Sunday, 1 January 2012

How to Pack Common Household Items

So you’ve decided to save some money by doing your own packing for an upcoming move. Good idea! But when you begin to tackle the job you quickly realize that you don’t really know how to pack things securely. Here is some advice from professional packers to teach you how to pack common household items.
Certain items of exceptional and inherent value won’t be accepted for transport by the moving company or be covered by insurance. If it is essential that these items be moved, a reliable moving company will recommend that you get an appraisal done and then have them shipped by a security company or courier. These include:



a.    Deeds, Notes, Wills, Stocks, Securities, Bonds b.    Coin Collections, Currency, Stamp Collections c.    Jewelry, Precious Stones

Tips for packing common household goods

Tools and Lawn Equipment — pack your hand tools in small, strong cartons, wrapping each one separately. Drain the oil and fuel from your power tools (do not ship flammables under any circumstances).

Rugs — leave your large rugs to be rolled up by the movers.

Mirrors, Paintings and Pictures —wrap your small mirrors, pictures, paintings and frames in unprinted paper and place them on edge in cartons or mirror cartons. Never place printed newspaper directly against your paintings, and tell your moving consultant about valuable paintings requiring special care.

Medicines —We recommend that you carry all medications with you.

Lamps and Lampshades — disassemble your lamps, removing lightbulbs, harps and shades and rolling up the cord. Pack lamps with bedding or wrap them separately and place upright in a clean, tissue-lined carton. Wrap your shades in tissue and place upright in large, tissue-lined cartons. Wrap the removed parts and tape to the inside wall of the carton containing the shade.

Flammables and Combustibles — flammable liquids and aerosol cans must not be packed. Changes in temperature and pressure can cause them to leak or even explode. For your own protection, understand that if you pack these items and they cause damage to your shipment or others, you — not your carrier — will be held liable.

Drapes and Curtains — lay your drapes or curtains over the crossbars in wardrobe cartons or fold and pack them into clean cartons.

Clothing — Hang your clothing in wardrobe cartons and fold or roll your other clothing and pack into clean cartons.

Clocks — Remove or secure the pendulum in your large clocks. Grandfather clocks should be prepared for moving by a professional service person.

Books — Pack your books on edge into small moving boxes, alternating bindings.Take care to not overload these, books are heavy!

Bedding — Pack your blankets, quilts and comforters in clean, large cartons, and pillowcases, sheets, linens, and towels into medium-sized, cartons. Most beds will be disassembled and reassembled by a reliable moving company and at your request mattresses can be placed in special-care cartons. You can help protect mattresses by covering them with old sheets or mattress covers.

Barbeque Grills and Propane Tanks — Wrap your grates and briquettes separately in newspaper (or place briquettes in a grocery bag) and pack securely in a carton. The movers won’t transport propane tanks.

Sometimes you’re left scratching your head about how to pack some oddly shaped or awkward item, always use plenty of filler to cushion your belongings. It will protect your item, prevent scratching AND make those boxes lighter! I hope that these tips will help you understand how to pack common household items. But if you decide it seems like too much work, your moving company can always do the packing, just ask them!

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