break.

Preparation of each box may vary depending on the size and type of items that you’ll be placing in it, but the general rules will still apply.

1. Assemble the boxes and be sure to use enough packing tape to secure the bottom to keep it from opening again.
    
2. Use your packing paper to create a cushioned layer at the bottom of the box. You’ll want to crumple or crush the paper up rather than just layering it in.
    
3. If you couldn’t find any dish boxes but still have some additional boxes available, you can cut them up to create barriers to place in between your dishes while packing. This way they won’t touch or knock into each other while being transported. This also helps when packing different sizes and types of dishes into one box.
    
4. After you’ve packed your box, you’ll want to repeat steps 1 and 2 for the top layer of the box so that all your dishes are secure and well padded before moving it.
    
5. Once the box is sealed, we recommend labeling it with either a permanent marker or label maker so that you will know exactly what’s inside and can have it placed in the correct room after transporting it.

How to Safely Pack Dishes and Plates

Bowls, plates, and other dishes are typically the easiest place to start since they are (usually) flat, of similar size, and can easily stack together. We recommend that when you’re packing dishes for moving or storage, that you wrap each plate individually as it will greatly decrease the likelihood that one of them gets damaged during their journey. It may also be tempting to save time by doing multiple dishes at once, but this can run the risk of them breaking during transit.

Follow the steps below to learn how to pack dishes for moving or storage: 

1. Place your dish directly on top and in the centre of your packing paper.
    
2. Grab one of the corners of the packing paper and fold it underneath the plate on the opposite side or in the centre if it’s a larger dish or bowl.
    
3. Repeat this step for the 3 remaining sides.
    
4. Finally, tape the pieces together so that they don’t come loose.

Now that all of your dishes have been wrapped, you’ll then want to load them vertically into the box, similar to how you would load a dishwasher. This ensures that your dishes aren’t carrying the weight of all those on top and will prevent them from breaking.

How to Safely Pack Glasses and Cups

When it comes to kitchenware, your cups and glasses are usually the most fragile and should be packed with extra care. Packing them together in a moving box can also be a challenge due to them being made of different materials, having handles that stick out, and coming in various sizes. 

Follow the steps below to learn how to pack glasses for moving or storage:

1. Fill your cups and glasses with crumpled up packing paper.
    
2. Wrap your cups in two layers of packing paper to ensure there is extra cushioning and tape the ends together if necessary.
    
3. If you’re wrapping wine glasses, be sure to add more padding around the stem to give it extra padding.
    
4. Place your cups in your box upright and add crumpled up packing paper or cardboard dividers between them to prevent them from hitting together.
    
5. If your cups aren’t too thin you can also place some on top – but making sure to add a layer of crumpled packing paper between the rows.

Packing Breakable Items

Now that we’ve covered the basic items, it’s time to cover everything else! The same guidelines for packing and safeguarding your items will still apply even though the shapes and sizes of these items may vary. Here’s how we recommend you handle these common household items:

Vases or Jugs

Similar to cups where you want to fill the middle in with as much padding as possible and then provide a thick layer of packing paper or bubble wrap to the outside.

Pot and Pan Lids

When made of glass, these items are just as vulnerable as cups or dishes. Follow the same steps to wrapping a plate or bowl and they’ll remain safe and secure!

Statues or Figures

These can be especially difficult depending on the item, but again you’ll want to ensure you add as much padding as possible to ensure they are covered. We recommend using a few layers of bubble wrap if there are small pieces or parts that can easily break off and then adding additional padding to the box before they are placed in.

TV’s and Other Fragile Electronics

These can be challenging as they typically aren’t small items. Whenever possible, we recommend holding onto their original boxes as they are designed to fit and support those items specifically. If you don’t have the boxes anymore, you can try fitting them into another box with enough padding, taking them on a separate trip, or securing them in storage until after you’ve moved.

Tips for Moving

You’re finally done packing, but now we must tackle the hard part, moving. Lucky for you, you’ve already safely packed all your breakable items and have labeled the boxes, so you know exactly where everything is!

With that being said, there are still some final obstacles in your way until you can consider it a successful move. With the rush of packing the moving truck or storage container, it’s possible for your boxes, despite being marked as fragile, to be loaded incorrectly or have other objects fall on top of them.

 Here are some tips for moving that can help ensure that all of your belongings make it in one piece:

• If possible, take your fragile dishes and other breakable items in a separate vehicle.
• Load them onto the truck or in the storage container last.
• Keep them at floor level and away from anything that could fall over during the move.
• Ensure that each box is taped and sealed well before attempting to move them.
• Consider keeping them in a self storage unit until after the move.

Storage Options

Now that all your possessions are safely packed, one of the best storage options you have (whether you’re moving or just clearing space) is to store them away in a self-storage unit. If you have any expensive or sentimental items that are fragile this is will keep them safe and out of harms way from any potential accidents. 

Using a portable storage container can also help save you money on a moving truck rental. They can be delivered directly to your home so that you may load all your possessions at your own pace and then have it delivered directly to your new address! 

Make Space Storage has many options to store your valuables such as portable containers, on-site self storage, and more! To learn more about our services, or to get a quote, please reach out to one of our helpful representatives today. We’re happy to help!