Large appliances aren’t the only appliances that live in a home, however. What about your coffee pot? Your toaster? Toaster oven? Blender? The Roomba you’ve glued googly eyes on and affectionately refer to as Richie Roomba? We’ll walk you through the best ways to securely pack your important small appliances below.
1. Clean everything thoroughly – and make sure it dries
This is a good rule for packing… well, anything. Wash glass pieces with soap and water and dry them thoroughly. Wipe down complex electronic or mechanical pieces with a microfiber cloth.
Any time you wash anything with water, make sure you dry it off thoroughly before you put it away. Dampness turns into mold quickly in enclosed, dark and humid spaces.
2. Disassemble separate appliance pieces
Small appliances are typically made of multiple parts. A coffee machine includes the pot and the burner; microwaves include the plate and outer portion, etc. When packing these items, you should take them apart and securely wrap each individual piece–especially the breakable ones.
When you disassemble pieces of your appliances, make sure you label them. You could create your own labels, buy stickers or even just write on the packing tape. We provide labels you can print, as well. Label the piece itself as well as what it belongs to, for example: “Pot – Coffee burner.” Dissembling things when you move will help make sure they don’t break in transit. Labeling things helps make sure you can re-assemble them after transit!
3. Use the original appliance box
Whenever possible, you should move your small appliances in their original packaging. Appliance packaging is specially sized and designed to prevent damage. If you don’t have that packaging, you can always look up your specific appliances’ dimensions.
When you know how big your appliance is, buy a box that will allow as little extra room as possible. Your average small or medium moving boxes should work in most cases. Make sure to tape the bottoms heavily to prevent breaking.
4. Line the box with crumpled paper
Crumple up plain brown packing paper into balls and add them to the bottom of your box. This paper will work as a cheap but effective shock absorber. Don’t use newspaper, because the ink may stain the stuff in your boxes.
Paper won’t protect your items perfectly, but it’ll go a long way toward preventing scratches and dents. The more empty space there is inside your boxes, the more paper you should use.
5. Make sure every appliance is secure
This is your last step. You have the right box, you’ve filled it with the right material and you wrapped and labeled everything inside. Now you need to secure everything. Wrap appliances in more paper for extra security. Once they’re in the box, fill any gaps with extra paper for additional shock absorption. Close the box, secure it with tape and make sure to label it. Give the box a once-over to make sure it looks and feels protected and ready to go.
These guidelines will help you pack your small appliances in a way that keeps them safe, secure and organized. Especially Richie.
For your bigger appliances, call the team at Wheaton. We have years of experience helping people pack and move their large and specialty items cross-country.
