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Packing Tips

Packing Tips from BoxesandBags - GBE Packaging - Fast Professional Source for Wholesale Shipping and Packaging Supplies Since 1998.

Packing Tips

Below are some suggestions or recommendations you may find useful if you are shipping products or packing all of your valuables for a move.

Box Strength Suggestions

200 LB. TEST - For everyday shipping purposes.
275 LB. TEST - 38% stronger than 200 lb. test boxes.
275 LB. TEST DOUBLE WALL - When extra stacking strength is necessary.
Dish Pack Box - Double Wall - 300 LB. TEST - Dishes and China - Glass Partitions Available.
MULTI-DEPTH - Die-cut down to the size you need. One box can be folded to different sizes.
LONG - Long flaps make it easy to load.
TALL - For Golf Clubs, Rifles, Brooms, and More - Short flaps make it easy to close.
TELESCOPIC - Adjustable 2-piece design for long items.
Wardrobe Boxes - Designed for cloths on hangers - Heavy Duty Double Wall.

UPS Strength Guidelines

200 Lb. Test Single Wall Box 40 Lbs.
275 Lb. Test Single Wall Box 65 Lbs.
350 Lb. Test Single Wall Box 80 Lbs.
200 Lb. Test Double Wall Box 60 Lbs.
275 Lb. Test Double Wall Box 80 Lbs.
350 Lb. Test Double Wall Box 100 Lbs.
500 Lb. Test Double Wall Box 140 Lbs.

Moving Box Styles

Picture Frame Boxes - These cartons open along the ends for easy insertion of picture frames, mirrors and other flat items.
Multi-Depth Boxes - Die-cut down to the size you need. One box can be folded to different sizes.
Heavy Duty Dish Pack Boxes - Made for Dishes and Pans, These cartons have a 350 Lb. Test Double Wall Construction labeled with special handling instructions for extra convenience.
Corrugated Wardrobe Boxes - Made for Clothing, Tall 275 lbs. Test Boxes with a Double Wall Construction and has carrying holes and stabilizing metal hanger bar, Labeled with Special Handling so you know your valuable clothing will be protected.
Xerox or Printer Paper Boxes - Made for reproduction paper the boxes are heavy duty and have a slip on lid that make them easy to pack and open and are the perfect size for packing.
Produce Boxes - Made for food distribution and collected at local markets they are heavy duty but be sure to check that they are clean and fit to use for your belongings.

Recommended Box Sizes

10" x 10" x 48" Golf Clubs
12" x 12" x 40" Lamp
12" x 12" x 48" Lamp
18" x 18" x 16" Linens
18" x 18" x 24" Shades
20" x 20" x 36" Table Lamp
22" x 22" x 22" Pillows
24" x 24" x 12" Speakers
24" x 24" x 18" Blankets

If shipping heavy items like books we recommend smaller boxes to make it easier to lift.
Some people will use books as a filler for their other boxes so if you have an inch in between something they will stuff a book in that spot.
Larger boxes can be resized with a box resizer tool or a conventional razor knife.
Be sure to use as much carton sealing tape as you think you need to seal the box. Rairly will one piece of tape keep a box closed start with 3 but you may want to use more. Be sure you have lots of tape.

Suggestions for Safe Packing

Use a new strong box with flaps intact.
Remove any old labels or hazardous materials indicators, and any other previous shipment markings on the box that are no longer applicable.
Use quality void fill cushioning material at least 2 inches around all items.
Use strong shipping, packing or filament tape. Thicker tape costs more but will break less saving you time.
Do not use string, twine or wrapping paper over wrap of any kind. Do not use Masking Tape.
Use a single address label that has clear, complete delivery and return information. Phone Number Recommended as well.
For critical or sensitive shipments you can include a shock sensor, temperature sensor or tilt sensor.
Place a duplicate address label or destination slip, BOL, inside the package in case label on outside of box is lost or damaged.
Never pack flammable items or non allowable items.

Don't Pack That!

Just because you own it doesn’t mean it should move with you! Certain hazardous substances can endanger your belongings and/or other people. So don’t pack flammable liquids or solids, compressed gases, anything explosive, oxidizers, corrosives, poisons, or radioactive materials. Some common examples of these items include:

Nail polish remover
Automotive repair and maintenance chemicals
Radio-pharmaceuticals
Matches
Paints and paint thinners
Lighter fluid
Gasoline
Fireworks
Oxygen bottles
Propane cylinders

Here is a list of items you should not pack for your own safety

Cushioning Tips

Some things should be cushioned for protection just call it insurance against having your favorite lamp broken. Some people use blankets and comforters as padding for lamps, and other valuable items. Some options for padding or cushioning would be bubble, paper packaging, versa-pak cushioning, indented bogus paper, kraft wrapping paper, and clean newsprint for dishes or pans. You can buy white industrial grade tissue paper to wrap dishes or china. Do not use printed newsprint, newsprint ink is terrible on dishes and china.

Some options for padding or cushioning
Clean new unprinted newsprint paper.
Clean new unprinted Tissue paper.
Kraft Wrapping Paper.
Bogus Kraft Paper.
Indented Kraft Paper.
Bubble Wrap or Bubble Film.
Air Pillows and Mini Air Machines.
Loose Fill or Packing Peanuts.
Blankets, Sheets, Pillows as cushions.

You may want to mark bedding, sheets and pillows clearly so it's easy to find them after the move.

Moving - Packing Tips

4 - 6 weeks prior to move. - Alert your local post office that you are moving. You can pick up change of address forms at your post office or you can file the change electronically at United States Postal Service 4 - 5 weeks prior to move Contact family and friends either through snail mail or email to announce your impending move. Good time to seek out extra moving help if your doing it yourself. If family and friends offer to help with your move be prepared to let them know at this time if their help will be needed. They can then mark their calendars for the specific date. It's always a good idea to plan food for the moving day, something easy to pick up or have delivered.

Get rid of things you really do not need.

Around 4 weeks prior to your move plan your purge fest. Now is the time to go through everything you own and decide if you want to keep it, sell it, or purge it. Organize your stuff into three piles. Keep, sell, toss.

3 - 4 weeks prior to move. - Plan to have a rummage or garage sale. This will be a great opportunity to re-coop some money for your sell pile. Remember to price accordingly so that you can get rid of the entire pile. After the sale either donate the remaining unsold items to a charity or toss. This will leave you with only your keep pile.

If you decide that you are going to move yourself and you do not have a vehicle that will carry all of your belongings then you may need to rent a truck. Again, it is always to your benefit if you shop around for the best price and size of vehicle that will make your move as easy as possible for you. Check with your insurance company for coverage while you drive the vehicle. If you plan to rent a trailer then you need to have a vehicle that can pull a trailer with a hitch. Keep this in mind as you shop for your moving vehicle.

2 - 3 weeks prior to move. - Buy enough boxes - You know the old saying, It’s better to be safe than sorry! Almost always you will use far more than you think you will. It’s much easier to deal with extra boxes than it is to find more at the last minute. Now is the time to make sure you have enough tape also so you can tape your boxes securely. Tape is one thing you really need. The thicker the tape the less trouble you will have with tape breakage. Thin tape like 1.7 Mil seems like a good deal but it will keep breaking in the tape gun. Unless you buy a moving package which includes an assortment of moving supplies we suggest buying plenty of tape, void fill, bubble or packing peanuts locally as the shipping on these are very high. Better to have more than you need than to run out. It’s also smart to purchase a tape gun to help make box assembly a little faster. Make sure you grab bubble, tissue paper or newsprint, packing paper, markers and everything else you’ll need too! We offer a UPS able bubble roll which is a far better deal than anything sold in the store.

Use new strong boxes if possible, with used boxes or boxes from the supermarket you never know what little critter is hiding in the box or if the box will be strong enough to support your possessions. Finding Boxes - New - Used - Rentals

Buy various sizes - When picking out boxes, be sure to get a variety of sizes. Consider what you need to pack up. While you might think you need just a bunch of large boxes, you’ll probably need more small and medium sized boxes, since most things pack better in them. Get a few wardrobe boxes, many medium and definitely a lot of small boxes. See the box size recommendations above.

Use wardrobe boxes to make closets easier to pack (you can leave your clothes on their hangers!). Clothes in drawers can be placed in suitcases. Some people will use trash bags as well try watching some videos on YouTube they have so many packing videos to watch if it's been tried it's on YouTube.

1 - 2 Days before Moving Day. - You should have almost everything packed and ready to go. Check closets including the top shelves, cabinets top to bottom, storage spaces or lockers and the attic.

If you live in the mid west you have the basement to pack as well. Basements are great for storage but usually loaded with spiders and creepy crawlers so take the time to shake everything out now.

It is your responsibility to see that all mechanical and electrical equipment is properly serviced and ready for shipping prior to the arrival of the moving van or truck. If you have failed to have an article serviced, the van operator may load and haul it but may indicate on the inventory sheet "Not Serviced."

Unplug all refrigerators and freezers 24 hours in advance of a move, clean and leave open to dry out. If you have a large safe then this too has to be prepared to move if large enough you might want to place it on a moving dolly and secure it properly so its just a matter of pushing it on the truck.

Unplug home computers, stereos, and audio/video equipment. Computer equipment should be packed and moved with extreme caution. Again remember to back up your data and ship that separately. Don't wait until the last moment to deal with your water bed. It can take more than two hours just to drain a large water bed so do it the day before you plan to move it.

Moving Prep

Common Sense - If it can fit in a box, it needs to be packed in a box. Just because your child’s small bean bag chair is a chair, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be packed in a box.
Packing - As soon as you have all of your moving supplies you are ready to start packing. Give yourself enough time. Start your packing with items you do not need. Pack up dishes and glasses ahead
of time and remember to use clean newsprint or wrapping paper and cushion around all glass items, everything.
Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box. Stack and load boxes in groups according to the rooms indicated on the labels. Put all the kitchen boxes together, all the bedroom boxes together, and all the living room boxes together. That way, you can unload all the boxes from the same rooms at the same time, which makes moving and unpacking easier.
Label all the boxes appropriately, i.e., “bathroom materials” This way the movers or you know exactly where to go with the designated boxes and you won’t be lugging a box of bathroom supplies from the living room back to your bathroom. Make sure to label the boxes with permanent markers so nothing on the boxes that’s noted can be removed.

Some people will go one step further and number boxes or color code boxes and write a log as to what is in each box which will make it easier to find things later. Mark bedding and pillows clearly so you can find them in your new home.

Fragile - Group fragile or delicate items together and make sure to label them clearly as fragile. This way your movers will know which boxes are fragile and need extra care. Protect fragile items with packing paper, bubble wrap, or moving blankets.

Don’t leave empty spaces in the boxes. Fill in gaps with clothing, towels, or packing paper. Movers often won’t move boxes that feel loosely packed or unbalanced.

Tape boxes well and use good packing tape - Use a couple of pieces of tape to close the bottom and top seams, then use one of the movers, techniques making a couple of wraps all the way around the box’s top and bottom edges, where stress is concentrated.

Most animal kennels break down. They’re much easier to transport if they’ve been taken apart. Same with book shelves some are made from pressboard and might survive a move better if disassembled and taped together. Movers charge per pound so it may pay to discard any old furniture.

Art

Art & Decorative Items - Should be packed up several weeks before your move. These pieces can be some of the trickiest to store because they’re fragile and often oddly shaped, so having a bit of extra time to figure out how to properly cushion them is helpful.

If you’re moving expensive art, ask your mover about special crating or protection. Never wrap oil paintings in regular paper, it will stick. For pictures framed behind glass, make an X with masking tape across the glass to strengthen it and to hold it together if it shatters. Then wrap the pictures in paper or bubble wrap and put them in a frame box, with a piece of cardboard between each framed piece for protection. It may pay to have expensive art packed by professional packers.

Dishes - China

The kitchen may take the longest to pack up because you have to make sure everything is individually wrapped and padded.

Fragile Dishes - We highly recommend dish pack boxes and clean unprinted newsprint and tissue paper to wrap dishes and china. Newsprint ink can damage dishes plus it has to be washed off in your new home. Use the paper to pad all your fragile dishware and decorative items. Stuff it inside glasses, wrap it around bowls and vases, shove it in between your dishes, bowls and the sides of your boxes. Cups and bowls can be placed inside one another, with paper in between, and wrapped three or four in a bundle.

Pack Dishes Vertically - Always wrap and stack dishes upwards when packing in a dish pack box. You can never use enough paper or bubble when it comes to protecting you valuable dishes and china. If you need to use standard moving boxes then pack them light and use more boxes if necessary.

Electronics

If possible use original boxes - For all your electronic appliances check to see if you stashed these boxes somewhere like the attic, Garage, If you don’t have them, make a list of what you’ll need to buy to properly cushion your valuables.

Quilted blankets, comforters, bubble wrap, and sturdy tape all work well to protect TVs and similarly delicate items. You may want to wrap in plastic to keep out dust and fingerprints.

Take pictures of your electronics before you take them apart and pack them up, now would be a good time to take a few pictures of the back of your electronic devices, the cord situations can be quite complicated. These pictures can make it that much easier to set up your electronics, TV or monitor system after you move in. It's always easier to take it apart than to put it back together.

Computers - It is also imperative that you back up all of your computer information prior to the move. In the event anything happens to your computer your data will be protected. You should also transport the back up yourself. Another option is an online data storage service that allows you to back up your entire hard drive or multiple drives. There are several software programs that can make a disk image for you in case you need to restore your harddrive. Also please guard your computer, disks and harddrives from any magnets or any thing with magnets on it.

Bath Items - Toiletry

To prevent potential leaking and spilling of shampoo, conditioners, and other liquid bottles take an extra few minutes as you pack to secure your toiletry bottles by unscrewing the cap of your shampoo bottle, wrap a piece of Saran Wrap (or a Ziploc bag) over the top, and screw the cap back on. Simple and surprisingly effective. slip them into a larger bag as added insurance in case something leaks.

Plants

Decide what you will do with live plants if you cannot take them with you. We suggest you might give them to a friend or relative, donate to hospitals or assisted living centers. Sell your plants at a rummage sale or flee market.

Day Before Moving Day

Pack a personal overnight bag. Pack whatever you think you need to feel relaxed and settled on your first night. Maybe a change of clothes, toiletries, fresh drinking water, and your laptop can go a long way in making your new place feel more like home.

Pack and mark a box as (Things you'll need right away). This can include toilet paper, body soap, hand soap, shower curtain, towels, clean sheets, box cutter, trash bags, phone chargers, tools, eating utensils, snacks and water, or whatever else you think you’ll need for the first day or night in your new home.

Set aside cleaning supplies for moving day - Put together a mini cleanup kit so you can do one final cleaning through your home on moving day. Set aside a broom, mop, dustpan, duster, sponge, cleaning products, paper towels, and rags.

You should have almost everything packed and ready to go. Check closets including the top shelves, cabinets top to bottom, storage spaces or lockers and the attic. If you live in the mid west you have the basement to pack as well. Basements are great for storage but usually loaded with spiders and creepy crawlers so take the time to shake everything out now. Also safely dispose of old cleaning solvents and paints you have been storing in your basement. Many city or county dumps accept hazardous materials for safe disposal.

Unplug all refrigerators and freezers 24 hours in advance of a move, clean and leave open to dry out.

Unplug home computers, stereos, and audio/video equipment. Computer equipment should be packed and moved with extreme caution. Again remember to back up your data and ship that separately. As mentioned earlier remember to snap some photos for easy setup.

Water Beds - Don't wait until the last moment to deal with your water bed. It can take more than two hours just to drain a large water bed so do it the day before you plan to move.

Moving Day

Have your mover load anything you might need right away in your new home last or toward the end of the truck so that it is the first thing unloaded.

As you take apart furniture and other items, make sure to tape all parts to the main base. Parts can be placed in zipper bags and taped or zip tied to the back of the item.

Keep a stash of Zip Lock Bags on moving day. You can use the Zipper bags to store any last minute items you find that need to go with you like, screws, doorknobs, brackets, luggage keys, or other small, easily forgettable items.

Keep an empty wardrobe box available the morning of the move for your toiletries, bed linens, pillows, comforter and other personal items. Pack these items in the wardrobe box, so they’ll be easy to find later.

Place items that you are taking with you such as personal items, medications, cable or satellite boxes, off to the side, and inform all crew members not to pack them. Might be a good idea to clearly mark them or cover them.

Patching Holes - If you need to patch holes in an apartment please DO NOT use soap or toothpaste. Who started that? If they ever have to paint, all of that soap will have to be removed because paint will not stick to it. Use a paintable patch compound from the hardware store.

Moving In

Photograph Before You Move In.

It may be a good idea to take pictures of your new home or apartment before you move in so you can note any existing damage. It’ll be easier to prove you didn’t cause that damage if you document it before moving in.

Someone needs to be in charge on moving day and answer all the questions the movers will have. This is also when properly marked boxes pay off.

Watch everything the movers do and be sure that everything gets off the truck and that they put the items in the correct room where it needs to be, why move everything twice you are paying them to deliver it, mark your boxes and save yourself some back breaking work.

Some suggest you set up your beds first in your new home so you know they are ready at the end of a long moving day.

Be sure to document any damage or missing items on the form they have you sign and get a copy. Photograph any damage for later documentation.

Article Posted: 07/29/2019 01:56:51 PM

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