Packing Advice

Our guide for customers undertaking their own packing
If you decide to undertake your own preparation and packing, B W Removals can supply a wide range of packing materials to suit your needs. These include a range of cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, tape, wrapping paper, wardrobe boxes as well as other specialist materials. Call us now on 0800 5191519 for our prices.

• Use uniform boxes It is best to stick to using a couple of size boxes, three at most. This will make stacking a removal van or storage area much easier, since similar size boxes can be stacked on top of one another. B W Removals can provide a wide range of packing boxes and materials.
• Use the correct size boxes – Never too heavy Use the correct box for the correct contents. There are different size boxes for a reason. It is important not to make boxes too heavy. If you struggle to move a box, the chances are our removal team will struggle to lift it. Books, records and other heavier items should be packed into smaller boxes. Large boxes should be used predominantly for large kitchenware, soft furnishings and lighter bulkier items. Please use common sense.
• Everything that can go in a box, pack in a box If you are packing up a property in preparation for a move, it is a good idea to pack everything you possibly can into boxes. This sounds obvious but it is amazing what people forget to pack. Lamp shades, VCR’s and music equipment and under stairs/cupboard contents are most commonly forgotten. Basically if it is small enough to put in a box, pack it. This will make the move run much more efficiently, simplify the stacking process and speed up the job. It also gives you the chance to properly protect these items whilst packing.
• Pack sensibly
Place heavy items at the bottom of a box and lighter items at the top. Heavy items at the top of a box can damage items below them. Cushion fragile items well, use bubble wrap or other materials to achieve this. Never lay breakables down: always stand them upright if possible, (i.e. make as tall as possible). Avoid putting anything heavy on top of breakables.
• Do not stack boxes over the fold line of the flaps If boxes are over loaded, it makes it difficult to close the top of the box to make a flat surface. This hinders stacking and is more likely to lead to damage.
• Seal all boxes with tape Every box should be sealed at the top and bottom with a couple of strips of parcel tape along the central length of the box. Please do not be tempted to fold each flap on top of the one before it in a criss-cross fashion. Boxes can collapse this way. Fold each set of opposite flaps together and seal with parcel tape. Remember: Do not interlock the flaps as this weakens the box and can collapse if stacked.
• Label all your boxes Label each and every box ideally with a marker pen. Write down the 1). The room name 2). A brief summary of the contents 3). If necessary the cupboard, shelf or drawer they have come from. 4). Also label whether the contents are *FRAGILE*. This will let our removal team know not to stack anything heavy on top. 5). If boxes are going to multiple destinations, please consistently label this. i.e. “S” for storage.
• Label on the side also If you are putting boxes into storage or stacking them within a property, and will need to get to certain contents, it may be worth labelling boxes on the side as well as on the top of the box. This will enable you to know what is in them without un-stacking them.
• Use original boxes If you still have the original box for a product, then it is often recommended to use it, especially if for a TV where you have the original polystyrene protection specifically designed for it. Where you do not have original product packing boxes, this does not matter at all. Televisions and the like can still be professionally moved and protected by us.

PLEASE DO NOT:

• Label boxes with a number and nothing else Do not be tempted to label boxes with merely a number that is linked to a written list or inventory with numbers against contents. During a substantial unload, this can lead you to have to look up every number on a list before being able to direct the removal team to the correct room with an individual box. This can seriously slow down and impede the unloading process.
• Pack opened tins of paint We are not insured for any damage caused by paint spillage from previously opened tins of paint.
• Use fruit boxes
• Use wine boxes (other than for wine)
• Miscellaneous and varied sized boxes from a supermarket
These are extremely hard to stack in our removal lorries and should be avoided.
• Boxes that are old or damp

Other Specific Packing Advice

• Minimise the items that you leave unpacked A lot of people like to leave out a couple of plates, a couple of mugs, a couple of each item of crockery and so on. This can often result in another hours work packing up final bits on the day. It is amazing what you can do without for one night only if you really want to.
• Chinaware / glassware / ornaments:
Please wrap all china, glassware or ornaments individually in paper or bubble wrap and use extra paper or bubble wrap around the edges of the boxes. With plates it is better to place them in the box on their side (i.e. vertically) as opposed to flat. Packing plates flat can result in the bottom plate cracking under the weight of the others.
Handles, spouts, lids, etc should have extra protection.
Place "FRAGILE" stickers on boxes that contain breakables.
• Pictures and mirrors:
As with plates, please pack these in paper or bubble wrap and place vertically (upright) in boxes. Larger pictures and mirrors are best packed flat for their protection. Wrap and pack them separately into cardboard using the cardboard from a suitable size box as an outer wrapper.
• Books:
Please pack books flat (i.e. horizontally) as opposed to on their spines. Please remember not to use too large a box or to place too many heavy items in a box.
• Pot plants:
With small plants, if you can fit them in a box, please do so.
Where possible everything should be disassembled prior to a move. If we are packing for you, bear in mind that we will want to dismantle as much as we can on the packing day.

Items B W Removals DO NOT MOVE

• Tins of paint that have been opened.
• Anything highly inflammable.
• Anything that is likely to cause damage in anyway to other items moved
• Garden rubbish
• Excessively soiled or dirty items
• Any articles which may damage or harm the vehicle or equipment may be refused