When you move a home or business, you could throw everything into a pile. Then, the stuff would arrive at the new location in relatively good condition, assuming there weren’t any potholes, sudden stops, or tight curves to navigate.
It might seem faster and cheaper to move your belongings without packing materials, but the packaging products provide a protective resource that decreases damage risks. Even if you’re only driving a few blocks, the extra time and cushioning, boxing, and crating make a world of difference for your moving experience.
If you’re getting ready to move soon, here is how you can decide what packing materials to use for your belongings.
Review of the Best Packing Materials to Use
You’ll find a wide range of packing materials to use for your moving experience. Although all of them are useful, you’ll find that each type delivers a specific and unique result.
That’s why it is crucial to select the best options for all of your belongings. Here are the primary items that are currently available to offer protection.
1. Air Bubble Wrap
This packing material comes in strips. It protects your belongings by acting like a giant bubble instead of providing a bunch of smaller air pockets to use. This material’s structure helps keep your items in a specific place during transport when the boxes or containers get packed tightly.
If you have a box with extra space and nothing else to put in there safely, this packing material fills in the gaps so that your stuff doesn’t rattle around on the truck.
2. Peanuts, Molded Pieces, and Cardboard Strips
These packing materials provide extra cushioning and stability in boxes and containers. In addition, if you have things to move that require a specific temperature, such as medication, these products are excellent insulators. Although this material is a little more expensive than others to purchase, you can keep everything safe while potentially protecting the environment.
If you need white glove moving services, molded polystyrene packaging and crating options deliver the highest protection levels. Creating unique protective mechanisms for priceless products or unique shapes makes it much easier to transport the items safely.
3. Plastic Wrap
When your furniture requires protection, plastic wrapping is one of the best options to use. This material acts like what cellophane does for your leftovers in the refrigerator. When the wrapping is tight, it creates an interior micro-environment that protects your items while in transport.
The plastic wrapping also provides surface protection benefits. If you need to slide a couch through a narrow hallway, this material makes that process more comfortable. It also protects wood surfaces from scratches and leather from impact damage and even delivers moisture resistance.
4. Newsprint
If you need to pack dishes, silverware, or glasses at home on a budget, you can use the newspaper successfully. Even paper towels are an option to avoid the risk of ink transfer. When neither option is available for a DIY move, your clothing can protect these precious breakables.
Professional packing paper is ink-free newsprint with an acid-free formulation, giving your valuables the best protection levels possible while moving.
5. Bubble Wrap
Movers have been using this packing material for over a generation to prevent fragile items from picking up knocks and bumps. The sheets don’t take up much space, but they deliver the same outcomes as the larger air pocket inserts. If you have multiple fragile items getting packed into the same box or container, you’d want to use this material first.
The size of the bubbles for this wrapping material is variable. You’ll find options with hundreds of tiny dots and ones with only a handful of larger ones. If you need tough packing choices, the more significant designs will provide more protection at the expense of requiring additional space.
6. Moving Blankets
If your moving day arrives and you end up working in the rain or snow, having this packing material available can be pretty helpful. When you wrap the items in a blanket, you reduce the furniture’s risk of other things getting wet, dusty, or dirty. Professional movers might wrap a moving blanket first, then use plastic sheeting to provide a second protective layer.
When it is time to think about moving, you should use the packing materials depending on what you have to manage. If you prefer, you can also hire professional movers to take care of your packing work for you!
