Taking a leap and relocating to a new country is a big step in your life, so it’s no wonder why you want to have everything prepared without any negative surprises. But, to make that happen, you should know how to pack dishes for moving. Considering just how delicate glasses, plates, and other kitchenware are, having a guide on how to protect them best is more than welcome.
When you consider all the benefits of this relocation, the only thing left to do is prepare your home for the big move. However, the whole process can cause a lot of headaches because you need to prepare fragile items for the move. However, one important thing to remember is that with the right materials and techniques, all of your breakables will arrive in one piece at your new home. So, check some of the best hacks on how to do it, and you’ll see that handling the relocation stress will be a breeze.
Why It’s Important to Know How to Pack Dishes for Moving Overseas?
Did you know that relocating across the world is one of the most stressful events in people’s lives? International moves require a lot of time to prepare effectively, and it’s not just because you have to deal with many tasks, like hiring a reliable overseas moving company. There’s also figuring out how you’ll adjust to a new country and what it will be like staying in touch with your friends when you’re miles away.
The whole process can also be overwhelming because you have to ensure all of your stuff arrives in one piece and to do that, you need to know how to move abroad in the best possible way. So, before starting preparing your home for the relocation process, ensure all the stuff you want to bring is actually needed. Otherwise, they’ll just end up in a storage unit after the move, or worse, you’ll throw them away.
Take Your Time and Prepare for the Move Like a Pro
One of the first steps right after you find one of the most suitable cities to live in Europe is to make an abroad checklist. It should look like every relocation checklist with everything you need to do and have an efficient move. However, besides relocation essentials and wrapping materials and supplies, ensure you put all the documents required for travel on the list.
And when you have a detailed checklist, you can pass on deciding what to keep and whether you actually need professional packing services. This will take a bit of your time, but once you have piles of stuff that you’ll leave, know you can do something good for other people. Donate stuff on the Goodwill website, whether it’s a piece of clothes or a dish.
Packing Dishes for Moving Abroad Requires Right Supplies and Materials
Once you know what’s going to your new home, the next step is gathering the right materials and supplies for the wrapping process. Since you’re wondering what to use to wrap dishes in when moving, you should keep in mind that breakables will need more attention than other stuff would.
So, here are everything you should have and have a successful wrapping process:
- Packing paper,
- Bubble wraps,
- Medium-sized boxes,
- Dish boxes,
- Tape,
- Markers and labels.
The Right Box Will Go a Long Way
When it comes to picking the right container, know there’s a special dish box designed for delicate kitchen stuff. It has a double crumpled cardboard layer which makes it the perfect additional protection – you won’t have to worry about any sudden movement during the shipment.
So, when wondering how to pack dishes for a move, you should consider investing a bit more into these boxes. You surely want to spend more time figuring out what marine insurance is and also how to live abroad than wrapping your breakables.
Check Some More Affordable Packing Supplies Options
Picking one of the friendliest countries in the world can be quite an interesting thing to do, but know that you’ll first have to be financially prepared for overseas relocation. So, in order to save some money, learn how to pack dishes when moving on a low budget. Newspaper and packing paper are more than affordable options, especially if you have some old issues that you were going to throw away.
You can use some free materials you’ll find at home, too. For example, soft materials like sheets, socks, napkins, and similar, are excellent options for protecting breakables before putting them into boxes.
Use Some General Tips and Explore the Best Way to Pack Dishes
When you know what to box up, pass on exploring some of the best wrapping techniques and tips to do it more efficiently. This is an important step since the whole process could last more than eight hours. So, having a safe and effective wrap will help you avoid the most common relocation mistakes and save you some time to think about your future living overseas. Check some useful tips if you’ve never prepared for the relocation process:
- Ensure each object is wrapped separately.
- Place the heavier objects like a dutch oven and bowls first.
- Remember to always pile things up vertically.
- Empty spaces and gaps in the box should be filled with soft materials.
- Cutlery like knives, spoons, and forks should be wrapped separately.
- Label each box as “fragile.”
- Avoid overloading boxes and transporting them. The maximum weight should be 45 pounds.
- Don’t leave the box empty – fill it to the top.
- Be generous with the tape to prevent packages from opening during shipment.
Additional Steps for Packing Dishes When Moving Internationally
One of the mistakes people tend to make when preparing tableware for transport is the stacking method. For example, vertically stacked plates are less likely to get damaged or broken than those placed flat.
When it comes to your fine china, the key is using many different wrapping materials. The same goes for pottery. Additional protective supplies are essential for china and pottery since these pieces are more delicate than other kitchenware. So, one of the steps for successful overseas relocation is ensuring your stuff arrives intact. In the video below, you can find some useful hacks on how to wrap pottery.
Plates Are the Heaviest and Need to Be Properly Handled
Since the plates are probably the heaviest objects in your kitchen, you should start with them. Ensure each plate is wrapped separately with the paper or other material you’ve prepared, and then place it in the packaging. It’s crucial to put them individually standing up on one side because then they will support the other.
No matter the reasons for your move, you surely don’t want to end up unpacking broken tableware. So, one of the tricks you definitely should stick to when relocating to another country is filling the gaps in the package. That’s a professional hack experienced movers apply to prevent breakage during the transport when a movement of the container indeed happens.
Carefully Wrap Glasses, Cups, and Mugs In a Soft Material
How do you pack glasses for moving? Knowing the answer to this question will save you a lot of trouble. Not only because you may have some vintage glassware you got from your grandma, but also because you surely don’t want to buy a new one after the move. Also, they are the most breakable objects, so taking a few additional steps is just what you need to protect them.
In order to keep them in one piece, ensure you put protective paper or whatever material you’re using inside and outside the glass. As for the plates, wrap each piece individually and put them in the package, carefully filling out the gaps.
How to Take Care of Most Delicate Kitchenware?
Besides fine china, stemware is the most delicate kitchenware. It’s very breakable because it’s made from crystal or glass, and it’s practically a stand of glass with a base. So, before you begin with the wrapping process, check some of the steps you should take and protect them adequately:
- Stuff objects with soft material,
- Put the paper around the glass and roll it towards the opposite corner of the material,
- Add another protective layer and ensure you don’t feel the edges under the fingers.
Know How to Prepare Other Kitchen Items When Shipping Overseas
Of course, there are other objects you need to take care of. Firstly, the bowls. Wrapping up these objects is pretty much like the glasses. Work with one at a time and put the paper inside and outside the bowl. Place them in the package on their sides so there’s no breakage.
Other items like pots and pans and cutlery will require some protection, too. In fact, you should be extremely careful when wrapping knives and other sharp objects. To avoid any injuries, it’s better to put all the knives together and tape the pointy ends.
Be a Bit More Careful When Preparing a Dish for Shipping
At this point, hiring a professional overseas shipping company could seem like the greatest solution. Wondering how to pack dishes for shipping can be too overwhelming for some people, so letting the experienced movers do some of the work for you is more than tempting.
However, you should still take care of some items on your own and save money for other relocation services you might need more. So, ensure you have enough materials like packing paper and know the right techniques to place your objects into the container correctly. Don’t forget to add that extra layer of protective material on the top before sealing the package.
Ensure the Label ”Fragile” Is on Every Box
Last but surely not least is labeling. When you’re wrapping items like clothes, the packages should have labels too, but not the ”fragile” ones. However, when you’re placing a dish that is more likely to break, using the correct label is essential. So, after you seal the package with a few layers of tape, be sure that it’s also correctly labeled. Only then will the professional movers know that the boxes have breakables and handle them with care.
Hire a Professional International Moving Company and Have No Worry on Your Mind
If you’re not feeling good about your packaging skills or don’t have enough time and energy to deal with this part of the move, then having a professional helping hand is vital. Even though you have all the relocation hacks and tricks, sometimes it’s not enough. But this doesn’t mean you should despair. On the contrary, you should hire a professional relocation company that will make the whole process a breeze.
