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Whether your move will be a successful one will largely depend on how you pack your items. Failing to pack items properly will ruin the entire moving procedure.
This is even truer for your books as these are your precious possessions while also being quite fragile. If you know the correct way of packing books for moving, you can save your books from being irreparably damaged.
To pack your book for moving, you first have to get rid of all the books you don’t need and donate or sell them. Next, you need to acquire proper packing materials. After that, you should sort the books by either their size or their weight. Next, you must place the book in the boxes in a proper manner and seal the boxes carefully.
Let’s take a deeper look at how you can properly pack your books for moving.
How to pack books for moving
Although they don’t seem to be at much risk while moving, packing your books improperly will certainly damage them. Also, the damage done to the books is often irreversible, which, if you are a book lover, will sting much more than if the damage had been done to your other possessions.
But the moving process doesn’t have to be a stressful one for either you or your books. All you need to know is what the best way to pack books for moving is, and you will be easily able to move all of your books to your new destination.
1. Get rid of unnecessary books
As precious as your books might be to you, you will not need every book in your possession. Before moving, you need to thin the herd and find out which books you need the least or you don’t need at all. Separate these books from the rest.
Once you have figured out which books you are going to leave behind, you can either sell or donate them. You can arrange a yard or garage sale for your books, which will allow you to earn a little bit of money before the move, which will always come in handy.
Additionally, you can donate your books to your friends and relatives, which will ensure that these books are in good hands. Also, you can donate your book to various libraries or community centers nearby, which will greatly benefit your community.
2. Sort the books
Once you have gotten rid of all the unnecessary books, next you have to make sure you have sorted the books for packing. One of the best moving hacks for books is to sort them according to their size. This will ensure you don’t have to struggle to find a place for your books once you start packing.
Pack the larger book in one box and the smaller books in other boxes according to their sizes. You can also sort the books according to their weight. If you do so, you can determine how heavy each of the boxes will be before moving on to the next box. The main idea behind sorting is to lighten your workload.
3. Get the packing materials
After you are done sorting the books according to their size or weight, you need to start packing your books. To protect your books and to be able to pack them properly, you need to get the appropriate moving boxes for books.
Make sure your boxes are large enough so that even the biggest of your books can be easily packed in them. Also, the edges and the corners of the boxes have to be hard enough so that if the boxes are put under some other boxes, they will not crumble under the weight. Thick cardboard boxes are the best choice for this purpose.
Apart from boxes, you will a few other materials for packing. Among them, the tape is the most important as you have to secure the books inside the boxes. You will also need scissors and pens/markers to label the boxes. Speaking of which…
4. Label your boxes
Labeling your boxes is always a good idea to keep track of your books as well as any other items while moving.
This enables you to understand which side is up, how you have organized your books and which boxes contain the more fragile boxes.
5. Packing the books
Now we have come to the business part of packing your books. Put the books inside the boxes as you have sorted them out. But never pack your boxes in the way they were on their shelves.
You can either put them flat on their sides, or you can put them keeping their spines down. These are the best ways to pack your books without damaging them.
6. Securing the books
Once you have put all your books in their respective boxes, make sure there is no space left in the box.
If there are spaces in the boxes, the books will move around and end up being ripped or damaged otherwise. You should fill in the gaps in the boxes with soft packing materials such as clothes or foam.
Filling the spaces with clothes is the best way to go about it because not only will it protect your books, but you can also have additional space to pack your clothes.
Once you have filled up the spaces inside the boxes, you need to seal the boxes using a liberal amount of tape. Use as much tape as you need so that your books don’t fall out of the boxes.
7. Giving yourself some time
Last but not least, you need to make sure you have some time before the move to pa[ck your books. As it is a must to sort your books out, pack and label them, you have to have a bit more time to pack these books.
Also, while packing them, you have to factor in the impromptu reading sessions, which will only lengthen the packing time.
Packing books for storage
What if your move can’t be completed immediately and your books have to stay in storage for an extended period? If you are looking for tips for Long-Term Book Storage, there isn’t much you can do differently than what we have mentioned above.
But the place where you store them is the most important, as it has to be dry, and clean and the temperature has to be controlled.
We, Easy Way Removals, have excellent storage facilities, which ensure your books will be in top shape no matter how long they have to be in storage.
Final Words
Packing books for moving can be a fun activity if you know and follow the correct steps of doing so. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to be done packing your books in no time and spend this time packing other stuff. Also, you can read our in-depth article about packing tips for moving.
FAQ‘s
What size box is best for packing books?
The size of the boxes plays a big role in the success of packing your books. In general, small-sized boxes are the best for packing books since they don’t leave too much space for you to fill up with clothes. Try to get 16” X 12” X12” boxes to pack your books.
Is it better to pack books vertically or horizontally?
You can pack your books both vertically and horizontally if you follow the correct way. For vertical packing, put their spines at their bottom. On the other hand, if you want to store them horizontally, put them flat over each other.
Is it better to store books in cardboard or plastic boxes?
If you have to store your books for a long time, it is better to store them in a plastic container than in a cardboard box. This will ensure your books will be better protected against moisture, bugs, and other harmful things.
