Packing may not seem like rocket science but there is an art to it. As a book lover moving home will add to your to do list, especially if you have a large collection. Books especially when you have hundreds or maybe event thousands in your collection, add up to a heavy weight and a sizeable volume. Whilst you may think packing books is easy and not something to worry about, packing properly ensures that there are no bent covers, ripped pages or other damage and also helps to prevent damage to your other possessions during transit.
First select a few….
Moving house can be stressful and you probably won’t have much time for reading, but nothing beats taking a 5 minute break with a drink and a good book. So, before you start packing take a look at your collection and choose a few books to keep out.
Streamline your collection
For any book lover this sounds an awful job!! But now is the time to take a good look through your books and decide if there are any that you no longer what to keep. The books you are not taking with you could be donated to charity, given to friends, sold online or taken to a car boot sale.
Pack books early
If you have a large collection start packing your books early, it can be a time consuming job, especially if you browse the books as you pack. That way you have time to pack properly.
Boxes of books are seriously heavy!
Choose the right boxes, you may need a selection of sizes. Good quality, study small to medium boxes are best. Whilst it might be tempting to use the large box you have to hand, when it’s fully packed it will be extremely heavy and difficult to lift. You will also need some good quality packing tape, make sure the bottom of the box is securely taped. Using a marker pen clearly mark the box as containing books. That way you and your removal company will know where to place these in the van to ensure they are not placed on top of anything that might be delicate.
How to pack
Depending on the size of the box, hardcover books may be packed vertically with their spines to the outside wall of the box. Or you can pack these flat, creating stacks in each box. Try to group books of the same size together as this will reduce movement in the transit and help to prevent damage. Packing books with the paper edges facing down causes the pages to bend. Once your box is tightly packed, fill any empty gaps with packing paper, close and secure the top of the box with tape, then clearly mark “Books” on the box with a contrasting marker pen.
Always put the heavier, larger books at the bottom of the box and lighter ones at the top.
You can also use light pieces of clothing or fabric to help fill the gaps in the boxes.
Secure boxes with a double layer of tape.
Books of great value or old books
For these books we suggest placing stiff cardboard between each item, you can wrap each book in packing paper (don’t use newspaper). Line the inside of the box with bubble wrap or packing paper. Once the box is packed use packing paper to pad any empty space to prevent movement. When you mark the box as “Books” you may also want to include “Fragile”, so that the box can be handled accordingly.
Unpack your books early
This may sound very strange, and you may think they are not as important as some other items. But, if you have a large collection of books unpacking them will empty a lot of boxes and free up more space to make it easier to unpack other items.
Need help
No matter how many books you have, if you need help with packing or unpacking for your move, please give us a call.
