Packing books when moving – useful tips
Moving, what could be scarier than that? In an arranged life with the usual way breaks in the chaos, led by a busy bustle and unorganized panic. Fees, packing things, finding the right vehicle for transportation and many other important, and very necessary things. In order not to become a client of a psychotherapist, you must preserve calmness and act consistently. But how to keep calm, if you need to transport books? We were already writing about packing like a professional and packing electronics. But what about books? Packing books can be a difficult thing. Do not worry, the books perfectly handle the move. Of course, if they are not rare, exclusive copies from the fifteenth century.
Packing books can cause a lot of stress
The times when people kept whole libraries at home are gradually disappearing into the past. Now it is much easier to download any number of works on the “reader”, which you can take with you on the subway, train, plane. Or just lie with it on the sofa, reading. There are people who do not accept newfangled gadgets and love racks with rare and valuable books. If you are that kind of person, then it will certainly be useful for you to learn how to correctly pack books when moving. Even if you do not plan to change your place of residence yet, you need to know this!
Stage one – sorting
Before you pack books when moving – sort them by size, degree of value, thickness. “Well, the size is clear. But how to decide the degree of value? – you ask – They are all equally valuable to me!”. We are talking about old publications, for which any drop in temperature or moisture will become simply disastrous. Do not forget also that they can simply be deformed during loading or shaking in the car, when you transport them from one destination to another.
Yes, we are talking about these ones!
For such valuable publications, you need to choose a special package. An air bubble wrap with a layer of cardboard will be an ideal option:
- First, the bubble wrap protects against moisture.
- Secondly, air bubbles will keep the temperature unchanged. In addition, these bubbles will become a kind of “pillow” that protects books from shaking and deformation.
- Thirdly, the cardboard will add strength to such packaging – an additional guarantee that rare books or magazines will reach their destination in perfect condition.
Stage two – packing books in boxes
Do not transport printed publications, stacking them in a pile and tying with string. At a minimum, you will get folded book corners. They can easily get dirty or wrinkle. Put them in cardboard boxes. Store the books already sorted by size in cardboard boxes that fit in size. Fill the voids between the rows of printed publications with newspaper or soft material.
You don’t want this to happen!
Remember the important thumb rule!
We often put the boxes up to the top, forgetting that the weight can become simply unbearable. To avoid fussing at the time of moving, shifting the books into smaller boxes, remember the thumb rule! What’s the rule? A box with books will be a feasible load if you can move it with your thumb at least slightly to the side.
After packing books in a box, try to move it in the end with your thumb. Did not work out? Remove several pieces and repeat. Perhaps you should choose a few smaller boxes for packing.
Where can you find cardboard boxes for packaging?
You can, of course, negotiate with the sellers in the store, so that they leave you an empty container for the goods. However, this is suitable for those who carry a small number of printed publications. If you have a large library, it is better to order cardboard boxes in a company that specializes in the production of packaging materials.
So, what to do when packing books?
- The first thing to do is prepare the packaging and supporting materials. So, you will need:
- carton boxes
- newspaper or soft paper
- packing wrap
- ropes or ribbons
- scotch tape
- scissors
- Do not worry about the move, as this is an excellent motivation to revise things and books in particular. When you prepare everything necessary for packing books, you can proceed to cleaning them. Take a soft dry cloth and remove the dust from the covers. Wiping the books, sort them by their size by stacking them.
- Tie each stack of books neatly, but at the same time firmly, with a rope or ribbon. Do not make too big piles of dozens of books. Focus on the height of the prepared boxes.
- If it’s damp outside, wrap the book stacks first with newspapers or paper, and then with a wrap film or plain polyethylene. Secure everything with scotch tape.
- Now you can put them into boxes. Never put books on edge, they can deform from this. If you see gaps, fill them with paper.
- Seal the boxes with books with tape, mark where what editions are. And now you can move with a calm heart.
Tip: Choose small boxes in which will transport books. This must be done for the reason that the books are quite heavy and when you lift the box with books, it can simply tear.
Moving is not that difficult as it may seem at the first glance. If you follow these simple pieces of advice and avoid common moving mistakes, you will pack your things easily and move without stress. After all, there are a lot of other, more important things you need to think about. You are going to college, that’s stressful enough. It is good not to have to worry about packing books at least.
