Planning for a long-distance move is no walk in the park. You have to start investing your time months before you can go ahead with the idea. And the chances are that you still might come across an unforeseen event.
Among the many things that should give you a lot of trouble, you are likely to find kitchen utensils at the top. There are too many items, all of which are important and delicate, so you have to handle them with care. The dishes and the pans can break if you don’t pack them carefully. The cutlery can damage other items if you don’t find ways to make them safe. You need to take all this into account while putting it away in boxes, or you might find only leftovers of whatever you kept inside.
Fortunately, there are several ways to contain or avoid this loss altogether, but you need to put in more effort. You can use bubble wraps and clothing to cushion these utensils while packing. Or if not that, you can always put them away separately.
Alternatively, you can find storage at your destination to temporarily place these items while you take the time to settle. For instance, if you move to Texas, you can easily find storage units in Frisco TX, online to implement this idea. These locations are secure, offer multiple facilities, and are managed by responsible companies. So by leaving it in their care, you won’t risk breaking them while unpacking things.
As far as the details of these packing solutions are concerned, here are seven awesome hacks to pack kitchen items for a long-distance move. These should take care of all your precious belongings.
1. Cushion Dinnerware with Foam Plates
Many people prefer wrapping their delicate dinnerware with old newspapers, which can take hours. But, if you wish to go for a better and more efficient alternative, it is best to go with foam plates.
Stack your plates and put a foam plate in between every piece to keep them apart. That way, it will take up less space, and there is less chance of movement unless there is a road bump. You can still add the paper or Styrofoam balls to make it more secure. But despite all this extra caution, don’t forget to mark it as fragile. And, even if you have the finish for kitchen table still want to protect it properly as well.
2. Stuff Glasses & Mugs
The empty spaces in glasses and mugs make them the most troublesome to pack. They take up a lot of space, and there is still no guarantee that you will find them the way you put them. The best way of overcoming is to stuff all these glasses and mugs with items like socks, handkerchiefs, etc. That will be a more efficient use of space.
Once through with that, place them in a box with dividers. You can do this yourself as well with the help of some cardboard and an online tutorial. You can mark this as glassware to distinguish it from the dinnerware.
3. Cover up the Knives
The most dangerous item in all your kitchen utensils is a knife. It can leave scratches on other things or cut through clothing if left loose and uncovered. That is why you need to be extra cautious while packing them.
If you don’t wish to put in a lot of effort into it, you can wrap their sharp ends with potholders. But a better option would be to wrap them with paper and then tape them up. It will make sure that even it rubs against a surface, it won’t be doing any damage.
4. Stack or Stuff Pots & Pans
Pots and pans are among the bigger stuff that you need to pack. Although they might not be as fragile, packing them can be difficult.
If they fit into each other, you can stack them and rubber band the lid to keep them from moving around. But if that isn’t an option, then what you can do is stuff kitchen items like spices, dish towels, utensils, and other kitchen tools in them. You can do the same to the lid in either case before putting it in the box.
5. Round up the Silverware
Silverware might not be fragile or take up a lot of space, but the numbers make it difficult to pack them. However, if you are in the habit of keeping them in one place, like a basket or drawer, you might be in luck.
You can skip the trouble of separating them and wrap the whole thing with plastic wraps. Place the entire thing in the box with the rest of your kitchen utensils. That is going to make it easy to pack and unpack. Also, you can act on the idea otherwise if you can collect them in one place.
6. Load up the Appliances
Most of your kitchen appliances are bulky, so it is easier to pack them up. All you need to do is unplug, box or wrap, and load them in the trucks. Items falling into this category is your refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and cooking range. Just make sure that you take out everything from them before loading them.
7. Clear away the Cleaning Supplies
The best way of dealing with your remaining cleaning supplies before going for the shift is to use them up. Most long-distance packers won’t allow you to move open containers of these products with the rest of your stuff. But if you can’t do that, you can always pass them along to someone in the neighborhood. That way, it won’t be a waste, and someone might make some use out of them.
However, if the journey isn’t distant, you can tape wrap them or carry them in zipper bags to prevent spills.
Summary
These were seven awesome hacks to pack kitchen items for a long-distance move. Hopefully, these will make the shifting process easy breezy for you and minimize several of your worries. Make sure to try them out yourself and pass them along to anyone in need.