14 Tips for Packing Dishes

Summer is the busiest season for moving companies and self storage facilities! Preparation for moving starts in the spring, so people can be ready for their move during the summer months. After you’ve established a move date, it’s time to start the packing process. Start gathering packing supplies such as boxes, packaging materials, packing tape and markers to label boxes. As you prepare to move, make sure to protect your items while on the moving truck or in storage. Making sure you properly pack your breakables for moving or storage is very important. Broken or shattered glasses or dishes are not something that you want to deal with on your moving day! The first and most important part to your packing process it to have sturdy, cardboard boxes for your kitchen items. The boxes must be strong enough to hold multiple items; however it is recommended not to use large boxes to hold glassware or dishes. Large boxes could get very heavy and easily break when stacked with other boxes. The best idea is to get smaller boxes or boxes specifically designed with dividers for glassware. ezStorage has a variety of moving boxes and supplies, such as sturdy boxes, newsprint and bubble wrap as well as packaging tape. Once you have gathered all of these supplies, then you can follow the steps below to learn how to pack your everyday dishes and special occasion plates and bowls.

How to Pack Dishes and Bowls for Moving

1. When packing dishes for moving or storage, start off by lining a box with packing material such as bubble wrap or newsprint. Make sure that the entire bottom and sides of the box are covered.
2. Use newspaper, newsprint or bubble wrap to pack your plates and bowls. Use bubble wrap to wrap more delicate dishes. Once you get to your new home, wash the plates and bowls before putting them in their prospective cabinets or before your first use.
3. There are specially made packing boxes with cardboard dividers that are excellent for packing and protecting dishes and bowls for moving.
4. Place pieces of newsprint or packing material on a table. The pieces should be large enough to properly wrap the plates or bowls.
5. Place the first plate in the center of the packing material and then fold one corner of the sheet over the plate until it is completely covered.
6. Place the next plate on top of the first plate and do the same folding process and then secure with packaging tape.
7. Do not place the plates flat in a box. Place them on their sides and add filler material to keep the plates in place. Adding cardboard dividers, in the box, will help keep the plates steady and protected.
8. Packing bowls for moving is exactly the same process as for plates: Wrap one bowl first and then adding a second or third bowl on top and secure with more packing material and tape.
9. As with plates, place bowls on their edges in the boxes and fill the box with cushioning material such as crushed paper, linens or towels.
10. Do not over-pack the dish boxes. Dishes can get very heavy and can easily cause boxes to break. Remember to stack the heavier boxes at the bottom of the stack and the lighter boxes on top.
11. Leave at least one inch of space from the last layer to the top of the box for added packing material.
12. For delicate plates and bowls, do not wrap too tightly as they could break when you remove the wrapping.
13. Store boxes with more delicate dishes on top of heavier boxes to prevent breakage. Also, make sure to stack like-size boxes together.
14. Label each box with the contents and create an overall inventory list, so you know where to look for the items if you need them.

If you follow these simple packing dishes for moving tips, you can protect your glasses, plates and dishes while moving and storing! Have fun wrapping and packing!