Storing Kitchenware

Feb 13, 2015 | | Say something

kitchen

When it comes to moving house and putting things into storage near you, there is certainly a duty of care that comes with dealing with kitchen items, particularly those plates, cups and fine china that could easily break when least expected. Whilst they are often bundled in with other household items and lots of newspaper for good luck in the last minute rush that packing often becomes, they start to become the centre of attention in the amount of space they take up, and the unexpected weight of a pile of plates can cause a few packing reassessments.

For packing these sorts of items you ought to start by considering the containers you will be using. Most self-assembly cardboard boxes you pick up off the shelf are going to be pushed to their limits when tackling the weight of these items, so a good start would be to see what your local hardware store has in stock and what they can recommend. They will most likely have special reinforced boxes for carrying plates and suchlike. For smaller items of china, boxes with internal separators can also be purchased to restrict movement of items and pack them safely. Also have a look whether you already own strong boxes in non-cardboard materials that could be repurposed for storage here. When it comes to boxes, always better to overbuy than trying to overfill boxes that can’t take the weight of everything.

The art of packing the items does indeed involve a good deal of newspaper around and inside everything, but you may benefit from including other soft materials that may be in the household. Don’t forget that newspaper and magazines contain a lot of ink, which over time might rub off onto what you are storing. If you have plain wrapping paper and assorted garments that you are not planning on wearing for a while, these will do very well. And obviously if you have been collecting packing materials like bubble wrap or polystyrene foam, then this is an ideal way of putting it to further use.

The next stage in packing is to make sure the bottom is thickly lined with material. Piles of plates can be heavy, and if you are resorting to using lighter box materials, the box may buckle if you put a heavy plate right at the bottom. You still need to arrange your packing so that heavier items are near the bottom, but padding at the bottom of the box will even out the force of the heavy items. Make sure items are carefully filled with material and are well spaced out in your box with further material padding out the gaps. Resist the temptation of overpacking the boxes, try to keep them a reasonable weight so that when lifting the bottom of the box does not show any signs of giving way. Plates may be best packed on their side, so that their thinnest part is not bearing weight. Similarly, if you have cups and glasses, these tend to be most fragile of all, and benefit well from being packed upside down, leaving any chippable sides unexposed.

Obviously tape the boxes up well and label them fragile so that when it comes to moving them or arranging your storage unit, you know which boxes need extra care to be taken of.

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