28Mar 2014

Whether it is an antique bookcase or a tiny silver thimble, your precious items can come in all shapes and sizes, and various materials or varying fragility. They will all be of particular importance to you however, and you will no doubt understand that they need special attention with the packing. With the seriously fragile stuff, it will be tempting to make a special box to be taken with you in the car, but for the most part, the car will be full of things that you need for the journey, as well as last minute additions on the day. Packing things does not just come down to the smaller items either, you need to be able to protect the larger bits of furniture that may be at risk as well...For a start, have a think about how you will box things up. Extremely fragile pieces like antique glassware and the like will need to be individually wrapped in bubble wrap. It can be tempting to do this for all items, but with dinner ware, and more sturdy glassware, newspaper will be a well worthy substitute, that takes up less space and will be less expensive as well. If you are concerned about things clattering together, then it can be a good idea to put sheets of newspaper between items that may scratch or mark each other, but mind that the ink from the paper does not rub off on certain surfaces. Lining the box with bubble wrap will reduce the vibrations considerably and ensure that the shaking does not lead to shattering!When labeling boxes, ensure that you include a brief summary of what is inside, as this will make the unpacking process a lot easier. Labeling with ‘fragile’ or ‘heavy’ is certainly a good idea, but for the most part, these words are stuck on almost every box, so the exact contents will be a lot more direct. You can imagine that seeing ‘DELICATE VASES’ on a box is a lot more scary than ‘FRAGILE’! With larger items, you need to ascertain whether they are delicate enough to need containing a little protection, or whether they will survive with just decent handling. You will no doubt understand that ornamental pieces of furniture will have little details on that can get broken off rather easily, and this is the kind of thing that boxing such items up will prevent against. Crates for these sorts of pieces can be expensive, and you will find that getting hold of cardboard boxes large enough can be a hassle as well however, so some people make do with taping card around the items, and protecting the more delicate bits individually. Removing handles form cupboard doors and drawers, and castors from other items will ensure that there are less delicate things extruding that can be knocked off or scratch other items!When loading the van up, it is important that you have either protected the surfaces that are going to be rested on, or you have let the team who are loading know that there are delicate surfaces involved. You will no doubt be using a removals company, and they will usually supply packing blankets as well as straps to keep things in place. The order in which everything is stacked is extremely important, and will affect the safety of everything whilst it is in motion, so take the advice of those who have used the van before, and who understand the way in which certain van movements will affect the contents.