Thinking of moving to a new house? This can be a pretty amazing and exciting experience as you start on a new slate in a whole new environment. Moving is pretty hectic by nature. A lot of things can go wrong on the day without proper planning. However, this means that everything can also go quite smoothly with careful preparation.
One of the most common pitfalls when moving is the use of the wrong packing material for your goods. This can often lead to ‘accidents’ during the move, which can easily spoil the whole fun of the experience. In this article, we’re going to explore how to choose the best packing materials when moving as well as how to use them to your advantage in safeguarding your belongings. Hiring professional packing services in NYC can also streamline the process and ensure your items are packed securely.
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Why is it so important?
Before we dive into the world of packing material, it’s important to note that packing material is the first line of defense for your goods. As obvious as this may seem, many people tend to do a poor job of it, just cramming everything into the car as quickly as possible. It’s no wonder why many movers end up with ruined items at the end of the journey and wrongly blame the truck driver, the bad roads, etc.
Allow yourself enough preparation time for the move during which you should gather the required packing material and slowly work through your belongings, individually packing each item as necessary. This will help you to avoid the last-minute packing rush, which often leads to disaster. Remember, each item is unique, so never get tempted to take a one-size-fits-all approach during the process.
Bubble Wrap – The Material for Fragiles
Bubble wrap is easily one of the most innovative yet simplistic designs ever thought of. It combines two basic and cheap materials, plastic & air, to form a comfy and sturdy cushion against impact damage. It is, therefore, the ideal packing material for any fragile item that can easily suffer damage from light to heavy impact forces such as TV sets, glassware, china, etc.
Bubble wrap is great as an extra layer of protection even for items that come with cushioned boxes or factory packaging. The only downside is that it often leaves a lot of gaps and empty pockets in the container. This can be dangerous and can weaken the integrity of the container itself as it folds in and out under impact. The issue can be solved with filling in the spaces with packing peanuts.
Packing Peanuts
Many people find these little packaging materials to be a big nuisance, especially when mismanaged. Packing peanuts are, however, great for packing. They provide the best stuffing material for the empty pockets in your boxes or containers, which safeguards it from folds and dents. They are also quite efficient at dampening blows from impact hence protecting the contents.
One, however, needs to be careful when using packing-peanuts. They tend to let objects drift down to the bottom of the casing when in transit. As such, ensure that your item is more up top than right at the center of the box when packing. Also, stuff the bottom layer so hard that they don’t have any freedom or space in-between to move around. Packing peanuts are great for fragile objects and any other items that need impact protection. They, however, provide much less cushioning than layered bubble wrap, so limit their use to the moderately-fragile items.
Home-made Materials
If you happen to run out of packing material during the process and can’t get more, there are a few age-old tricks that can still help you pack. The best of those is simply using your clothes to wrap your fragile objects, such as glass and china. However, it’s always best to wrap the item in at least a single layer of bubble wrap first before wrapping it up in sheets, jackets, or regular t-shirts.
Newspapers, magazine pages, and pamphlets can also be used to line the interior of containers and form a stuffed layer of cushioning material that can protect your property. You might, however, need to use very large quantities of it to get the job done.
Packing Material vs Packing Container
Having discussed the preferable use of all these packing materials,the next logical step is to discuss packing containers and their importance in the packing equation.. There is always a strong correlation between the two, with the selected type of packing container being the key decisive factor of the packing material to be used.
Let’s consider for a minute that you want to pack a figurine made of fine china, and you have two different boxes. One box is quite small and barely leaves any extra space after you fit in the figurine. The other can as well take five or six of those figurines comfortably. Now, for the smaller box, the ideal material would be a bubble wrap since the figurine is so close to the walls of the container where impact forces may be experienced. As such, the air bubbles will quickly cushion the blows and safeguard your figurine.
In the large box, bubble wrap is just not feasible. It will be such a waste, and the large space may give it a chance to settle and compact in transit hence creating space inside for rattling. Instead, it’s best to fill up the container with packing peanuts and nestle the figurine in the center. Since the walls of the box are so far away, the peanuts will sufficiently cushion any blows experienced in transit.
In conclusion, the last thing you need is to start replacing items after moving. Take care to pack properly in the first place so that your belongings arrive in one piece. Also, discuss with your moving company on the insurance policy liability in case you have very valuable fragile items such as rare china. Also, take advantage of the moving company’s special packing provisions. Most of them offer appropriate containers for special items that are prone to damage, which you can put to good use. After arriving safely, remember to store all the material safely instead of just chucking it out. All these packing materials are easily re-usable for several more moves. If you don’t think you’ll ever need them, keep them close and look out for someone planning to move to donate them to be more eco-friendly! Safe travels!
