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Moving Tips For Packing Books
Books are desirable, indeed, but keeping and taking care of them is not easy. Similarly, you need to know how books should be moved when moving house. Moving is an intense job that involves a lot of mental and physical stress. But if you’re fond of reading books, packing books properly is a necessary skill to learn if you will settle in someplace new.
At the same time, it is a herculean task. Thus, not only are books an essential asset to people and should be taken care of, but they are also challenging to manage while moving. For example, some people might have a home library with hundreds or thousands of books, including the ones that are too heavy to carry. Or even if you don't have a library, there will be some books that are too delicate to move in just any way.
Just stay calm and follow some basic strategies to get the job done well in this situation. So, all you need to do here is put yourself together and let us help you with the best ways to pack and move your books with excellent efficiency. Here are some packing tips which can help you accomplish this task. Let’s get started with them.
Separation Of Books
If you have already read some of your books, it’s time to pass them on to others so that they can benefit from them too. Plus, if some books will not get your attention anytime soon, it is better not to carry those with you anymore. You can sell them to any old books corner or donate them to some deserving people, giving your books a valuable environment.
By doing this, you will limit your collection to the ones that are worthy and desirable to you. As a result, it will be more convenient for you to take care of your belongings as many irrelevant books can create a mess. This will not only lessen your burden but will also make it easier to carry them to your new destination.
Sometimes, people find books so dear to them that they can't even think about giving them away. Well, in that case, buckle up because here, we have just the right methods, tips, and tricks to help you through.
Organise Your Collection
It is necessary to organise your books in order to carry them with ease. You can do this organisation according to different aspects, including the order of your day-to-day use books, rarely needed books (the ones you open once in a blue moon), etc. Keep all this stuff organised separately to have easy access when you need them. It can be pretty frustrating having to go through several books just to find the one you're looking for. As a book lover, organising your collection of books is the best way to prevent this. Below are some tips for managing your books.
Make a Checklist
A checklist for moving books will give you an idea regarding your current collection. Secondly, you can divide your stuff according to their nature from that list, and it will help you during the placement of books in the boxes.
For example, you will be able to easily pick the items of the same weight or size to pack in the same box. Similarly, books of the same category will become easier to identify and put in the same place.
Divide Into Different Weight Classes
It is better to sort your volumes according to weight; isolate the heavy (especially the books with hardcovers) from the ones that do not carry much weight. It would become easier for you to place them in the same box accordingly. At the same time, this segregation will help you choose the correct position to pack your books.
Furthermore, you will be able to balance the heaviness of your box by doing this isolation, and it will become easy to carry the packages with proper separation.
Separate According to Quality and Nature
You can also group your books according to their quality and nature. For example, you can settle the sciences in one box. In contrast, the books related to the category of philosophy can be packed in another box and so on. This kind of grouping not only gives comfort when looking for the book but will also save you time when setting them up at your new place.
Plus, some of them are more frequently needed than the others, i.e., dictionaries, diaries, business chronicles, and planners; you can set these in a separate box since you will require them often.
Choosing The Appropriate Packaging Box
Choosing the correct box is essential as your belongings need proper management and safety. Cardboard packs can be the best choice in this regard. Books carry great weight, and thus, they should be placed in strong moving boxes. In this way, you can safely move them to any place, no matter how distant it is.
Moreover, the size of the box should be medium, so it doesn't become strenuous to pick it up. As such, you will need to keep this in mind while packing, so picking up and carrying that package afterwards doesn't become impossible.
It is necessary to know whether your box can carry enough weight or not because if it can’t carry sufficient heaviness, it will become difficult to shift your books safely. That is why the box's strength is mandatory, so be sure to consider this. One tip that can help you, in this case, is to use new cartons instead of old ones.
This is because new ones are free of moisture, and hence, they contain relatively more strength. If you really have to use old boxes, make sure they are still in good condition and are strong enough to hold your books. You wouldn’t want your favourite books falling out and getting damaged during your move.
Preparing The Needed Accessories Beforehand
Choosing the accurate packing material is crucial because it adds convenience to your task. Get all the related material needed for this process beforehand, and review them to avoid missing anything. It will save you from having last-minute problems and lots of trouble as you won't have to move again and again to bring the items properly when needed.
Needed Items
Some things are essential and frequently used during the packing and moving process. A few things you must have beforehand include:
- Bubble Wraps
- Scissors
- Glue
- Tape
- Packing Paper
You will need bubble wrap to cover your antique books and old scripts, which can be damaged by carelessness. Moreover, get scissors to cut the tape and glue or double-sided tape to paste the list of titles on your box. Other than these, packing paper is also needed to wrap the volumes which have sensitive surfaces.
In addition, this paper is required to fill the spaces between books in the pack to prevent collisions during the moving process. Basically, they act as a cushion for your books.
Preparing The Boxes
During the process of moving your books, box packaging comes first. It needs to be done properly and safely. So, here are some specific things you should know before going ahead with this. You will need binding tapes to seal the moving boxes from the bottom and top, as this will add strength to the package. You will transport your books with a lot more ease and safety by doing so.
Arrange Them Properly
You should arrange your cartons in a line because this will lessen your efforts when putting the books into them. The other thing is to put numbers on your packages. The numbering will be beneficial to have information regarding your total belongings – how many packages you own and what a specific package contains in particular. Other than this, this step will help you set your books in your new home library.
Make a Content List
When packing the books in the box, you should account for the titles of the books that you are placing in a particular box. It is crucial to get an idea of which book is set where. Hence, you will face no difficulty when getting the needed book from the relevant box just by reading the content list. As such, you will save both your time and energy without creating a mess.
Assigning Titles to Each Box
Creating a content list or checklist is often not enough. Why not assign a name to each of your packed boxes? It will not only be helpful in terms of books, but also for clothes, and all the other packing. Give a name to each box to know what is inside with just a single glance at it.
You can paste it with the help of double-sided tape or glue. It’s up to you how you want your boxes to look because, of course, you are not going to unpack all of them the first day you arrive at your new home.
Use Acid-Free Paper
Acid-free papers help keep your books secure because they are made to protect your possessions from damage during transportation. It is recommended to place an acid-free paper after placing each array of books to reduce the sticking of one book's cover to the other.
Furthermore, acid paper sucks up the moisture, and they protect your books from insects' infestation too. So, if you are moving in the summer season, acid paper can be your saviour.
Securing the Top of the Box
The final step of the packing procedure is to seal the top of your boxes with binding tape, as this will secure them perfectly. The binding is crucial to transport the books without damage and problems. Books can fall out of the box or drop on the way if the seal is not strong enough, so be sure to seal them properly.
Great! After going through all these steps, your books are ready to be dispatched. You can send your books to your destination by truck or any other pick-up service. You should remember here not to overfill the boxes as this will create problems in transportation.
How Should You Place The Books?
After successfully dealing with the previous steps, a vital step is to keep the books in the proper orientation. This is crucial because you must manage the space that your books occupy. In addition to this, you need to be concerned with how your book collection can get extra safety.
Placement of Heavy Books
You should keep heavy books (particularly those with hardcovers) vertically like you are positioning books on a shelf. Moreover, some breathable space should be left while putting the books into the boxes. Otherwise, they may get damaged when you take them out of the boxes.
Placement of Paperback Books
You can horizontally place paperback books. Although these orientations are not fixed, they are convenient. One thing that is vital to consider is that you should not place the books haphazardly. Instead, there has to be proper organisation and management. Paperback books often end up tearing because of moisture and frequent movement. Thus, be careful when arranging them.
Placement of Antique Books
Gathering antique books demands more care and concern as compared to others. For instance, these handbooks should be bubble wrapped and then placed with a hardcover between two books. It will keep your collection safe from any sort of damage that is usually caused by sticking the books together. This category can include your photo albums, any old script from your ancestors' collection, and some rare books.
Plan, Manage, And Then MOVE!
It can be quite an insurmountable task to pack up your big books for moving. Moving books can be problematic because they are heavy and precious at the same time, so one should be careful regarding their handling and follow the ways to make this procedure easily achievable.
You may say that packing books for moving demands a lot of planning, but it will be a piece of cake for you if you do it properly. In the same vein, another important thing that you need to keep in mind during this process is that everything should be done with care, instead of randomly and haphazardly moving stuff.
In a nutshell, having excellently packed books is an art that can only be achieved when you treat your books as if they were eggs! Moreover, you can guarantee safe passage for your beloved books by simply enquiring about professional moving services. These professionals can pack and move your goods with both skill and expertise, ensuring your beloved books get to their destination in one piece.
