When packing and moving valuable items such as paintings, antique objects, priceless fine china sets, jewelry pieces, electronic equipment, family heirlooms, and essential or even irreplaceable documents poses a different type of challenge compared to packing and moving clothes, books, and furniture.
The thing is that nothing will happen when you accidentally drop a piece of clothing or a book to the floor. However, drop a really valuable item, which usually also tends to be fragile and breakable, and then you will create a lot of problems on your hands. Equally, if you don’t handle your valuable items with the utmost care, then the chance of damage to your high-value articles increases dramatically. To prevent this, we want to provide you with some tips on how to pack and transport your valuables.
Make a list of all your valuables
You are most likely a bit worried about how to protect your valuables when moving. But first, you need to know precisely what high-value articles you have in your home. Go through your house and make an inventory of all the valuable items that you own. A detailed list will help you make up your mind whether you will take all the valuable things you have, but it will also prove to be helpful in the unfortunate event that some precious items get damaged or go missing during transit.
Make sure you photograph all of your expensive or sentimental things as proof of their current condition and keep those photos safe in case you need to make an insurance claim after the move. Also, keep any documents that accompany your valuables such as receipts, bills, warranty cards, certificates of authenticity, etc. in a moving binder together with other types of personal or move-related documentation.
Consider insuring your valuable items
It’s a good idea to get in touch with your insurance provider and ask them if your current insurance policy covers the relocation of valuables from one home to another. Discuss the move with your moving company as they can advise you on whether it’s necessary to buy extra insurance, and if it is, then they can also help you get that additional coverage for your expensive and fragile possessions. This way, you will have full value protection should something terrible happen to your prized items. Nevertheless, whether you are transporting your car, smaller high-valued items such as expensive watches, rare books, collectors’ items, some smaller art pieces, fine china sets, etc., then you’ll have to rely exclusively on your superior packing skills.
Get the correct packing supplies
Paying careful attention to how you pack your valuables will determine whether they remain in one piece during the household move or not. The right quality and amount of packing materials will contribute significantly to the success of the packing.
It’s best to use the original packaging for your items, but if you must use other containers, then be sure that the cardboard boxes are durable, dry, and have no signs of pre-existing damage. Purchase a lot of soft white packing paper as an initial protective layer. Bubble wrap will be your best ally when packing valuables because the protection it provides your valuables is unrivaled. Get some rolls of bubble wrap from your local office supply store or directly from the moving company you hired.
How to safely pack your valuables
Most high-value articles are fragile and easily breakable your first and most important task is to protect them against damage during transportation.
Double tape the bottoms of all the cardboard boxes that you plan to use to move your valuables. Use only high-quality packing tape. Be sure to place a few sheets of Bubble wrap on the bottom of each box to keep your valued possessions safe by absorbing any shocks that might occur on the trip. If possible, get and use special picture boxes that will fit framed paintings and photos that you have. Use lots of packing paper and bubble wrap to create multiple cushions inside the box. If your framed artwork pieces are glass protected, tape a large X along the glass surface from corner to corner with masking tape to keep glass shards in place in case of breakage. Your artwork pieces should be packed so they can’t move around inside after they have been packed for moving.
Whenever possible, you should store and transport your jewelry in jewelry boxes. If you can’t, protect your necklaces and bracelets with the help of drinking straws and empty toilet paper rolls. Use pill organizers to pack up your earrings while your rings will be best protected in hard sunglasses cases
Electronic devices are both expensive and fragile and if possible, pack them in their original boxes. If this isn’t an option, then be sure to use a lot of static-free bubble wrap and pack them together. Make sure to transport your smaller hi-tech equipment such as your laptops, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, etc. by yourself. Large electronic devices, such as flat-screen TVs and desktop computers, will most probably need to be moved by your moving company.
Use moving blankets to guard the surfaces of antique furniture, especially any legs or arms that protrude from the furniture as well as other pieces that can be damaged by scratching or dents. Wrapping sheets of bubble wrap around the most endangered areas such as lacquered wood or glass parts is a good idea. Use the right type of moving equipment to move your antique furniture, such as a furniture dolly or sliders.
