The various electronic devices owned can translate to tens of thousands of dollars in investments. Computers, stereos, televisions, gaming consoles, laptops, instruments – the list of potential items are massive.
Professional packing services can remove the stress from this situation at an affordable price. If you need to go the DIY route, here are some steps you can take to pack and move electronics safely.
1. Get Your Electronics Ready
The first step of the moving process is to find all of the owner’s manuals for your devices. If you don’t have them, it helps to download them from the manufacturer’s website. The documentation has disassembly and reassembly instructions that may be useful.
Standard moving insurance may not be enough to cover the replacement cost of your electronics. An additional temporary policy may be needed for the moving process.
For high-value items, a tracking chip with a companion app may be a practical investment.
2. Pack Your Items Safely
Any battery could overheat, leak, or fail in other ways during your move. It is better to remove all of them, including the ones in your remotes. Store them in the same location for easy reference.
If you have disc drives, eject the contents before taping them shut for the move.
Printers should have their toner and ink cartridges removed to prevent leaking and damage during the transition. It also helps to secure the printhead.
3. Label Those Cables
The worst part of a move is the random cable box. Trying to sort through every connection for each device feels like it takes an eternity! You can solve this issue by grabbing some colored stickers to place on each one.
Pair the colors to make the matching easier. If you have more than a dozen devices, you may need to label them to make this process easier.
Once the cables get labeled, coil them with an elastic band or zip ties to keep them together. Secure them in a bag or box.
4. Prepare Your Computer
Before you pack your computer for the move, backup everything to a cloud storage solution. Even if you keep a separate drive for your device, having an off-site place for your data reduces the risk of loss.
The risk of theft during a move is slightly higher than it is for an average day at home. Reviewing your passwords for appropriate strength ensures that someone can’t break into your computer or mobile devices.
If you have a desktop, blow out the case with compressed air to remove the dust. A vacuum may also work in this situation.
5. Pack Your Items Carefully
The best way to protect electronic devices while packing them is to provide as much cushioning as possible. Place bubble wrap, towels, or extra clothing at the bottom of the box first.
It also helps to wrap your electronic devices with soft packing materials. Large items with screens benefit from a layer of bubble wrap followed by a clear plastic wrap to keep the protection secure.
Place cardboard around the item before wrapping everything with sheeting again.
When you have a reasonable layer available to cushion your devices, start packing the electronics. Everything should be secure inside the container so that it won’t move. If you have voids, fill them with other packing materials.
Don’t use newspaper to fill the voids or protect your screens. It can scratch your devices with relative ease.
6. Load Your Electronics
Your electronics should not be at the top part of your stack in the moving truck. You don’t want your items at the bottom of the pile with the weight of everything else on top. A secure place in the middle of your packing is usually suitable for keeping everything safe.
If you have a furniture item that can hold your electronics box, consider placing it inside for the move.
It is not unusual to see DIY moves bring their electronics box separately to a new home. If you don’t have a passenger in the cab, you might consider placing it on the other front seat.
Another method is the last-box-on idea. By packing the electronics last, it’ll be the first box off of the truck.
Don’t Forget About the Unpacking Process!
Unpacking your electronics safely is as important as your initial work to move everything to your new home.
Take one item out of the box at a time. It helps to start with the device with the most connections, such as your computer or television.
Unpack the labeled cables for that device. Set everything up, test that it works, and move to the next item.
If you need help with this process, your local professional movers are standing by right now to lend a hand for an affordable price!
