Keep your plates and glasses intact: Here’s how to pack dishes for moving

There’s no use crying over spilled milk, but a boxful of broken china or glassware might elicit more than a few tears. The contents of your kitchen cabinets are more than useful and pretty — they are often expensive. Dishes can also hold sentimental value.

Packing fragile tableware correctly will help you avoid boxes full of broken shards that you have to empty directly into the trash can. To effectively pack dishes for moving, first gather the right supplies. You’ll need medium boxes, packing paper, and linens or dish towels for extra padding.

Pack heavier items on the bottom and lighter ones on top, adding extra wrapping to the most fragile pieces. And, of course, label all of your dishware boxes as “fragile” so that your movers know to load and unload them carefully.

Read on for more tips for packing glasses, dishware and all that crystal. Let the paper crumpling begin.

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What do you need to pack dishes carefully?

Packing up a kitchen’s worth of dishes is time-consuming. “People always tell us it takes longer than anticipated,” said Brooke Anderson, cofounder of Big Man’s Moving Company in Tampa, Florida. “In fact, about once a week, a customer will call us the day prior to their move to ask if we can help pack the kitchen, as they weren’t able to complete the task.”

But no need to panic. “If the proper care was taken in packing the boxes, there should be zero breakage,” Anderson said. “Purchasing the correct supplies, being generous in using the packing paper and padding the boxes on the bottoms and the tops should eliminate all breakage.” 

If you’re still anxious, consider hiring a mover to pack your dishes and kitchenware. The best moving companies are experts at performing packing services and will come ready with the proper packing supplies and dish boxes.

Reputable movers carry insurance and if anything should break, the clients can file a claim to get reimbursed. “When customers pack their own boxes, they are responsible for what is inside the boxes,” Anderson added.

Supply list

The first item you’ll need is “patience — especially if you have a lot of dishes,” Anderson joked. 

Step two is stocking up on moving supplies. The right materials are key when dealing with fragile items such as plates, cups, mugs, bowls and serving platters. 

You’ll want to acquire medium-size boxes, packing paper, tape and a permanent marker for labeling boxes. Have a pair of scissors and all your dish towels and linens to pad the space inside a box.

You can order from Amazon and have them delivered to your door. You can also pick up supplies from a U-Haul or Home Depot store, “but loading all the supplies into the vehicle and then from the vehicle into the home is tedious and cumbersome,” Anderson warned. 

While it’s easy to find used moving boxes on Buy Nothing Facebook pages or Craigslist, Anderson recommended buying new if your budget allows. “Boxes aren’t meant to be used multiple times,” she said. “They lose their integrity, and the belongings inside can get smashed, especially when boxes are stacked five to seven rows high in a moving truck. Used boxes can easily cave in, crushing the contents.”

• Packing boxes: Use two-ply dish pack boxes, as they provide more protection and are sturdier than regular moving boxes, Anderson advised. These medium-size, double-wall cardboard boxes have extra-thick walls, which keep items secure, even if the boxes get wet in transit. 
• Packing paper: “You always need more packing paper than you think,” said Anderson, who recommended buying at least two bundles. Look for newsprint packing paper.
• Bubble wrap: You only need this padding if you have delicate pieces. “Bubble wrap is considerably more expensive than packing paper, so if you’re packing on a budget, it isn’t the best option for packing kitchen items,” Anderson said. Save the bubble wrap for the most expensive and most fragile items, such as art, fragile glass, stone, vases and crystal. Anderson prefers the bubble wrap with the largest bubbles.
• Packing tape: Anderson recommended box tape as it is typically heavier duty than regular craft tape. The tape should be 2 inches wide with good adhesive properties so it doesn’t give way and cause the box to open and spill.
• Permanent markers: Regular pens are too hard to see as you’re labeling boxes. Look for permanent markers with a thicker, pointed tip.

The main thing you need when packing up a kitchen is time and energy. “Sometimes people get caught up in the minutia of packing and can’t get anything done,” Anderson warned. “Don’t overthink it. Taking action is the most important part.”

What’s the best way to pack dishes and glasses?

Whether your dishes, bowls, mugs and glasses are ceramic, stoneware, porcelain, glass or crystal — all these items are breakable. To keep kitchen items from cracking, you’ll want to wrap each piece in one or two sheets of packing paper. 

When you start a fresh box, pad the bottom with linens or dish towels for extra protection. “Moving trucks are very bouncy in the back,” Anderson said. The cushioning will keep your dishes from hitting the bottom of the boxes each time the truck jerks.

You can also use scrunched-up pieces of packing paper to line the bottom and top of your box, but using linens as padding will save you money. Start with heavier items on the bottom, then fill the box with the individually wrapped items. Add a layer of dish towels or linens to the top of the box before sealing it shut and clearly labeling what’s inside. Write the word “fragile” on the side of the box. 

For anything especially precious, such as a crystal cake stand from your wedding, pack carefully and place it in your car instead of the moving truck. For the rest of your kitchenware, follow these tips. 

Plates

Wrap plates in one or two sheets of packing paper and stack them in boxes lined with dish towels. You can fill the corners or spaces between stacks with more dish towels or randomly wrapped kitchen items, such as napkin rings.

Glasses

Wrap each glass in one or two sheets of packing paper. Put tumblers and glasses on the bottom, right-side up, and lay stemware on its side. Make sure those fragile wine glasses are the top layer of your box. Label the box as “extra fragile.”

Cups

Start with mugs or other heavy cups at the bottom. Place lighter cups on top. All cups should be wrapped in one to two sheets of paper and surrounded by linens on the top and bottom of the moving box.

Bowls 

After wrapping bowls, line the bottom of the box with the largest bowls and nestle smaller bowls within them. If wrapped bundles of cutlery fit in the top bowls, you can fill the top layer of bowls with those.

Serving dishes

These irregularly shaped items require more paper — aim for at least two layers. Place heavier dishes on the bottom and lighter ones on top. You might need to buy a few large, shallow boxes if you have several large, heavy serving platters.

“Most platters don’t fit in the medium dish pack two-ply boxes,” Anderson noted. Once you have the right box, she suggested. Put a bath or beach towel on the bottom, then place the flattest, heaviest platter. Add another thick towel on top and keep stacking. “It’s like a lasagna,” Anderson added.

Cutlery

“Place a few pieces together, roll them in some packing paper and secure them with tape so that the cutlery doesn’t come loose,” Anderson suggested. To prevent a puncture wound, mark the top of the box with the word “sharp” if it houses objects such as knives.

What’s next?

Do a final inspection to ensure you haven’t left anything in a cabinet or drawer. 

Once all your boxes are in their new home, stop, look around the kitchen and devise a strategy before you start unboxing. “Before unpacking, plan where everything will go in the kitchen so it makes sense to you,” Anderson recommended. “This will save time putting dishes in a cabinet and then moving them to a different cabinet.”