Do you know how to pack dishes for a move? If you answered no, you’re not alone – most people don’t. Packing dishes and kitchen items carefully is essential to having them arrive in your new home safe and sound. Take care to set yourself up for success before beginning, ensuring you have the right materials to execute the job and wrapping each item individually as you go. There are a few other general packing tips that will help you to make packing up your kitchen that much easier – the most important one being to do your best to completely fill boxes as to leave as little room as possible for items to move.
Some other helpful tips involve packing heavy items on the bottom, stacking dishes vertically, labeling your kitchen boxes as fragile and indicate which side to keep up, and finally – keep boxes to a reasonable weight. We will get into more specifics, from materials, to steps for success and specific tips for your most delicate items below.
Packing Materials You Need to Pack Dishes
When packing dishes, it’s essential that you create a barrier around all sides of the box, top included. This will help you ensure you meet the number one rule of packing – keeping boxes as tightly packed to allow for as little wiggle room as possible to take place during the move.
This is what you need to pack dishes safely:
- Packing paper – Towels or old clothing are great low waste replacements as well
- Small boxes to be used for dishes specifically
- Medium sized boxes
- Packing tape
- Markers and labels
6 Steps to Kitchen Packing Success
As a starting point, below is a general guide you can follow to pack almost any dish, and to ensure you are set up with all the necessary items to be successful in your packing mission.
- Step 1: Assemble and tape your small and medium packing boxes well. Double or triple taping these boxes is a good practice to reinforce the sides against the heavy contents.
- Step 2: Crumple up packing paper and place it along the bottom and sides of the boxes to create a cushiony perimeter for your delicate items.
- Step 3: Create a flat packing station with the packing paper and the box to be filled close by.
- Step 4: Place dish to be wrapped in the center of the packing paper securing it with tape, and place it inside the box you are filling.
- Step 5: Pack like items together, filling the box until it’s full. Use extra packing paper or packing materials to ensure items are nice and secure.
- Step 6: Once the box is nice and full, ensure there is a soft top barrier for added protection.
- Step 7: Close the box, tape it, and label it with the details of what’s inside and what room it belongs to. You’ll want to include a fragile indicator as well.
Don’t forget to keep boxes to a reasonable weight and limit breathing room. Having lighter boxes are much better than having your contents fall through an over stuffed one.
How to Pack Pots and Pans
Likely some of the bigger items in your kitchen, you may think of your pots and pans as much more durable items then some of the cups plates and bowls you serve in, but damage to your cookware can occur if proper care is not taken when packing. Nonstick cookware in particular can get scratched and pots can get dented or damaged. With some simple up front preparation you can negate the possibility of any issue.
To protect your pots and pans when moving, like your other kitchen items – packing paper or packing materials will serve you well. Wrap each item separately, folding the paper into the center of your pots and pans. Reinforce them by stuffing them with packing paper or packing material. You will want to use your medium sized boxes in order to accommodate several pieces of cookware in a single box – keeping in mind not to over pack.
How to Pack Bowls and Plates
Bowls and plates generally have flat bottoms, so the same general method can be applied to both types of dishware. As we mentioned above, packing items individually is the best way to ensure nothing breaks. Take each bowl or plate, placing them one at a time in the center of a piece of packing paper. Like the pots and pans, from there you will want to fold the corners inward and secure with tape in the center. Place in your small, well lined box. Remember – dishes are best packed vertically like you would in a dishwasher.
As you pack, take into account how fragile your different bowls and plates are. Like with all fragile items, you want to ensure each item is secure in the box. For more fragile pieces of china or Crystal, extra packing paper balls or soft packing material is recommended. Fill your box based on weight – keeping heavier items on bottom and lighter ones on top. Ensure there is enough packing cushion around all 4 sides once your box is full and ready to be closed away.
How to Pack Cups, Mugs, and Glasses
Cups and mugs are similar to small bowls, just a little more fragile. Don’t skimp on the packing material, you will want to make sure to pack these items carefully. The thinner the glass, the more packing barrier you will want to create.
A great way to begin is by filling each of your drinking vessels with packing materials. Once full, place the bottom of the cup mug or glass on one or two sheets of packing paper and begin folding inward. Roll the dish across the paper to the opposite corner, while also folding the excess paper as you go for added protection. Depending on the size and length of the glass, it may work better to begin with packing the item on it’s side. the next section on stemware will walk through how to do that in more detail.
Again, place your heavier items along the bottom of the box (think large mugs) and your smaller, lighter glasses closer to the top. Like with all your kitchen items, ensure you’ve got the protection barrier along all four sides before sealing and labeling your box.
How to Pack Stemware
Stemware is generally the most delicate item in your kitchen (and the ones you want to handle with most care). We included this as the last item on your kitchen packing list as hopefully you will have had plenty of practice with your packing skills before you get to these. Like you did with your other drinking vessels, beginning by stuffing your stemware with packing paper balls or soft packing material is the best first step. From there, handling each item one at a time, place the glass on its side close to one corner of the packing paper.
Roll the glass to the opposite corner of the paper, tucking and crumpling the paper around the glass as you go. When completed, each glass should have a nice barrier of paper around it before you tape it and place it carefully inside your box. If you’re tucking the paper tightly inside the vessel, you may not even need the tape. Make sure no edges can be felt through the paper.
If anything can be felt, secure with additional paper. Start with placing the larger, heavier pieces of stemware in the box first, before moving on to the next.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to pack dishes for a move, the next step is to physically move the packed dishes to your new location. We look forward to helping you move to your next space. Contact us today!
