HOW TO PACK ANTIQUE DISHES FOR MOVING

Antique dishes have sentimental values to every homeowner. Most times, it is passed down from generation to generation and sometimes as gifts on special occasions. When moving to a new home, owners of antique dishes are often anxious about moving due to the fear of breaking or chipping the dishes. This write up will serve as a guide on how to successfully pack up your antique dishes for moving.

• Create a work area and gather supplies for the packing

Depending on the size of the dishes you are looking to pack, you may require a small space or a medium one. If you have many fragile dishes to pack then make sure you have adequate space for them all. You can invite friends and family over to speed up the process. Clean the workspace you will be using and dedicate a spot for each type of dishes. This way there wont be mix ups when you start packing. The supplies you will need for packing are strong moving boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, packing paper and optionally dish packs.

• Cut packing paper papers to size

 Cut and place several sheets of packing papers on your work space. make sure each piece is large enough to cover the sides of the dishes. If you have different sizes of dishes, then you should cut out different sizes. Cutting before fixing them will help you save paper and help you wrap the dishes better. 

Place a sheet of packing paper or tissue paper flat on your work surface.  The sheet should be large enough to completely cover the item.  Place plates face down and wrap them completely, folding the corners inward to cover the plate.  For bowls and cups, crumple on or more pieces of packing paper or tissue paper and place it inside the bowl or cup.  Then, wrap them completely, folding the corners inward and securing them with tape. 

• Wrap your plates one after the other

Place your antique dishes face down on the packing sheets and cover them completely making sure to fold all the corner inwards. You can use a tape to hold down the wrap in the middle of the dish. Wrap each dish individually and not two at a time to prevent chips and breakage. If your dishes are really old and fragile, you can substitute wrapping paper for bubble wrap for extra protection. For bowl-like dishes, add an extra paper, crumble it up and put it inside the dish.

• Use packing material to line the bottom of a moving box

It is important to line the bottom of the box with some sort of packaging material before putting your dishes into it to prevent falls and impact from moving and dropping it. Use bubble wraps or packed paper about two inches thick. Make sure the sides are packed too after the dishes are in with material at least two inches thick all round.  Do not use oversized or undersized boxes. Over sized boxes will give space for dishes to move around and over each other during transit while undersized boxes are too small and the dishes will end up being too close to each other.

• Pack the dishes carefully into each box

If you can afford to, buy dish packs. These special boxes have invidual section for each dish. This means that dishes are not packed together and moving against each other in transit. As with normal boxes, pack the sides of the dish packs so that the plates cannot move at all. Another mistake movers make is to pack too many dishes into one box. Pack about six to twelve dishes into one box and if you still have more, use as many boxes as possible instead of putting everything together. Just like the old adage says, do not put all your eggs in one basket.

• Seal the box and label it

Before sealing, ensure that you place bubble wraps at least two or theee inches thick over the dishes. Makensure that there is no movement whatsoever in the box before you close it. Seal the box using a packing tape. Crate a large, visible label on the sides as well as the top of the box labelled as FRAGILE. For long distance movers, this is important because improperly labelled boxes can be mishandled leading to breakage of the contents inside. If possible, write down the contents of each box so the movers know exactly what they are carrying. It is also useful in taking inventory in case of damage.

• Place the heaviest boxes at the bottom

While it is tempting to want to move your antique dishes separately from the rest of your stuff, you have to pack them together with other things. Therefore, make sure that heavier boxes are kept at the bottom and the lighter ones on top. If possible, ensure that the boxes containing your dishes are placed last and on top. This is where using several smaller sized boxes instead of one large one comes into use.

In conclusion, you can successfully move your antique dishes without recording any damage. This however requires carefully planning and execution from choosing the right packing material to loading the boxes in the moving boxes.