How to Pack Fine China

The kitchen is easily one of the most intimidating rooms in the home to pack—generally because its contents are pretty fragile. From glasses to cutlery, kitchenware can be difficult to pack and expensive to replace if things go wrong. However, the hands down most intimidating item to pack is undeniably fine china—from the cost of replacement to its delicate nature to its sentimental value, improper packing can result in irreplaceable damage. In order to properly protect your fine china, stick to the following packing rules and keep your movers in the loop too.

1. Establish a proper packing area

Never underestimate the value of a clean, deliberate work space. By clearing an area and stocking it with the appropriate packing materials, you will ensure you do a thorough packing job. Keep children and pets away from your packing area and stay organized by setting aside time and energy to tackle your project. A half-packed box of fine china is a recipe for disaster when your toddler decides to investigate the next day.

2. Stock your packing workspace

Fine china requires extensive protection and attention to detail. This means choose padding, sturdy boxes, and clean packing materials to keep your china clean and protected. Avoid dirty, ink stained newspapers or used boxes and stick to high end materials designed to protect fine china. Not to be confused with newspaper, clean, white newsprint helps keep fine china clean and protected. Use cardboard inserts to keep pieces separated and held tight. Finally, make sure professional packing and storage boxes with thick cardboard are used to hold china.

3. Group Items To Maximize Space and Fit

Plates, bowls and cups will naturally stack and fit better with like items than if you put items together at random. Using liners and dividers, you can create smaller “safe spaces” to protect delicate items like teacups with small handles or serving pieces with lids. Make sure to neatly wrap each item and then group together. Allowing unwrapped items to come in contact with each other opens them up to chips and scratches while in transit to your new home.

4. Never Underestimate The Power of Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrapping items as well as avoiding empty space in boxes will help ensure your items are packed to arrive safely. Bubble wrap individual items and small group items to provide the most protection. Never leave empty space in boxes, which can cause boxes to be crushed. Stuff empty spaces with white newsprint or clean towels to avoid this problem.

5. Notify Everyone

Label every side of your boxes with bold, easy-to-read notices that items are fragile and require additional attention. On the day of your move, let your move foreman know which boxes contain fine china so they can be placed in the safest spot in the moving truck. Finally, consider personally transporting any particularly fragile or irreplaceable items—even the best movers cannot always foresee potential errors or problems and your great-great-grandmother’s fine china vase might be something to transport yourself just to be safe.