How do I pack dishes for a move?

Wrap every dish on its own, stand plates on edge instead of stacking them flat, and pack them in a small, sturdy box with a thick cushion underneath, padding all around and no empty space. Heavy pieces go low, glasses and light pieces go on top, and the box is taped shut and marked fragile on more than one side. Packed that way, a box of dishes can usually ride out a bumpy truck and a few rough hands.

What you need

Get the supplies together before you start, so you are not wrapping plates in dish towels at midnight.

• Boxes. Small, strong boxes, or purpose-made double-wall dish-pack boxes. Skip any box that is damaged, wet or crushed. A used box that has been rained on is much weaker than it looks.
• Packing paper. Plain, unprinted paper is the usual choice for wrapping, because printed newspaper can leave ink on dishes. Buy more than you think you need; a kitchen goes through a lot of it.
• Bubble wrap or foam sheets for good china, platters and anything thin.
• Packing tape. Use real packing tape, since duct tape and masking tape can peel off in heat or moisture.
• A marker and fragile labels.

A dish-pack kit is optional but saves time. U-Haul's Dish Saver kit comes with a dish moving box, 32 reusable foam pouches and a five-piece cell divider,^[1] and U-Haul rates that dish pack box to hold up to 65 pounds.^[1] Whatever box you use, keep it to a weight one person can carry comfortably.

Start early and leave a few out

A kitchen usually takes longer to pack than people expect, so start early. Pack the dishes, cutlery and pots you will not need before moving day first, and leave out only a few cups, plates, bowls and pans. Serving platters, holiday china and the back-of-the-cupboard glasses can go in the first boxes.

Choose small boxes for dishes. Heavy things are easier to manage in a smaller box than a large one, and a big box full of plates is both too heavy and more likely to sag in the middle.

Building a box of dishes

Cushion the bottom first. Before any dish goes in, lay a thick layer of cushioning, such as crumpled packing paper or foam, in the bottom of the box. This layer takes the shock if the box is set down hard.

Wrap every piece on its own. Lay a stack of paper on a clean counter, set a dish in the middle, and fold the paper over it from the corners, adding sheets until it is fully covered. Corners, handles, lids and glass edges are usually the first places to crack, so give rims, cup handles, teapot spouts and lids an extra layer. Use bubble wrap or foam over the paper for good china.

Stand plates on edge. Pack plates on their sides rather than stacking them flat, which reduces the pressure on each one. Set them in a row across the box like files in a drawer. Place heavier dishes at the bottom and lighter pieces on top, so platters and dinner plates make up the bottom layer.

Nest bowls in short stacks. Wrap each bowl, nest a few together with paper between them, and set the stacks in the middle layer, on a bed of crumpled paper over the plates.

Fill glasses before wrapping them. Push crumpled packing paper inside each glass for cushioning, then wrap it. Mugs get the same treatment. Glasses, stemware and anything delicate go in the top layer or in a cell divider.

Pad the sides. As you fill, leave a thick layer of padding between the dishes and every side of the box, so no dish touches the cardboard.

Fill every gap. Push crumpled paper into each empty space, then gently shake the box before you seal it; if you hear or feel movement, add more filler. A box that rattles is a box that breaks.

Seal, label and load

Close the box with the H-taping method: tape along the center seam where the flaps meet, then tape both edge seams, and reinforce the bottom. Write "Kitchen, fragile" and a short list of what is inside. Put fragile labels on more than one side of the box, because the top disappears once boxes are stacked.

In the truck, heavier boxes go on the bottom and the most fragile boxes go on top, somewhere nothing can shift onto them. For the rest of the load, see how to load a moving truck so nothing breaks.

Fine china and hired movers

Heirloom china needs more than good wrapping if a mover is carrying it. On an interstate move, federal rules treat any item whose value exceeds $100 per pound as an article of extraordinary value, and china and silverware are among the examples.^[2] Under full value protection, a mover may limit its liability for those items unless you list them on the shipping documents.^[2] Tell the mover about them in writing before the move.

Who packed the box also matters. Under the same federal rules, improper packing of boxes you pack yourself is one of the things that can limit or reduce a mover's liability for damage.^[2] If you want the mover to stand behind the china, ask about having its crew pack those boxes. For the trade-offs, see whether it is worth paying movers to pack and what professional packers cost in Virginia.

Stop and call a pro if

• You have china, crystal or art glass you could not replace, and you want a crew that packs it, inventories it and stands behind it.
• A china cabinet or hutch has glass shelves, mirrored backs or leaded doors that have to come out or be crated.
• The kitchen is large, the move is days away and nothing is packed yet.
• Something broke while you were packing and there are glass shards in a box. Wear gloves, empty it over a sheet and start that box again.

Getting packing help through Loclis

Browse more junk removal and moving answers, see packing and unpacking services, find moving businesses listed near Blacksburg, or describe what needs packing and get quotes from local packers.