Packing for moving is well-known to be an hevy task, endless hours of laborious, exhausting, and sometimes backbreaking work. This statement is especially trye when it comes to packing your big and heavy items. There is no doubt that packing your garage tools requires a lot more effort than packing clothes. And it is just as true that carrying boxes filled with books is much more phisically requaring and tiresome than carrying boxes filled with holiday decorations. Also not to mention how hard it is to pack large furniture and bulky appliances for transport. Or what a difficult task specialty items, like grand pianos or home safes, pose to residential movers.

Not only are these large and heavy items difficult to handle during a house relocation, but they also present few considerable risks to the safety of those who are packing and carrying them, to the property that is being taken in or out of and to their own good condition.

They greatly increase the final moving cost as well, it is based on the weight of the shipment for long distance moves or the time it takes to perform the relocation for local moves and the complexity of the job.

But you can not just leave your heavy belongings behind when moving house. What you can do, is pack them properly, this will considerably reduce the risks and will make your moving process a little easier and stress free.

So, how to pack your heavy belongings for your relocation, how to protect your property, ensure their safety, and prevent personal injury? Here are a few guidelines for packing heavy things which you may find quite usefull.

Use adecvate packing materials

Packing materials are made for two main purposes providing protection to the items being shipped and making them easier to carry around and arrange in transportation vehicles.

So, the correct packing supplies can help you make the safety of your heavy things and prevent injuries and accidents during your moving process. You just need to make sure that you use the correct packing materials.

Stronger boxes, Get some heavy duty shipping boxes and double-ply cardboard boxes that will be strong enough to hold the weight of your heavy things. Also consider buying specially made boxes for your more delicate and more valuable heavy belongings. It might even be a good idea to rent or buy plastic crates instead of cardboard boxes. Wooden crates are your best option for your heavy artwork and other expensive, oddly-shaped, fragile, heavy things.

Thicker wrapping, The thicker the wrapping, the less the risk of damage to your items and the floor, in case a heavy item is dropped while being carried. Thicker wrapping will also provide better protection if your things bump against each other during transportation. So, make sure you have lots of foam padding, bubble wrap, moving blankets and similar packing materials.

Sturdier cushioning. Crumpled paper will not do when you need to cushion heavy items in a moving box, it will compress flat under the items weight and will not provide adequate protection. You should use corrugated cardboard, large size bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or foam padding instead.

High-quality packing tape. Thin masking tape is not going to hold items that are very heavy, so you need heavy duty packing tape when packing heavy items, to keep the wrappings in place, reinforce the boxes (For example use a strong duck-tape)

Prepare your moving boxes

Not all of your heavy household items can be packed in boxes, of course, but those that can would be better protected if you take the time to prepare the moving containers correctly. Be sure that you:

-Use small moving boxes to pack heavy items, larger boxes will weigh too much if they are full of heavy objects and will be very difficult to lift and carry, and might easily break under their own weight.

-Reinforce the moving boxes with heavy duty packing tape to reduce the risk of them falling apart when being picked up and during transportation.

-Line the bottom of the boxes with packing peanuts, large size bubble wrap, or corrugated cardboard for additional safety and protection.

Prepare your heavy belongings

Different types of items require different preparation but, generally, you are advised to follow next steps:

Clean and empty the items. Begin by removing any detachable parts from large heavy items and pack them separately for better protection. You might want to disassemble furniture pieces and dismantle some of your household appliances and equipment..

Impart extra protection to the most vulnerable parts of your items with glass elements, protruding elements, etc. Use foam sheets, packing paper, bubble wrap, or other suitable materials and make sure that they are safe.

Pay special attention to your heavy, fragile items, wrap them separately in several layers of appropriate protective materials to keep them safe during the transportation.

Pack your heavy and big items follow the right procedures.

Once your moving boxes and your heavy items are prepared in the right way, it will not be so difficult to pack the heavy items for moving. Just follow the following advice bellow.

Choose a sturdy, properly padded box that is slightly larger than the items you are going to pack.

Place the items inside so that some room is left between them and the sides of the moving box.

Use pieces of cardboard, packing peanuts, foam sheets, or large size bubble wrap to fill the empty space in the moving box. If you place more than one thing in a box, make sure there is plenty of cushioning between the articles as well. It is wery important to secure the things inside the moving box completely.

Fill any and all extra space at the top of the box with cushioning materials. The moving boxes should always have a firm top once closed or they might cave in when stacked one on top of the other in the moving vehicle. Don’t forget to test the top before sealing the box, if it feels like it may give way when you put pressure on it, reopen it and add some more cushioning materials inside.

Seal the moving box and place it inside another box which is several inches larger than the already packed one. Put some cardboard pieces or other padding materials between the two boxes. Tape the second box shut and secure it strongly.

Label the boxes with their contents and make sure to note in writing HANDLE WITH CARE or HEAVY on the boxes, so that the movers know that need to be cautious when carrying that boxes. Do not forget to mark the boxes containing fragile items as FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP.

Now that you know the best ways to pack your heavy items in general, you might want to learn the specifics of packing the different types of heavy things.

Good luck in your forthcoming move.