How to Pack a Kitchen
Beach Bod Moving's guide to pack your kitchen so you can be prepared come moving day.
Moving is a stressful ordeal, and the last thing anybody wants to deal with during a move is broken plates, china, or glass. Fortunately this is easily avoidable by making sure you follow these easy steps and tips for wrapping and packaging your kitchen items.
What you Need:
Boxes- Boxes in all sizes(small, medium, large) are essential for ensuring the weight distribution is adequate for keeping the integrity of the box during transit.
Tape- Quality packing tape is essential for keeping your valuable items locked inside their respective boxes during a move.
Paper- Paper is the cheaper packing option when it comes to packing fragile items, but it still gets the job done.
Bubble Wrap-Although more expensive then paper, bubble wrap provides superior protection for kitchen item.
Markers- Although commonly overlooked, marking your boxes with their appropriate labels will ensure you aren't pulling your hair out trying to find things when unpacking.
Scissors- Cutting tape and occasionally boxes makes sure you aren't using more supplies then necessary to pack your belongings
How to Properly Pack Your Boxes:
Start by preparing/taping your box on one end so that it completely closed up with the open side facing directly upwards.
Take packing paper and roll up several pieces longways so that you have several hotdog-style rolls at the bottom of every box to provide some padding.
Next you want to plan out the pieces you will be putting in the box. If you are packing fragile glasses, its highly advisable that you keep the entire box full of glasses of similar sizes and shapes. Throwing in heavier pieces like porcelain plates can take away from the integrity of the box by changing the weight distribution and allowing spaces in-between pieces in the box.
After choosing the proper items to fill your box its important to cover all fragile/scratchable items in a layer of paper. The easiest way to do this is by having your paper already placed flat on the countertop so you can just place the piece on on end and begin to roll it up or fold the piece into the paper.
When placing your wrapped items into boxes be sure to keep them as tight together as possible. One technique for filling boxes with wine glasses is to flip every other one so that they are tucked into one another. Should their be in gaps in between any fragile kitchen items it is important to use extra paper to provide padding between the pieces.
Once you have completed a tier of items it is essential to create another padding layer by rolling up more paper and placing it into the box before building another tier/closing the box.
Ensuring you have enough paper padding in the box to fill up spaces and provide cushioning is essential. The majority of incidents with improperly packed boxes come from pressure from the top or bottom of the box getting squished.
After padding and closing your now full box, be sure to use an adequate amount of tape to seal the box and then label it with a marker. The label should include info on its contents and also in bold letters say "fragile" if the box is full of fragile items.
If you are looking for a packing service, Beach Bod Moving offers professional packers as well as supplies. Just call 904-760-7284!