It’s pretty safe to describe glass as a beautiful nightmare. There is something alluring in its transparency and is highlighted through the many designs and shapes glass is molded into.
The nightmare part comes in the form of the fact that glass is easily breakable and that the consequences of shattered glass can be quite disastrous.
Not only do those tiny shards literally fly everywhere, but they’re also so sharp that if one gets away while you’re cleaning up, chances are someone’s foot is going to be the one to pick it up.
Now, imagine you’re moving and you want to take that beautiful glass vase that was a mother’s day present. What are you going to do?
Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! I’ll be walking you through all of the steps on how to pack glass vases for moving in a way that prevents accidents. Stick around.
Packing Supplies
Before we get into details about how to pack your glass vases, let’s talk about the general packing supplies you’ll be needing.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Packing boxes
- Packing paper
- Packing tape
- Bubble wrap/air pillows
- A marker
- Scissors
Before you start the packing process, count the vases you have and take their shapes into consideration. Then, prepare the number of boxes needed in alignment with the number of vases you have.
Bear in mind that you shouldn’t pack multiple vases in a single box, or else they might crash into one another and break.
Ideally, each vase should have its own box. If you have five vases, you should have five boxes. Make sure the size of each box is appropriate for the vase it’s going to contain.
If you do need to put multiple vases in the same box, make sure to have plenty of cushion in the form of bubble wrap, air pillows, etc to keep them both safe.
Preparing the Vase
To start the packing process, you need to prepare the vase by stuffing it with packing paper (newspaper will work).
Lay the vase on its side on the wrapping paper near the corner. Start rolling the glass vase and putting the top part of the paper into the opening of the vase and bringing the bottom part to the base of the vase as well.
Now you’re ready for the bubble wrap. Wrap the whole thing in bubble wrap so that it can better cushion the vase against the sides of the box.
You can secure the bubble wrap around the vase with some tape or, if you have an abundance of it, you can roll it out in an extra-long piece that won’t become undone during the moving process.
Preparing the Box
Now that you’re done with the vase, it’s time to pad the box itself on the inside with bubble wrap, packing paper, air pillows or even regular pillows will work if necessary.
Line the box in a way that covers the bottom part as well as the sides. This should shape a sort of nest for the fully wrapped vase to be placed in. Then, place the vase in the nest.
After that, you’re free to cover the top of the vase with similar padding material such as moving blankets, packing paper, soft tissues, bubble wrap, and even light Styrofoam so that it acts as an additional buffer. Next, close up your box and make sure to tape it shut.
Lastly, write on the side which way the box should be positioned and a reminder to our fated carrier about how fragile the contents of the box are.
Key Points to Keep in Mind
- The choice of box is extremely important. You have to make sure that the box isn’t too big so that the vase isn’t swinging from one end of the box to the other.
- If push comes to shove and you’re limited in your options of boxes, you will then have to find a way to fill in the extra space with as many newspapers and packing papers (even old t-shirts or towels can work here as well) as possible to make it smaller.
- Labeling the box with warnings to ensure that the movers handle it with care is extremely important. Be sure to write which is the upright position for the box and write a warning to indicate that the contents are fragile so that the carrier will place it around gently.
- It isn’t smart to put multiple glass vases in one box so that they don’t end up cracking by crashing into each other during the move.
- Make sure to also keep the boxes with the glass vases at the top of the pile of boxes in the truck or, even better, in a new pile of their own. Just make sure not to pile anything heavy on top of them so that all your hard work in padding the box doesn’t go to waste and it isn’t crushed into smithereens.
- Always make sure that the glass vase isn’t directly placed on the bottom of the box without any bedding or padding.
- It’s recommended that you have blankets around whether they’re to be used as padding inside your boxes or as buffers around the boxes after they’re closed. The blankets help lessen any impact that the boxes might face while being placed in the moving truck or even having things accidentally piled on top of them.
Final Thoughts
We hope that the information shared in this post has provided you with the needed insights with regard to how to pack glass vases for moving.
The most important rule of thumb is that you need to have adequate padding in the packing box and around your vase. Make sure that you choose the box that best suits the amount of padding you have, as well as the size and shape of your vase.
That, coupled with the gentle efforts of yourself and the hired movers in carrying the box, should help in decreasing any chances of unwanted accidents.
This combination of using plenty of padding, labeling boxes well and making the effort to be extra careful while carrying and placing boxes is really the best advice for moving all of your fragile items.
May lady luck be on your side on your moving mission and may your losses be very few, if not nonexistent.
