Moving is one of the toughest decisions you have to make in life. It entails leaving everything you knew and starting anew probably in another city. There’s so much to do to make a house removal successful and even with the best efforts, many homeowners still end up with lost and damaged valuables. While moving is in ordinary circumstances considered an arduous task, it gets harder when you have antiques and collectibles to handle. These are among the most difficult items to move due to their delicate nature and high value.
To make the process easier for you, the team at SW Removals & Storage have put together a list of tips to help you pack and move antiques and collectibles. Using these tips, you will avoid loss or damage to your valuable items. Keep reading:
1. Start with an inventory:
They say you can only manage what you know and for this reason, you should create an inventory for all your antiques and collectibles. Start with the larger items and move to the smallest, photographing each item as you go. If possible, get a professional appraisal of jewelry and other valuables for purposes of insurance coverage when moving.
2. Consider insurance:
Never transport valuables without necessary and enough insurance cover. Check your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy and see whether it includes moving your valuables. You should also ask your removalist about their coverage for such items. Whatever you do, don’t transport these valuables without insurance coverage. The removalists at SW removals are fully insured, just in case.
3. Get necessary packing items:
For this purpose, you need bubble wrap, sturdy, good quality packing boxes, high-quality packaging tape and ‘handle with care/fragile’ tape.
4. Pack antiques and collectibles first:
Don’t pack other larger items and leave your collectibles lying around or they may end up getting damaged.
5. Reinforce your packing boxes:
Even if you have high-quality packing boxes, go ahead and reinforce the bottoms and edges with extra packing tape. Doing so will provide your antiques and collectibles with an extra layer of protection.
6. Purchase special boxes for large flat items:
If you have antique mirrors, paintings, and other flat large items, buy special boxes purposely designed for moving these items. The wrong boxes can result in unnecessary damage to your items.
7. Pad and protect small items:
For small valuable items, use bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts, crunched newspaper or other padded or cushioned materials.
8. Label all items:
Buy a permanent marker to identify the fragile packages and use the fragile marking tape where necessary. Doing so will ensure that you (and your removalists) handle those boxes with extra special care.
9. Keep small precious items close to you:
Keep items that are particularly precious such as watches and jewelry close to you or with your personal items.
10. Find the best removalist and let them know that you will be moving antiques and collectibles:
Ensure that you select a great removalist who will make the moving process a breeze. For tips on how to recognise a great removalist, read our blog post: what makes a great removalist. Once you have chosen your removalist, alert them about your antiques and collectibles to avoid damage to those valuable items.
11. Do an inventory when unpacking:
Do another inventory when unpacking your goods and check for any lost or damaged items.
In case of any damage to or loss of your antiques and collectibles, your insurance cover should come in, but if you hire a qualified removalist, the likelihood of damage is minimal. In addition to this, a great removalist (like SW Removals) will have insurance cover, just in case. If you plan to move any time soon, these tips will help pack and transport your valuable items without any risks. Remember to always work with an experienced removalist for a succesful moving process.
South West Removals & Storage
At SWR we are an advocate and uphold a transparent partnership with all of the people that we move now and in the future. Its our aim to make your house removal a smooth and stress free as possible. For more information contact us at South West Removals & Storage. You can call us on +61 8 9725 4766 or email us at sales@swremovals.com.au.