How to Pack Dishes & Glasses for Moving And Storage: 6 Easy Tips

Your glasses, dishes, and china are super fragile. Luckily, “fragile” doesn’t have to mean “will get broken.”

Protect your delicate items by packing them the right way. Here’s how to pack glassware, dishes, and china for moving and storage:

Materials:

• Cardboard cell box for glassware
• Cardboard box for dishes
• Packing paper
• Clothing and/or towels
• Socks, air pillows, or balloons
• Packing tape
• Permanent marker

Step 1: Get a cell box for glassware and a cardboard box for dishes.

Pre-made cell boxes are the best for storing glassware. The cardboard dividers between each glass prevent friction and potential breakage.

Step 2: Pad the insides of the boxes with towels, sweaters, or sweatshirts.

Your glassware and dishes need a soft bed of packing material to cushion them through transit and while in storage.

Crumpled (not folded) packing paper, bath towels, sweaters, and sweatshirts are all great shock absorbers. Use them to pad the interior top, bottom, and sides of the boxes so your items are protected from all angles.

Step 3: Wrap each piece individually with packing paper first, then bubble wrap.

Fragile items need all the protection they can get. Wrapping each piece separately is your best defense against accidental damage.

Using one sheet of white packing paper (you can use newspaper, but there is potential for ink transfer), insert one corner into the open end of the glass to provide cushioning. Fold both sides of the paper up and over the edges. Tuck sides in as you roll each piece. Do this separately for each glass or dish.

If you must use bubble wrap, do not apply it right onto the glass. If the bubbles come directly in contact with the glass, they could have a sticking or suctioning effect that could break it. Wrap the glass in paper or tissue first, then follow with bubble wrap.

For plates, lay the piece in the middle of a sheet of packing paper. Take one corner and pull it over to completely cover the surface of the plate. Repeat this with the other three corners and either tuck in or tape down the paper ends.

Each piece of crystal or very fragile china should be double wrapped.

Step 4: Insert the glasses and stemware into the cell box, and place dishes upright into a separate box.

It’s best to store plates upright, not stacked one on top of the other. In the event that the box experiences any kind of force, the edges of the plates will be able to handle a lot more pressure than if they were laid flat.

Step 5: Fill any empty space with rolled-up packing paper, clean socks, or air-filled packing pillows.

Glasses and dishes prefer to be snug. Fill any empty space between each piece with rolled-up paper, clean socks, air pillows or partially-inflated balloons.

Pack the boxes about three inches from the top, adding a crumpled layer of packing paper or other packing material as the final layer. When closed, the top flaps of the box should be difficult to push down. That way, anything stacked on top of the boxes doesn’t break your items.

Step 6: Tape the boxes shut with packing tape, and label them as “FRAGILE.”

Self-explanatory.

All packed and ready to go?

Schedule a Clutter pickup, and let us know you’re storing fragile items. We’ll pick up your stuff, stick a “FRAGILE” sticker on your box containing fragile items, and store everything in our secure storage facility.

The best part:

When you need something back from storage, we’ll deliver it to you.

Schedule a Clutter Pickup