Start by sorting through your kitchen
Before you begin wrapping anything, open every cabinet and take a hard look at what you actually use. Chipped cups, incomplete sets, pots with flaking coating — none of these need to travel to your new home in National City. Donate what still has life in it and let the rest go. This saves boxes, time, and the risk of hauling something that will only end up in a garage sale.
Materials you will need
Gather your supplies well before moving day. Here is what works:
- Cardboard boxes — small and medium sizes, not one giant box for everything. Sturdy corrugated walls hold up better than thin shipping cartons.
- Wooden crates (the kind used for produce) — roughly 20 by 12 inches, good for heavy ceramic pieces.
- Bubble wrap — the single best protector for anything glass or crystal.
- Packing paper or plain newsprint. If you use newspaper, make sure the ink is dry so it does not transfer onto white porcelain.
- Foam peanuts or shredded packing foam for filling gaps.
- Packing tape — wide, good quality. Cheap tape can split during transport and the bottom of the box drops out.
- A marker for labeling.
- Scissors or a box cutter.
A budget-friendly alternative: use soft clothing instead of buying extra wrap. Socks fit inside wine glasses, sweaters cushion pots, scarves and small blankets fill empty space in boxes. Many National City residents moving within the South Bay simply wrap their everyday glasses in dish towels and save bubble wrap for the truly fragile items.
Set aside what you will use on moving day
Each person in the household should keep one plate, one cup, one fork, one knife, and one spoon out of the packing. Put these in a bag you carry yourself. On moving day you will want coffee and a sandwich, and you do not want to tear open six boxes to find a mug.
Plates and saucers
Wrap each plate or saucer individually in a sheet of packing paper or newspaper. Then form small stacks — five to seven plates per stack, no more. Wrap the entire stack in a layer of bubble wrap and secure with tape. Place the stacks on their edge inside the box, not flat. Standing on edge distributes the load more evenly and reduces the chance of the bottom plate cracking under the weight of the ones above it. Line the bottom of the box with crumpled paper or a folded towel first.
Cups, mugs, and bowls
Stuff a wad of crumpled paper inside each cup or mug — this cushions the hollow interior. Then wrap the outside with packing paper and a layer of bubble wrap. Pay extra attention to handles: they are the weakest point. Wrap a strip of bubble wrap around the handle separately before wrapping the whole cup. Place cups upside-down or on their sides in the box, with padding between each one. Bowls follow the same logic: paper inside, wrap outside, nest small bowls inside larger ones with a paper layer between them.
Wine glasses, champagne flutes, and stemware
Stemware is the most vulnerable category because of the thin stem connecting the bowl to the base. Each glass needs its own individual wrapping — do not try to save material by wrapping two glasses together with just a layer of film between them.
Stuff crumpled paper into the bowl of the glass. Wrap the stem and base separately with a strip of bubble wrap, then wrap the entire glass. Place wrapped glasses upright in the box and use cardboard dividers between them. If you do not have commercial dividers, cut strips of cardboard and slot them together in a grid pattern. Fill every remaining gap with foam peanuts or crumpled paper. The glasses should not shift at all when you gently shake the sealed box.
Crystal and fine china
Crystal is expensive and extremely fragile. It also resonates — if there is empty space inside a crystal glass during transport, the vibration from the road can make it ring, and that resonance alone can crack neighboring pieces in the same box.
Fill the inside of each crystal piece with crumpled paper. Wrap in several layers of bubble wrap, then in a sheet of soft foam or a piece of an old towel. Place into a box with reinforced walls. Between items, insert sheets of soft cardboard. Fill remaining voids with packing foam, and lay a folded towel on top before closing the lid. Tape the box generously and label it on two sides: "Crystal — Fragile — This Side Up."
Salad bowls and large serving dishes
These are often thicker and heavier than regular plates, so they need sturdier boxes. Line the bottom of a medium-sized box with several layers of crumpled paper. Wrap each piece individually in bubble wrap. Place the heaviest item at the bottom, lighter ones on top. Fill gaps with foam or shredded paper. A large ceramic platter can weigh enough to break through a weak box bottom, so reinforce the base with a double layer of tape.
Knives, forks, and spoons
Sharp items go first. Wrap each knife individually in packing paper and secure with a strip of tape so the paper does not slide off and expose the blade. Forks can be wrapped in small bundles. Gather spoons into a bundle and hold them together with a rubber band or a piece of twine. Lay everything flat in a small box or a sturdy zippered bag. Never toss loose cutlery into the same box as glass — one bump and a fork handle punches through a wine glass.
Pots, pans, and kitchen utensils
Cookware is not as fragile as glass, but coated pans scratch easily and cast iron chips enamel. Wrap each pot and pan in packing paper or a soft cloth. If you have non-stick pans, place a sheet of paper between them so the coating does not scrape off. Lids can be taped to their pots, or wrapped separately and placed in the same box. Larger items like stock pots go in big boxes or durable duffel bags. Fill the inside of pots with smaller items — a measuring cup, a ladle, a garlic press — to save space.
How to load the boxes
Boxes with the most fragile contents — crystal, stemware, fine china — go into the truck last so they sit on top, not under heavy furniture. Place them as close to the cab as possible where road vibration is lowest. Let the driver or the crew know which boxes hold breakables. Secure everything with straps so nothing slides around on turns. Never stack heavy boxes on top of one marked "Fragile."
Our crews deal with the heavier version of this in National City every week — the service side lives at pack-out help in National City. This is our second note for National City; the earlier one — the first article we wrote for National City.
A few more practical tips
- Reinforce the bottom of every box with a double strip of packing tape before loading anything into it.
- Do not overload boxes. A box of dishes should be something you can lift comfortably with both hands. If it is too heavy, split the contents into two.
- When wrapping glass items in newspaper, check that the ink is dry. Fresh newsprint leaves gray smudges on white ceramics that require scrubbing.
- Once a box is sealed, pick it up and give it a gentle shake. If you hear clinking, open it back up and add more padding.
- Label every box on at least two sides with its contents and the room it belongs in. "Kitchen — plates — fragile" is far more useful than a vague "kitchen stuff."
- Start packing the kitchen at least a week before the move. Begin with items you rarely use — holiday serving dishes, the fondue set, the punch bowl — and leave everyday plates and mugs for the last day.