How Can You Pack And Move Your Cherished Antiques?

Ross Sapir

Share

One of the easiest ways to earn the high and mighty sign of prestige within the society is by decking your house with ancient paintings, beautiful sculptures and owning rare collectibles. Many homeowners take a lot of joy and pride to own such antiques and display them on their highest shelves.

However, when it’s time to move out of the house, this bane becomes a boon. This is because you need to take a lot of care and concern while moving these items, as damages can create a substantial decrease in their value.

So how do you pack your valuables in a moving truck? How do you maximize the space inside to fit all the collectibles? Need a few handy tips?

Read this quick post till the end to find out how you can pack your things into a moving truck just like a pro!

Why You Should Be Careful With Antiques

If you have a few sacred family heirlooms that have existed for generations, you will try your best to preserve them and keep them in good condition. While you are at home, you might take all the proper precautions.

For instance, you might use soft gloves to touch them and regularly wipe them down to keep them free of dust, dirt, and other debris.

The same applies to rare collectibles that you own from a different timeline. Whether you own these antiques for sentimental reasons or you plan on selling them someday to bag big bucks, you need to keep your antiques and cherished valuables in prime, pristine condition.

However, when you plan on moving your home, the challenge of taking care of them starts to double up. They cannot be simply thrown in moving boxes as you do for your books and clothes.

If you would like to keep them in prime condition, you will need to think ahead of how to pack them and fit them safely inside a moving truck.

So can moving antiques and other fine art and rare collectibles be called art in itself? Yes absolutely! You will need a very special skill set to pack and deliver these products without accidentally breaking them.

This way, you will be able to preserve the piece and extend its longevity as well.

The 8-Step Guide On How You Can Safely Pack Your Antiques

As mentioned earlier, your antiques require a lot of hard work to pack and move. While your books and clothes can withstand the bumps of the road, the same cannot be said for your antiques.

These valuables need an added layer of safety so they can stay scratch-free even during a bumpy ride on the moving truck.

Curious about how you can do that? Fret not, because, in this section, you will learn how to handle, secure & pack your precious antiques and other cherished valuables in 8 simple steps!

1. Inventory

Moving extremely delicate items such as antique can be a challenging task to do. With this in mind, you have to be extra careful of your precious possessions before, during and after the relocation. Make a detailed list of inventory of your antique pieces to keep a better track of them. Walk through around your house and be sure to write down all the vintage pieces that you see. Include the name as well as the description of the antique’s current condition in your inventory. If you see any damage, it’s better to specify them in your record so you’ll have a strong evidence whenever you need to file a claim against your mover.

2. Appraisal

Your antiques aren’t ordinary items that you should take for granted. In fact, any item with an exquisite value should be properly appraised. Whether it’s local moving or a cross country move, you need to get an antique furniture appraisal to verify the value of your valuables. Be sure to find a licensed and trustworthy antique furniture appraiser. You might even want to obtain more than one appraisal.

3. Insurance Options

When it comes to moving your pieces of antiques, it’s always wise to have these belongings fully insured.  talk to your insurer before you move so you’ll know your available options, and of course add your appraisal info,. But, if you plan to hire professional movers, you might want to discuss whether your antiques are covered by the company’s liability insurance. To make sure all these items are insured while in transit, purchase the insurance coverage which is the most appropriate in your situation.

4: Wrapping Your Paintings

The first and fundamental thing you got to do is start wrapping up your paintings and fine art. But you cannot do this with your ordinary wrapping paper as this might smudge up and disturb the beautiful artwork.

Make sure to get plastic or glassine wrapping paper as these will not cause any disturbance, even if they touch the painting. After you have wrapped your painting in plastic/glassine, proceed to wrap it in a layer of thick bubble wraps to protect it from physical damage like rips, tears, and scratches.

5: Pack Up Your Paintings

The best thing you can do while buying antiques and other paintings is to preserve the original box that it once came in. This will help to protect the antique while you are moving.

However, if you do not have this, don’t worry! You can find equally great alternate options like bicycle boxes, TV boxes, wooden crate packing and so on. 

check >> Using the right boxes for your move

 6: Move On To Antique Sculptures And Furniture

Covering paintings and other antique artwork is extremely easy when compared to antique sculptures and furniture.

Start by covering these bulky antiques in bubble wrap, as this helps prevent any damage that might happen on the way of moving.

You can also consider covering these items under a layer of soft, thick moving blankets for added safety. for high value items we recommend wooden crate packing and a professional team of movers & packers to perform the job.

7: Remove All The Loose Removable Parts

Whether it is a painting, sculpture, or furniture, your antiques might come with certain removable parts needed to hold them in their place.

Therefore, make sure to remove all these parts and count them. Once you have done this, you can start to pack them in a separate box. However, make sure to add sufficient amounts of bubble wrap to keep them safe.

Moreover, always keep track of these small items as they can be very easy to lose during the move.

8: Mark And Label All Your Boxes

Last but not least, do not forget to mark and label all your boxes properly. Whether it is clothes, books, or antiques, you will need to mark them for proper identification.

If your antiques are made of mirrors, glass, or ceramics that are prone to breakage, mark the box’s surface as “X” for easier identification.

Keep in mind that if you hire movers, you must let them know about this particular label and tell them that such boxes need to be handled with utmost care.

Need More Help?

If you are still unsure how to pack your antiques with care or would like to steer clear of unnecessary risks and damage, do not hesitate to call the professionals for help!

As mentioned before, They will help create a good environment for moving all your antiques without disrupting or damaging their physical condition.

Moreover, a high-quality moving service will also be able to give you wood crating, custom-made to fit the size of your antique paintings, rare sculptures, and so on.

In addition to this, their climate-controlled truck will be the perfect vehicle that will safely get your value from your old home to the new one.