How to Pack a Vase for Moving or Storing

Vases are fragile and awkward to move, which is why properly packing your vase for your move or for storage is essential to keeping it in one piece. With our method your vase will be safe through transport and storage – and it will only take you a couple minutes to prepare it! This method can be used by anyone, with or without special knowledge of packing materials and methods. Your basic vase should only take a couple minutes to pack properly; by comparison an antique vase might take up to ten minutes and require freight grade packing materials.

If your vase is particularly fragile you may consider packing it in a dedicated box, as we show in our video (link below). Whether the value of your vase is £5 or £50,000, you will want to make considerations for how it is packed – especially as many vases are valued more sentimentally (hello, family heirlooms), and less monetarily. Regardless of how you value your vase we understand the importance of getting it where it needs to go in perfect condition.

For the required materials and the quickest, easiest, way to pack your vase safely for moving and storage read on! Removals and Storage Experts will give you a step-by-step on how to properly utilise the necessary materials and techniques to keep your valuable vase safe.

Before you begin:

Prepare your work space

This is essential, as you do not want to be mid-pack and suddenly wonder where that thing you need is.

• Organise a space where you’ll be stacking packed items.
• Plan the order in which you’ll be packing items for removal and storage.
• Prepare the boxes your items will be packed in an label them accordingly. Boxes can be labelled by the item and the room it will be going into. Also visit our page on how you can systematised your labels for packing and easily location of items once you’ve moved.
• Remember that when stacking packed boxes, in a specifically allocated area of the room you’re working in, you should begin with the heaviest on the bottom. This may inform the order in which you choose to pack your materials.

You might want to have someone working with you

A little support goes a long way! The steps we provide for packing a vase certainly don’t require a second pair of hands but, specifically if it is a fragile or valuable vase, it never hurts to have a friend nearby to offer support.

Materials you will need

Ensure that you have all necessary materials to hand before you begin. These include:

• An appropriately sized box, best if double-walled.
• Bubble wrap or bubble blankets.
• A roll of tape.
• Packing paper.
• A marker.

How to pack a vase:

1. Build your box.

   For packing fragile items like china, vases, small lamps, or ornaments, you should use small and medium boxes; don’t try to stuff a bunch of valuable fragiles into a larger box. We recommend using good quality double walled boxes. Building a box is very easy; just open the flat package and fold the cardboard leaves on the bottom side.

2. Tape the box.

   Tape the bottom of the box two or three times with an “X” or a “+” shape to ensure it is strong. How you are going to tape the box depends on the nature of the items you will put inside and the size of the box itself… But if you are unsure err on the side of caution and reinforce!

3. Use bubble wrap.

   This will protect fragile items like your vase. Air in the bubble acts as a cushion. You can also use packing paper first, then bubble wrap and tape the vase up after wrapping for extra protection.

4. Fill empty space.

   Most damages happen if you allow your items to move inside their package. The easiest way, in our experience, to prevent this is to mash up packing paper or newspapers and stick it in between the items inside a box. You can also use foam peanuts/popcorn instead.

5. Pack the box.

   If the vase is small you can pack more fragile items into one box making sure they are sufficiently separated inside. You can use cardboard or balled up paper to separate items inside boxes.

6. Mark your box.

   Mark the box as fragile and describe its contents. Fragile flag will help your moving team treat the boxes properly. Fragile items will be stacked on top of non fragile items. Proper labelling will also serve as a guide during the move and will help with unloading the boxes into correlating rooms; it will also come handy after removals for unpacking. You’ll know the contents of the box just by looking at it.

Tips and Tricks for packing fragile items:

• Assess the value of the item
• Note the intended destination on the box
• Use appropriate packing techniques and materials
• Ensure proper usage of tape to secure top and bottom of the box
• Fill empty/unused spaces inside boxes to prevent the item from sliding around
• Clearly mark every box
• Appropriately stack boxes with the heaviest on the bottom of any pile

We hope our short guide will help you when moving home! If you have any questions or concerns Removals and Storage Experts are here to help.