Almost all breakage happens for one of two reasons: items touching each other, or empty space inside the carton. Fix both and you fix most of it.
Plates go on their edge
Not stacked flat. Wrap each one in paper, then stand them vertically like records. A stack of flat plates cracks from the weight above.
Glasses need paper inside
Stuff crumpled paper into each glass before wrapping it. It supports the walls, which is where they crack.
Fill every gap
A half-empty carton is worse than a full one. Anything that can shift will shift. Newspaper, cloth, old towels — whatever you have.
Small and heavy, big and light
Books go in small boxes. Cushions and duvets in big ones. A large box full of books cannot be lifted safely and usually gives way at the bottom.
Tape the bottom properly
Two strips along the seam, two across. The bottom is where boxes fail.
Mirrors and framed pictures
Tape a large X across the glass, wrap in bubble, then sandwich between two sheets of cardboard. They travel on their edge, never flat.
Mark it and mean it
“Fragile” on all four sides and the top. Written on one side only, it ends up face down.
