Quick Tip: Packing Your Dishes

By Jeff Walker

While this may seem like a simple task, I was actually surprised to find out that it’s not as simple as it first appeared. When I bought my dishes, they came in a box, and all of them were flat, with the bottom side of each dish facing the bottom side of the box. According to the pros, packing your dishes in this way is a really bad idea. “Dishes should actually be packed upright, as if you were stacking them in the dishwasher”, says Julie Shea of Shea Moving. It turns out, as your moving truck rolls down the road, bumps can put a jarring force against your packed items, and as it happens, a plate can handle much more force on its side, than against the bottom of the plate. “Anything that is long and thin should be packed in the same way” says Julie, “Picture frames with glass, or anything breakable that has a similar shape should always travel on its end, not flat”.