Moving your valuable items like artworks, antiques, and family heirlooms presents a different type of challenge from moving regular household items like clothes and furniture. If not done carefully, there’s always a chance of something getting damaged, which is never a fun thing to deal with on top of a move.
Luckily, we’ve rounded up 7 tips for moving valuable items to help you safely transport your most cherished possessions.
1. Hire Professionals for the Large Items
Whether it’s a grand piano or an antique chandelier, some things are just too valuable to move yourself. That’s when you should hire a professional moving company, through sites such as Muval, to help you with these valuable items. These possessions will often require special crates for transport, or simply some experienced movers who have done this kind of thing before. Either way, if you’ve got some larger valuable items, you’re going to want to hire some professionals.
2. Get Insurance
Having your valuable items insured is a fantastic way to bring about some peace of mind as you move. If anything gets damaged, you’ll be able to claim some compensation – and while it will never be the same as having your items intact, it’s better than nothing.
Some moving companies offer their own insurance, and there is also a range of private insurance companies that cover moves as well. As always, when choosing insurance that’s right for you, make sure to pay attention to the fine print and double-check what’s covered and what isn’t.
3. Create an Inventory
Before you start moving things, creating an inventory is another important tip. This will help you know whether something is missing by the end of your move. Taking photos of the items and jotting down some notes on their condition will also make it easier to claim on insurance if any damage occurs. If any documents come with these valuables – for example, a letter of authentication – make sure to keep them all together.
4. Keep Your Small Valuables with You
If you’ve hired some professionals to help you move, you must let them handle the bigger things – but transport the smaller valuable items with yourself. Whether it’s jewellery, a tablet, or smaller family pictures, it’s best to keep them out of a moving truck and with you. That does mean you’ll have to pack it yourself though, which brings us to our next point.
5. Get the Correct Boxes
When you’re looking at which boxes you should buy to pack up your valuables, investing a little extra to get the correct type of box will go a long way toward protecting your gear. There are special boxes to transport flat-screen TVs, glassware, dishes, and more. Investing in the right kind of boxes in this step will help protect your valuables in the long run.
6. Pack it Properly
With any box of valuables, you’ll want to make sure that there’s minimum movement inside. While you’re packing, load it up with padding (sheets, pillows, bubble wrap, etc.) to make sure things won’t get jostled around while they move.
When it comes to dishes, make sure to pack them side-by-side, instead of on top of each other. This way, they’re far less likely to break if something bumps the box while you’re moving.
7. Label the Boxes
For those boxes where you’ve packed your valuable things, labelling them with something like ‘fragile’ or ‘handle with care’ will help you remember that there is indeed something valuable inside. You don’t want to have to go around and double-check each box before moving to see if there are valuables inside or not. Another great tip here is to also use arrows that help designate which way the box should be standing up.
8. Take Your Time
Finally, our last piece of advice is to simply take your time when packing up your valuables. Folding dish towels over your plates, while tedious, can be the thing that saves them from breaking. Bubble wrap is also your friend here – while it might be tempting to get things done as quickly as possible, taking the extra time to make sure everything is as protected as it can be is essential for moving your valuables.
© Copyright 2021 Antonia, All rights Reserved. Written For: Tidylife
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