How To Pack Difficult Items

Wine glasses

While most clutter-busters will tell you not to keep packaging, and while we tend to agree with them for the most part, we disagree when it comes to the packaging your wine glasses came in. Whether it be the small ‘six-pack’ carrier from IKEA or those gorgeous, padded boxes you get from top of the line, they are designed to keep your wine glasses separated for the journey to and from the store… and between houses! We also highly recommend taking wine glasses in your car to your new home a few days before the move.

Wall mirrors

Small and medium size wall mirrors are often thought by DIY movers to be easy to move, but we’ve heard far too many horror stories to know this isn’t the case! We love taping a large X across the mirror for two reasons: it will protect it from shattering if dropped and protects the frame if the mirror does break. We also highly recommend corner protectors from frame shops. Then, cut two pieces of cardboard a bit larger than the mirror and secure them either side of it, before wrapping the package in a towel and packing tape. Finally, add a lot of FRAGILE stickers for extra protection and never lie it down flat.

Jewellery

Jewellery loves to get tangled, snap and break. It’s small enough for people to not think about these things when packing but expensive enough to be a real problem when it does occur. There’s a few options to keep it untangled and padded throughout the move, but we’re particularly fond of a method involving cling wrap. Roll out a piece of cling wrap across your dining table but do not cut it off! Then, carefully lay all your jewellery in a single layer on the wrap before turning the roll back on itself and sealing your necklaces and bracelets between the layers. Seal the edges and then wrap this carefully in a thick jumper or blanket. Nothing will get tangled and everything is protected. We also like putting earrings in empty egg cartons and then taping them shut.

Computers & small electronics

All small electronics (smart phones, tablets, MP3 players, laptops, etc) should be carried on your person as they are expensive to replace and often filled with important or sentimental information like phone numbers and photos. While desktops are becoming increasingly rare within the home, there’s still enough around for people to need to think carefully about moving them. Firstly, we recommend backing up everything on your desktop – as you want to be prepared for the worst scenario. Then, pop into your closest computer store and enquire if they have any leftover computer boxes you could use – with all the packaging, if possible. Your IT department at work might also have a box, so be sure to ask them too. Failing that, we recommend taping all cords to the side of the machine and wrapping each section (screens and computer) separately in lots of towels, before putting them in a single box with no other items except for extra padding.