The dining room may not be as complicated to pack as your kitchen or garage, but it probably contains some of the most valuable items in your home, including china, crystal and expensive collectibles. You certainly want to pack with care, and you may want to consider having professionals pack up your dining room.

Before You Start Packing

Sort through your dining room, and decide which items you want to pay to move. Take into account the size of the dining room in your new home. Will everything fit? Sell, donate or throw away those items that you no longer want.

Gather your packing materials before you begin: packing paper, bubble wrap, packing tape, markers, and cartons, including special cartons as needed.

Furniture

A table can be disassembled by removing its legs and leaves and wrapping them separately. This will make it easier to move the table. Place nuts and screws in a Ziploc bag and tape underneath the table.

Remove all items from your breakfront or hutch, and secure doors and drawers.

Apply wax to wood tables and furniture to protect them. Put protective covers on the corners of your table.

Photograph your furniture so that you know how it should look when it is reassembled.

Any glass tabletops or hutch doors should be very carefully wrapped and packed in bubble wrap.

China, Crystal and Other Fragile Items

Consider having the movers pack your crystal, china and collectibles. Not only do they know how to properly pack them in order to minimize damage, but MoveInsure will protect items packed by professionals insured under the Gold coverage; items that you pack yourself will revert to Silver coverage. Be sure to purchase enough coverage for your valuable items from MoveInsure in order to avoid heartache if any of your favorite items sustain damage or loss.

If you do pack by yourself, use plenty of wrapping paper and bubble wrap. Use dishpack boxes with cellular dividers for glasses and stemware.

Label boxes clearly with “FRAGILE” so that the movers know to handle these boxes carefully.

Chandelier

Let the mover pack the chandelier in its own box.

Mirrors and Artwork

Small framed pictures can be carefully wrapped and placed in boxes. Larger artwork and mirrors should be carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in special boxes.

After You Finish Packing

After you have carefully packed each box and made sure that they are packed snugly and are not too heavy, label each box “DINING ROOM.” Write “FRAGILE” on boxes where appropriate, and indicate which end of the box is the top and which is the bottom. Write a brief description on the box of its contents. Keep a more detailed inventory list for yourself to make it easier to find specific items when you are unpacking.