There can be many problems while packing fragile items and a good majority of them can be avoided if you know the right way to do it. Relocating fragile items can be a huge nightmare especially when you have some pricey stuff among them.
There are certain procedures to follow when packing fragile items and when you miss some important steps in it, you can end up breaking up your stuff. Here are some common mistakes that people generally make when packing fragile items. Keep a note of all these points when packing fragile items and ensure to avoid them.
1. Rushing Your Packing
We all make this mistake of miscalculating the amount of time we need to pack all our stuff for relocation and in the end, rush the packing to get it all done before the day of the relocation. During those few rushing days, packing the fragile items may not be a good idea.
Fragile items need extra care and attention while packing to ensure that every step is performed to perfection. But when you are rushing, you may miss out on some important details of packing which could prove fatal for your fragile items.
To avoid the loss of your items and your money, start your packing with the fragile items so that you can give their due time and care.
2. Being Stingy on the Packing Materials
This is a big NO. Maybe you are out of some packing materials and are lazy to go around to the shop to get more or maybe you are packing in the middle of the night when you are short of packing materials but want to complete most of your packing before the next day. No reason is good enough to go stingy on the packing materials, especially for those fragile items.
There is a procedure to pack every fragile item like china dishes, wine glasses, arts, etc. And every procedure requires a certain amount of packing materials. Skipping any of the packing materials could get your items damaged.
Always have a surplus of the packing materials so that you don’t have to rush in the middle of the store. Don’t be stingy with the packing materials. See the bigger picture here: a few more bucks of packing materials or a pricey art?
Also keep in mind the weather conditions because if it’s raining, then you have to plan for moving during the rain. The packing material should be waterproof so that if in any case, your packages get drenched in rain and you have already prepared for it in advance. it will save a lot of your efforts
3. Forgetting to Mark your Boxes as ‘FRAGILE’
When you are packing your stuff by yourself and have hired removalists to just relocate your things, then you need to make sure that the professional removalists working on your relocation know which boxes have your fragile items.
You may point out the boxes and tell them but in the sea of boxes, it can get mixed up. Therefore, the simple universal way to let the removalists know which boxes need to be given extra care is by writing the word ‘fragile’ in big, bold letters on all sides of the boxes. Also, don’t forget to mark which side is up to not mess up your airtight packing.
Things will become easier if you have hired removalists for relocation. Consult a removal agency and consult with them for house removals along with your fragile items.
4. Packing the Items Too Tight
Most fragile items have a tendency to break when hard pressure is applied to them. This happens when you try to stuff more items in the box so that all your fragile items are very tightly applying pressure on each other. If in any case, you have an expensive wine collection, check out our article on how to pack wine bottles.
During the transportation, this long pressure could break your fragile items even after a secure packing.
Therefore, it is important to know the difference between packing a box tight and super tight with high pressure.
It is okay to pack a box tight so that things don’t move but when you can see the box bulging on the outside of the items held too tight with each other that there are chances of it breaking when to try to remove them, then it is advisable not to proceed.
5. Not Using Shock Absorbers
When you are relocating your stuff in a vehicle, there are bound to be some bumpy rides along the way. These jumps could send shock waves inside the boxes which the fragile items can’t withstand. Therefore, line the bottom of the boxes with bubble wraps, newspapers, packing papers, etc to absorb the shock.
For items like glasses, bowls, etc which have a hollow surface, the hollow part has to be filled with bubble wraps or any clothes to absorb the shock.
