How to Pack Dishes for Moving – The Ultimate Guide

Written by: Chloe Platt

Preparing your kitchen for relocating can be an extremely time-consuming task. You’re probably not even aware of how many items you have in your cabinets or how to pack dishes for moving. Wondering how to pack dishes for moving without paper? We will share with you a few tips and tricks on how to do it, but if you don’t have the time, don’t fall into despair. Our New York movers are here to save the day and pack everything promptly.

Make sure you know all the tips and tricks for storing things from your kitchen safely.

What Do You Need to Wrap and Pack Dishes

As most kitchens contain a vast collection of breakable objects, preparing them for a move is a tricky undertaking. To avoid unpleasant surprises, you need to assemble the ultimate dish packaging kit before the process begins. This should be at the top of your moving to-do list. If you don’t know how to pack dishes when moving, keep in mind you’ll need some supplies. Take a look at the following list before you start making your moving expenses checklist.

  • A dish barrel
  • Cell divider
  • Packing tape
  • Bubble wrap
  • Packing paper
  • Markers for labeling the boxes
Gather the right supplies for your move and create your ultimate dish kit.

Sort Everything Before You Start Packing

Although these are not the most commonly forgotten things to pack, they are certainly among the most complicated. So, for starters, go through your kitchen drawers and cabinets to identify how many items you have and select those you don’t want to move. Either donate or get rid of those things too. Now that you have a clear image of all kitchen essentials you are taking with you, sort them by category. A neat categorization of your dishes will help you pack and unpack much faster and stay organized.

Sort your kitchen essentials into categories and get rid of everything you're not using.

Don’t Forget to Have an Essentials Box When Packing Dishes

If you have plenty of time before the big day, you should prepare an essential kitchen carton containing the things that you’ll frequently be using. This includes cutlery, plates, and appliances like your coffee maker or electric kettle that you will surely want closeby. You may also put aside some things you know you will need in your new home in the first days or weeks – the pan you cook in every day or your favorite wine glass to have them on hand.

Select some glasses, plates, bowls, and cutlery and put them in an essentials container.

How to Pack Dishes for Shipping

Wondering what some general guidelines are on the best way to pack dishes? It would be best to use the appliance’s original packaging if you have it. Using them will reduce any potential damage, and you will be able to transport them safely. But if you don’t have the original packaging, we can help you find a way. Start with the items you don’t often use, such as a single-use dish, important appliances, your cookbooks, etc. Here’s a checklist of tips on how to pack dishes for a move.

#1 Layer the Bottom of the Box With Packing Paper or Newspapers

When doing this, you should ensure that the bottom is as equally layered with newspaper or crumpled paper as is the top of the box. Be careful with this and ensure that all items are tucked in, so there’s no tilting around. You should place at least two inches thick layer of crumpled paper at the bottom. The more objects you have in one container, the more abundant you should be with layering the bottom.

#2 First Do the Cleaning, Then Wrap Dishes and Glasses Individually

Whether or not you’ll be leaving your stuff in storage, you should thoroughly clean them first. Even though boxes with cell dividers and a dish barrel may be more expensive than regular ones, keep in mind that this is a worthy investment. Don’t forget about wrapping and placing the heaviest items at the bottom of a container. Many don’t know how do you pack glasses for moving without cell divides, but you don’t have to utilize a cell divider for all of your glassware. It would be good to use it for crystal or fragile glasses. And don’t forget to leave a few for your moving away party.

#3 Place Plates on Their Side, Not Horizontally

As they have no handles or protruding parts, relocating these kitchen essentials shouldn’t be that much of a hassle. Set a single plate in the middle of your wrapping paper, wrap it carefully around, and add another sheet on top, and then just stack another plate. Repeat the wrapping and tucking process until you have a stack of four wrapped plates. Place them into the container vertically.

#4 Pack Your Bowls for a New Home

The first step is to layer the carton with crumpled papers and do it abundantly. Prepare several packing papers and place the pot on top of it, and once you secure the entire bowl, place another inside the first one. Next, fold what is left of the second bowl’s wrapping paper and continue repeating the process until both are entirely wrapped around.

#5 Protecting Your Cutlery

To protect your cutlery, you must group all of your utensils and stack them in the same direction. Roll each of your spoons, forks, and knives on in two or three sheets to ensure they are secured. Place them on the side in the box, pointing the same direction in a small carton box, and secure it with packing tape.

#6 Label Every Box as Fragile

Even though this step might seem too obvious, you must mark every carton as fragile with distinct markings on the outside. Buy plenty of sticky notes and markers, provide a brief description of the contents, and emphasize which side is up. Without distinct markings, movers may accidentally mishandle the box.

#7 Take a Look at This Video for a Recap

If you’re more of a visual type of person and you would like to see some of these tips in action, take a look at this video and get inspired to start wrapping.

Bonus Tip: Relocating Your Kitchen Appliances

You don’t want your trusty coffee maker or microwave oven to be damaged when you arrive at your home, so you must pack them properly. Start with cleaning small kitchen appliances and take them apart. Use bubble wrap to wrap each part of your devices and put them in the same container to avoid playing “Where’s Waldo” while finding parts of your favorite waffle maker.

Use the original packaging of your appliances or small to medium-sized boxes.

Now You Know How to Pack Dishes for Moving

As you can see, making sure that every part of your kitchen is put away safely takes up a lot of time and can even cause moving stress. Luckily, these don’t fall under items movers won’t move. Twin Brothers Movers is the best New York Moving company you can find. Whether you’re relocating from the best neighborhoods in Manhattan to some of the safest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, or vice versa, we got you covered. We offer residential moving and high-quality packing service performed by trained movers who know all moving hacks. You can call our movers New York, pick the day that suits you most, and wait for our local movers New York to pack your goods with steady material in the correct way and provide you with a damage-free move.

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