If you’re moving to a new house and you own several fragile and valuable items, it’s imperative that you understand the need for additional care and attention when packing. It’s not worth the risk of breakages by rushing this stage of your relocation, regardless of how busy you are. Many people in London only trust Anthony Ward Thomas for this and book our Fragile Removals and dedicated Packing services.
If you want to undertake the packing yourself – is there a process which gives a better chance of avoiding damage during the actual move?
How Should You Pack Fragile Items When Moving Home?
To start things off, our first piece of advice when you start packing is to put any fragile or expensive objects to one side. The reason for this is you’ll need to position them in the vehicle last to try and avoid collisions with other boxes during the journey. Additionally, it helps to offload these boxes first to keep them separate as you unpack.
How you arrange your possessions in the moving van is crucial and can make the difference between a successful relocation or not. And the thing to remember is, you won’t have a second chance with delicate items, especially ones that are difficult to fix or replace. It’s worth thinking about protective layers of packaging for both inside and outside of the box or container.
Similarly, if you want to upgrade the strength of your boxes, why not trade in the cardboard for some sturdy containers? Anthony Ward Thomas has a Crate Hire service that offers a range of industry-ready containers. We have a variety of ones to choose from, catering to every type of object. We can even pack the boxes for you, which is essential for people with busy schedules.
Is There a Specific Way to Pack Plates and Glasses for Moving?
Glass items will undoubtedly fall under the term fragile, even if they are on the bulky side. That’s because glass breaks and chips easily, which is another reason why they must be kept separate from larger furniture and appliances. Even the slightest knock can damage glassware if it isn’t in a suitable box with plenty of padding.
Anything glass should have several layers of paper or bubble wrap both inside and outside of the specific piece. Then you’ll need to layer more paper inside the box, so no two items are touching. Even the slightest bump can cause glass objects to crack if there’s a contact inside the box.
Although most plates are durable, they have similar issues. A small impact in the wrong place can shatter or crack a plate or bowl. And a lot of people have special crockery that are family heirlooms or gifts from their wedding.
The main thing to remember when packing glassware or china plates – make sure you don’t skimp on the packaging inside of the box. Use packaging that won’t scratch or stick to the surface of the pieces and consider rolling up a bit of material to go inside of any glasses. Both glassware or china plates and best stacked upright in the box as they have more strength in this position.
What are the Best Packing Materials for Fragile Items?
Please remember to be careful when choosing the packaging materials and tape you use for this part of the process. Certain wrapping can damage the face of paintings, and this initial layer needs to have a non-stick coating. You should then place a protective layer around the object, such as sturdy cardboard or polystyrene if you can find it.
If in doubt – contact our experts to see what they use. Anthony Ward Thomas gives our removal’s teams the best packing supplies and materials. Furthermore, you can buy the exact same industry-standard packing supplies from our online store. We have a range of packing boxes available, as well as secure tape and bubble wrap.
Top Tips – Create a Moving Checklist –
Moving to a new home can be an upheaval that requires you to organise everything in addition to taking care of your family. And that’s not taking your career into account, which might also equate to doing extra work at home. That’s why it’s essential to start planning straight away. The earlier you begin to list and go through each item you need to do, the more straightforward everything will be.
The best option for ensuring you keep every stage of your move on track is to create a moving checklist. You can see our moving tips and checklist here. This list will be the blueprint for your successful relocation. This checklist needs to include a timeline that will highlight when you need to do each task by. It’s best to work backwards from your relocation day to now because you’ll know exactly how many weeks you have left.
If you manage to be vigilant with your timeline, you will give yourself plenty of leeway to tackle and rectify small issues that crop up. Every relocation is less stressful if you know what items you plan to relocate with. You’ll do this with a home inventory list, which we’ll discuss in detail next. Just remember to send us as much information about your items to assist with our pre-relocation planning.
Download a Home Inventory App –
There are lots of different ways that you can create an inventory of your possessions. But why bother with pen and paper or a Word document when there’s technology available? The modern way of doing this is a home inventory app. They’re available for Smartphone and Apple devices, and they’re cheap or free to download.
Although there are several different apps to choose from, most have similar functions that allow you to take a photo of each item. You then write a short description of each entry, as well as categorising them by the room they’re in. And when you begin to pack everything away, you can assign each box a code. Then you can update each item with that code, which will be essential when it comes to unpacking your things.
By the time you finish creating your home inventory list, you will know exactly how many pieces of furniture and appliances you have. You can also share this list with us so that we can assign the most suitable removals vehicle for you. It’s also wise to contact your insurance broker to check the specifics of your contents package. You should mention that you plan on relocating, and they’ll advise if you need to increase your premium to cover all eventualities.
Book a Fragile Removals Service with Anthony Ward Thomas –
Anthony Ward Thomas has a range of removals services that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in London or the UK. Our Fragile Removals service is part of the specialist packages we can offer. We have a loyal group of customers who return to us because they know their belongings and heirlooms are safe with our removal’s professionals.
The Anthony Ward Thomas team are all experts who take a great sense of pride in their work. We provide them with the best tools and equipment so they can undertake any removals job. They know by experience that specific items need individual protective wrapping to ensure that the packaging doesn’t cause damage during the move.
When we receive feedback from our customers, they always tell us that we’re the only company they trust to take care of their valuable belongings. By booking with us, they have the peace of mind that we will pack everything correctly. Moreover, we will handle their belongings with the utmost care and attention. You can see what our previous customers think of us by reading our online reviews here.
Anthony Ward Thomas – London’s Prestige Removals Company –
If you’d like more advice on the correct way to pack fragile items, contact us today. We’ll also give you further information on our Fragile Removals and Packing services.
