How To Pack Plates for a Move

Plates, china, porcelain and ceramic ware are among the many household items that need to be handled with extra care when moving into a new house. It all begins with how meticulously you packed them in their moving boxes. Once they're placed in the moving van, the condition of those fragile items is basically out of your hands. Here are some guidelines on how you can make sure they arrive in your new home each in one piece.

1. Acquire the necessary packing materials. There are actually specific packing containers for plates known as plate cell packing kits which you can purchase from moving supply stores. On the other hand, you can save yourself from this extra expense by buying more common packing materials. You will need bubble wrap, newsprint, packing tape, packing peanuts and small to medium sized moving boxes.
2. Prepare the moving box. You should put an extra layer of cardboard on the inside bottom of the moving box you're going to be putting your plates in. To make sure the bottom doesn't give out from the weight of the plates, you should also reinforce the outside bottom with packing tape. To provide extra cushion, line the inside of the moving box with sheets of bubble wrap.
3. Wrap the plates appropriately. Use a large piece of newsprint that can accommodate at least three plates stacked together. Place the first plate on the center of the newsprint. Put a piece of bubble wrap to cover the surface of the plate. Stack the second plate and similarly cover its surface with bubble wrap. Repeat the procedure with the third plate. Afterwards wrap the news print around the three stacked plates, folding the excess into the wrapping and then seal it tightly with packing tape.
4. Place the wrapped plates in the moving box. Position the wrapped plates standing on its edge when you place them inside the moving box in order to make them more resistant to breaking. They're more likely to crack when lying flat. Stack and wrap as many plates whether in groups of three or more (or less) to fit and tightly fill one moving box. It's important that they don't wiggle or slip around. When the box is tightly filled with wrapped plates, fill up the empty spaces with crumpled newsprint or packing peanuts to further cushion the plates. If there's still some space between the plates and the top of the moving box, you should also fill this up with crumpled newsprint or packing peanuts.
5. Seal the moving box. Use packing tape as they stick best to cardboard moving boxes. Be sure to reinforce the corners and edges as you don't want the box suddenly tearing open and spilling the plates. Don't forget to label the box 'Fragile' and 'Plates.' It would also be prudent to mark which side of the box is up.

Moving into a new house is certainly stressful and part of that is wondering the whole time if your breakable items are going to get to your new home safely. You can significantly reduce that stress by putting a little more effort in correctly packing your fragile items. You can't simply rely on the caution of a moving crew.