How to Pack Fragile Items for Your NJ Move

How to Pack Fragile Items for Your NJ Move

Moving is already a stressful experience, but adding fragile items to the mix can make it even more nerve-wracking. No one wants to deal with a box full of broken glass or ceramic when moving into their place, but it might just seem inevitable. After all, even on the smoothest of roads, boxes tend to shift while in transit. Now imagine how much bumping and jostling your boxes will go through while driving through the New Jersey streets.

Luckily, there are ways you can protect your fragile items so they have a greater chance of making it to your New NJ home in one piece. It may take you a bit longer, but it will be worth it. And if all else fails, you can ask NJ Great Movers to pack the fragile items for you.

Have the Right Materials

Before you start packing, make sure you have all the necessary items and have the right materials for each object. After all, packing a box of bowls is different from packing a TV. Some essential packing supplies you’ll need include:

Packing peanuts - This fills in the empty space in the box and can withstand shocks and vibrations. It’s pretty much perfect for almost every item
Bubble wrap - the bubbles come in different sizes, so make sure you choose accordingly. Use the small ones for things like cups or plates and the larger ones for your bigger items
Furniture pads - use these to protect oversized items like furniture or larger glassware like large vases, glass coffee tables, etc.
Packing paper - the most cost-effective method of packing glassware, cups, dishes, bowls, and so on. You might be tempted to use newspaper or magazine pages, but remember that the ink from these pages will transfer to your items, which means you’ll have wash everything again once you unpack

If you’re looking to save money, you can use items you have around the house, like pillows, socks, pillowcases, sheets, etc. to wrap up your fragile items. Just remember that these are not specifically made to absorb shock, so if you do go this route, there’s a higher chance your fragile items might end up breaking during transit. Still, if you’re just making a local move, it might not be a bad idea since you’ll be able to save money on materials while also saving yourself from messy cleanup.

Create an Inventory

Even if you don’t have any fragile items, you should still create an inventory of all your items. It will be a lot easier to keep track of all your belongings during your move. After all, you want to make sure everything arrives at your new place and doesn’t get left behind or left on the moving truck!

When taking inventory of your fragile items, always make sure to take pictures of each item. You want to record its state before the move, so if something does get damaged or broken, you have evidence of what it looked like beforehand. This will be important if you need to file a claim against your moving company if anything gets damaged or broken while in transit.

Pack Properly

Packing is an art, one that everyone can be good at so long as you follow a few simple rules:

Always place the heaviest item at the bottom. You don’t want to crush your smaller items, right?
Use smaller boxes for your fragile items. The less stuff you have in a box, the fewer opportunities there are for them to knock into each other. Plus, smaller boxes are easier to handle.
Consider buying specialty boxes. You can find boxes for glassware, dishware, and much more. These boxes have little holders for your glasses and vertical holders for your dishes.
Fill in any extra space with lots of padding. Use bubble wrap, packing peanuts, paper, whatever you have on hand, to prevent the items from getting jostled
Don’t overpack your boxes! Not only do you want to avoid items from knocking into each other, but you also don’t want to overload your boxes to hold more weight than necessary

Label Your Boxes

You don’t want to go through all the trouble of packing everything properly and then not label the boxes properly. Take your time and make sure to clearly label every box that has fragile items. That means writing the word fragile on the boxes and also indicating which side of the box is up.

Don’t stop there. Put all fragile boxes in a separate area and instruct the NJ movers that they should be handled with care. One of the benefits of using a professional NJ moving company is that your belongings will be covered with partial valuation protection. So if something does break or get damaged, you’ll be compensated $0.60/per pound per item. If your fragile items cost more than that, you might want to consider purchasing full valuation protection or going with a third-party moving insurance to make sure you can recoup the current market value of said items.

Oh, and speaking of valuation coverage and insurance, in general, your claim won’t be accepted if you packed the boxes yourself unless you’re able to show that the moving company was negligent in their handling of your boxes. That’s why it’s a good idea to let the professionals pack your fragile items, as then they will be held liable.

Protect Your Fragile Items

Hopefully, the tips above can help you pack your fragile belongings with ease. And if you’re short on time or feel overwhelmed, let NJ Great Movers do the work for you. We offer full and partial packing services, so if you want help with specific items or areas, we can do that. Our goal is to provide you with a move that suits your needs and budget.

FAQ

Do I need to wrap every fragile item?

Yes, wrap every single fragile item separately! If there are any loose pieces like lids, remove them and wrap them separately. Finer items like China should be wrapped in bubble wrap.