How to Pack Fragile Items Like a Pro

Fragile items fail for two reasons: not enough padding, and too much room to shift. Fix both and you can move a set of crystal wine glasses from Toronto to Montreal with zero casualties. Here is how our MoreMovers crew wraps, packs, and loads the pieces that matter most.

The Two-Layer Wrap Rule

Every fragile item gets two distinct layers: an inner cushion and an outer shell. Start with a sheet of clean packing paper — never newsprint, the ink transfers — wrapped snugly around the object. Then add a full turn of small-bubble wrap and tape the seam closed. For anything you'd cry over if it broke, add a second bubble wrap layer perpendicular to the first.

For stemware and long-necked items, twist paper into the stem before wrapping. This stops the narrow point from snapping under lateral shock. For lamp shades, wrap the frame separately and nest the shade inside a slightly larger box with paper packed lightly around it — never tightly, which crushes the shape.

The Shake Test

Pack every fragile box in a small carton, not medium or large. Line the bottom with two inches of crumpled paper. Load heavier pieces first, lighter on top. Fill every void — corners, gaps between items, the space between the top of the load and the flaps. Now close the box and shake it gently. If you feel any movement, add more paper. Anything that shifts in your hand will shift ten times harder inside a moving truck on Highway 401.

Plates, Bowls, and Flat Ceramics

The biggest mistake with dishware is stacking plates flat. Flat stacks concentrate weight and shear force on the bottom plate, which will crack under the box above it. Instead, wrap each plate individually and stand them vertically in the box — the same way records file in a crate. The plates support each other on their strongest edge and can absorb road vibration without chipping.

• Plates and platters: vertical, edge-down, wrapped individually.
• Bowls and mugs: nested only if paper separates each layer.
• Wine glasses: cell dividers or vertical only, never nested.
• Cast iron and heavy pans: their own box, no fragile items on top.

Art, Screens, and Electronics

Flat-screen TVs and framed art travel in the same posture: vertical, on edge, never flat. If you kept the original TV box, you already have the perfect container — pack it with the styrofoam inserts and label the box FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP on every face. If not, a specialty TV moving carton or a custom crate is worth the twenty dollars. For framed art, add a large X of painter's tape across the glass before wrapping — if the glass does crack in transit, the tape holds every shard in place instead of scattering across the artwork.

For desktop computers, remove the graphics card and any loose PCIe components and pack them separately in anti-static bags. Cables get their own labelled box. Photograph the back of any complex setup before you unplug it — future you will send present you a thank-you note.

Loading and Unloading Priority

Fragile boxes are loaded last and unloaded first. Tell your mover which boxes hold what — a clear label plus a five-second heads-up saves guesswork. At MoreMovers we keep a dedicated 'red-label' zone at the truck door for fragiles, so they never travel under heavier freight and never get buried at the back. It's the small choreography that separates a professional move from an amateur one.