pack up your books

Pack Up Your Books: Moving Your Personal Library

How to pack up your books

At this point in our blogs, we have covered a couple of different topics. We have covered topics such as, how to properly pack liquids, how to pack up your garage, and how to pack up your basement. In this blog, were going to cover how to pack up books. While this may seem straight forward, and believe me, it’s not hard, if not done properly, you can damage your books, or hurt yourself.

Before you start throwing books into a box, make sure that you’re ready, and have the correct supplies. You’ll need a couple of items in order to be ready to pack up your books.

What you’ll need:

Proper box

As you begin to pack up your books, you may notice that you can fit more books into a large box. But when it comes to picking up the box, it may not seem like as good an idea. We recommend small boxes, or 2 cubes. For more information on where to find moving boxes, click here. 

Packing paper

As you pack up your books, packing paper will allow you to fill in around the books, as well as to create a level of shock absorption so that the books are less likely to shift or move during transportation. If you need help finding packing supplies, click here.

Tape

This is self explanatory as you will need to put the box together somehow.

Marker

When packing up your books, you’ll need a marker in order to mark the contents of the box.

When you have all your supplies, you are ready to pack up your books. Here are some steps to be ready to pack up your books.

Sort through your books

It may seem like we mention this for almost everything, but it is important. Moving is a great time to sort through your items. When you move, your costs typically are calculated based on weight. The more you have, the more it typically costs. When packing up your books, weight can add up quite quickly. Take some time to sort through your books. What you don’t need, you can donate.

Prepare the box

Make sure that you have the right box. Once again, while a larger box may seem more efficient, it won’t be when you try picking it up. When packing up your books, make sure that you are using a 2 cube if you have access to moving boxes, or smaller boxes if you can get a hold of them. Set the box or boxes up, depending on how many books you have to pack. Make sure to use a couple of strands on the bottom of the box to ensure that it holds and doesn’t fall apart.

Line the box with paper

As mentioned earlier, when packing up your books, this creates a level of shock absorption so that the books will not be affected during transportation. This also protects the books from any dust or dirt that can work its way through any seams or flaps of the box.

Pack the books

Now you’re ready to actually start packing the books. Books are best packed on their edges instead of flat. When packing up your books, laying them flat opens them up to the possibility of ripping pages during transportation from shifting contents within the box. Place the books on their edges, and rotate the books spine down, and spine up. This provides extra stability to the books. Once you have finished laying the bottom level of books, put a level of paper and repeat another row

Fill in any holes with paper

When packing up your books, you may not fully fill all your boxes, or may not have enough books to fill a box. Use packing paper to fill up any holes to prevent the books from moving around during transportation. Crumple up some packing paper, and fill any remaining holes with paper.

Finish up packing and label

Once your done packing up your books, and filling the rest of the box with paper, close the box. Tape it shut with a couple strands of tape, to make sure that it holds. Make sure to label the box once you are done packing. It gives the person lifting the box a better idea of what’s in it, and how sturdy it is. It also helps the loading crew member. The last thing you want to put on top of a tier of items is a heavy box of books. Labeling will help your loading crew member out as they plan each tier of items.

As you can see, as you pack up your books, it isn’t rocket science. As we have mentioned in previous blog posts, make sure that you take your time to pack. If you have time, it will allow you to pack your items better instead of having to try and throw them into a box to get everything packed up. The more time you can give yourself the better.

While packing your books may not be overly complicated, if you need help with your packing, make sure to give Quick Transfer a call. We specialize in helping you get packed up and ready for your move. Whether you’re looking to move across the city, or anywhere in the world, Quick Transfer is your preferred and trusted mover. Make sure to call us today to see how we can be of service to you!