As beautiful, unique, and fascinating as lamps are, their shapes make them very difficult to prepare and pack for a move. Many times, individuals have tried to move with their lamps and arrived at their new home to find theirs broken or shattered. Lamps have to be packed just right.
Here are the eight steps on how to pack lamps for moving:
1. Take It Apart
If you have a floor lamp or a lamp that comes apart into smaller pieces, do take it apart. This makes any lamp a lot easier to pack.
2. Moving Blanket
A moving blanket is a great way to pack lamps for moving. If your floor lamp doesn’t come apart, remove the lightbulbs and lampshade. Next, wrap your lamp in a moving blanket and secure the blanket with packing tape. Due to its length and if it’s safe, lie the lamp on the floor of the moving van near the wall where you’re sure it’s not going to be stepped on or have other items on top of it.
3. Keep it Upright
A lamp is designed to be upright. In your move, keep it upright. Don’t lay it on its side or upside down. This will cause the weight to shift and potentially put stress on the frame. Should your lamp come in contact with something in the truck during a move, this increases the likelihood of damage.
4. Prepare Your Lamp
To prepare your lamp for a move, remove the bulb and shade from it. Wrap the electric cord around its base and if there’s a way to tuck it inside, do so. If not, use some Scotch tape to affix the electrical cord to the lamp. This is to prevent it from unraveling.
5. Wrap the Lamp
The base of the lamp is arguably what’s most likely to be damaged in transportation. Wrap the base in bubble wrap. Though some may use a blanket to do this if no bubble wrap is available, it’s far better to use the latter as if there’s contact of some kind, a bubble wrap works better than a blanket at preventing damage.
Lamps come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There may be delicate parts that need to be protected that aren’t at the base. From thin metal pieces to pieces of sculptured glass, a safe bet’s to wrap the whole of the lamp in bubble wrap. In doing so, ensure the bottom of the lamp is also covered.
6. Pack the Lampshade
To pack your lampshade, use plain paper or bubble wrap to carefully wrap it. Especially if it’s valuable, you want to be careful where you put it after the fact. Ensure it’s somewhere the lampshade isn’t going to move or to be tossed around the moving vehicle in transit. If you have multiple lampshades, you can stack them from the smallest to largest.
Be careful not to accidentally rip or stain your lampshades while they’re being wrapped or packed. This is why we never – ever! – use newspaper. Newspaper ink can transfer to a lampshade. You won’t even know until after you’ve arrived at your new home and unpack. Especially in a heated moving vehicle, newspaper ink can stain a lampshade and ruin it.
7. Use A Box
A lot of lamps won’t fit into a box. Subsequently, if you do fit yours into a box, so much space inside’s being left unused. This is why you will also need something inside such as a blanket to secure the lamp safely in place. Ideally, if you still have the original box and Styrofoam casing the lamp came in, that’s all you need.
That said, if you do place your lamp in a box that wasn’t manufactured for it, just ensure it is protected and packed securely so there’s going to be no movement during transportation. A box is much easier to stack and place in a moving vehicle. Leaving your lamp without a box immediately creates a higher risk of damage.
8. Mark the Box and Store it Safely
Mark the box you put your lamp and lampshade in as ‘fragile’. Lastly, place the box in a place where it’s going to be secure. If you have more than one lamp to pack, you can store them next to each other. If it doesn’t look safe, don’t leave it that way. You don’t want the lamps moving inside the box nor do you want the box moving during your trip.
If you are nervous about packing your lamp, ask your movers and moving company what they suggest. Moving companies often can pack it themselves and guarantee a safe, risk-free trip to your destination. Some offer special boxes that can be used to pack the lamp in as well. They’re a great resource to lean on when you’re unsure about anything around your move.
