How to Pack Dishes, Glassware and Fragile Items So Nothing Breaks

When something breaks on a move, it is rarely because the box was dropped. It is because the contents were free to move inside it. A well-packed box can survive being handled badly; a poorly packed one can break while sitting still on a truck that is simply driving down I-275.

The three mistakes behind almost all breakage

1. 1Boxes that are too large. A big box invites heavy contents, and heavy boxes get handled worse and can fail at the seams. Dishes belong in small or dish-pack cartons, always.
2. 2Boxes that are not full. Empty space means movement, and movement over a 40-minute drive is what breaks things. Fill every void with paper until the contents cannot shift when you gently shake the box.
3. 3Plates packed flat. Stacked plates concentrate load on the ones underneath. On edge, each plate carries its own weight and flexes rather than cracking.

What you actually need

• Small boxes and dish-pack cartons — double-walled, made for this
• Unprinted packing paper, not newspaper, which transfers ink onto china
• Bubble wrap for stemware and anything irregular
• Foam pouches for glasses, if you want the fastest method
• Mirror cartons — telescoping boxes for framed art and mirrors
• Good packing tape and a marker

Plates and bowls

1. 1Line the bottom of the carton with three to four inches of crumpled paper.
2. 2Wrap each plate individually, then wrap groups of three or four together into a bundle.
3. 3Stand the bundles on edge, like records in a crate, not stacked flat.
4. 4Fill the gaps between bundles with crumpled paper.
5. 5Bowls can nest in groups of three with paper between each, then be wrapped as a bundle and stood on edge.
6. 6Top with two inches of crumpled paper, close, and check for movement before taping.

Glasses and stemware

Stems are the weak point. Wrap the stem separately before wrapping the whole glass, or use a cell divider, which is what dish-pack cartons are designed around. Glasses go rim-down, never on their side, and never stacked inside one another — nested glasses crack each other during the load.

Mirrors, artwork and glass tops

• Tape a large X across the face of any large pane. It does not prevent breakage, but it holds the glass together if it does break, which is a meaningful safety difference.
• Wrap in paper, then bubble wrap, then use a telescoping mirror carton sized to the piece.
• Corner protectors on frames — corners take the impact in almost every case.
• Transport and store on edge, never flat. Flat glass under any weight at all is how a tabletop cracks.
• Oversized or valuable pieces should be custom crated rather than boxed.

Televisions and electronics

The original box is ideal if you kept it. If not: photograph the cable connections before unplugging anything, wrap the screen in a soft blanket or foam sheet — never bubble wrap directly against an OLED or plasma panel — box it in a flat TV carton, and transport upright on edge. A television laid flat can crack under the pressure of its own panel.

Lamps, and the things people forget

• Lamps: shade, harp and bulb all come off separately. Shades nest inside one another with paper between and go in their own box with nothing else.
• Knife blocks: wrap the blades before packing, for the benefit of whoever opens the box.
• Liquids: bag them separately and pack upright. One leaked bottle of olive oil ruins an entire carton.
• Candles: in a Florida summer truck they will melt. Move them in your own car.
• Label fragile boxes on all four sides, plus the destination room. Top-only labels are invisible in a stack.

What to test before you tape

Close the box and give it a gentle shake near your ear. If you hear or feel anything move, open it and add paper. That two-second check is the difference between a box that arrives intact and one that does not, and it costs nothing.