Fragile, heavy and awkward things: dishes, art, electronics, appliances and furniture
Pack dishes, framed art and electronics so they arrive whole, prepare a washer and refrigerator by the maker's instructions, and send pianos and safes to specialists.
- Start here: the essentials
- Dishes and glass: the dish pack
- Framed art, mirrors and heirlooms
- TVs, computers and other electronics
- Washers, refrigerators and freezers: your model's instructions
- Furniture, mattresses and the heavy pieces
- See it: the Brandts' appliances and Walter's heirlooms
- Practice: one special item of each kind
- Your move
- Check your work
- Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
For a first pass, this chapter asks you to find every fragile, heavy or awkward thing you own, give each one a method and a person, and write down your appliances' own moving steps. Everything marked Go deeper is optional.
- Mark every special item on the inventory. Give each fragile, heavy or awkward piece a special-handling mark and the name of whoever moves it, on the inventory (furniture and the heavy pieces).
- Look up the moving instructions for your washer, refrigerator or freezer by model. Write the steps, who does each, and the wait before plugging in, beside the item (your model's instructions).
- Pack dishes and framed glass with padding on every side. Mark each box fragile, on the box and on the box register (dishes and glass, framed art).
- Book a specialist for anything you and your helpers should not lift. A piano, a large safe, or any piece over your household's limit (pianos, safes and heavy pieces).
Minimum time: about 2 hours over a week, plus packing time. Done when: every special item has a method and a person, the appliance steps are written down, and the fragile boxes are marked on the register.
Dishes and glass: the dish pack Understand
Packing fragile things comes down to two jobs: a box strong enough for what is in it and what will be stacked on it, and nothing inside that can move. A plate that can slide strikes the plate beside it; a glass with empty space above it takes the weight of whatever presses on the lid. Each step below serves one of those two jobs. Physical principle
The box
A dish pack is a tall carton with double walls, made for dishes and glass. Rental companies sell it as a dish barrel; California's tariff spells it "dish-pak." U-Haul's version measures 18 by 18 by 28 inches, about 5.2 cubic feet, with double walls rated ECT 51; its single-wall moving boxes are rated ECT 32 (U-Haul, Dish Barrel product page). An Edge Crush Test (ECT) rating measures how much pressure a box's corrugated board withstands on its edge, which is the load a box carries at the bottom of a stack. A higher number is a stiffer box. Product-specific
A staff answer on the same product page says the dish barrel can hold up to 120 pounds. That is the box's strength, not a weight to pack it to. The same company's packing advice is that a filled box should weigh no more than about 30 pounds, or no more than you can lift easily (U-Haul, How to Pack Boxes for Moving). Dishes are dense, so a dish pack gets heavy long before it gets full. Put plates in the bottom third, lighter cups and glasses above, and weigh the first box you pack on a bathroom scale. If it is more than you and a helper want to carry, split the plates across two boxes. Test it The packing system covers box weights for every box you pack.
Weight matters for a second reason. California's tariff for moves within that state, as an example, counts a lost or damaged dish-pak as weighing 60 pounds when a claim is measured by weight, unless there is evidence otherwise (California Maximum Rate Tariff 4, 2026 (PDF), Item 92). When a mover's liability is figured by the pound, a box of fine china is worth its weight, not what is in it. That is a reason to choose valuation with your dishes in mind (Hiring a mover) and to list anything worth more than its weight suggests in writing (heirlooms and valuables). Ask the authority
Inside the box
The method below is ours. We found no agency or maker source for packing household dishes, and the rental companies' tips vary from page to page. It follows from the two jobs above. This manual's practice
- Cushion the bottom. Several inches of crumpled packing paper, or towels and linens you are moving anyway.
- Wrap each piece on its own. Two or three sheets of packing paper per plate, more for anything with a handle or a thin rim. Fill the inside of every cup, bowl and glass with paper before wrapping the outside.
- Stand plates on edge. Set wrapped plates in a row on their edges, like files in a drawer, rather than in a flat stack. A flat stack puts the whole weight above on the bottom plate; a row on edge shares it.
- Heavy low, light high. Plates and serving dishes at the bottom, bowls in the middle, cups and glasses at the top. A cardboard cell divider keeps glasses apart if you have one.
- Fill every gap. A layer of crumpled paper between layers, and a final layer on top, so the closed lid presses on paper, not on dishes.
- Shake it. Close the flaps and tilt the box gently. If anything shifts or clinks, open it and add paper until nothing does. Test it
- Mark it. "Fragile" and an arrow for the top on two sides, the box number and room code from The packing system, and the Fragile check (and Heavy, if it is) on the box register.
If movers pack. A full-service crew packs dishes in its own cartons. The packing charge and the cartons appear on the estimate; check that they are there before you rely on them (Hiring a mover).
If you pack and a mover carries. After a breakage, someone asks whose fault it was. California's consumer booklet, printed in the same tariff, says that if you pack your own goods you will need to show the damage came from the mover's handling and not from your packing, and that you should keep the box, its contents and the packing materials if something breaks. That is one state's booklet, but the question comes up in claims elsewhere too. Photograph a fragile box's contents before you close it, and keep a damaged box exactly as it arrived (Damage, delays and disputes). Ask the authority
Framed art, mirrors and heirlooms
A framed picture or a mirror has two problems at once: glass that can break, and, behind the glass, something a broken shard can cut. Museums have written down how they pack framed works, and two public guides are useful to a household as long as they are read for what they are: conservation practice, one careful method, not a promise that nothing breaks. Convention
The Canadian Conservation Institute's note Wrapping a Painting (CCI Notes 10/16, revised 2015, on canada.ca) and the National Park Service's Conserve O Gram 17/6, Packing a Framed Two-Dimensional Object (PDF) (NPS, 2009) follow the same order: protect the glass, cover the piece so nothing rubs its surface, cushion it, and box it. For a household, that comes to five steps.
- Photograph it. The front, the back, and any label or signature. The photograph is your record of its condition if it arrives damaged.
- Tape the glass. Both guides suggest covering the outside of ordinary (non-laminated) glass with strips of low-tack tape, a tape made to peel off cleanly, so that if the glass breaks the pieces stay in place. NPS has you fold over one end of each strip as a pull tab. CCI adds a caution of its own: a test it cites found damage was often similar whether the glass was taped or not. CCI says to follow the glass maker's directions about the surface and to remove the tape gently and soon after the move. Convention
- Cover and cushion. A sheet of cardboard cut to the size of the frame over the glass, cardboard corner protectors on the four corners, then bubble wrap, foam or a moving blanket around the whole piece.
- Box it on edge. A mirror or picture carton (California's table counts one as 5 cubic feet) or a box cut to fit, with the space filled. CCI says to mark the front and the back on the wrapping. Mark the carton "Fragile" and "Glass," and keep it on edge, not flat under other things.
- Register it. Box number, room code, Fragile checked on the box register, and the photograph's file name in the contents.
The guides carry their own exceptions. NPS says its method is for framed objects no larger than 16 inches on any edge, and that it is not for a charcoal, pastel or soft pencil drawing. CCI suggests laminated glass for paintings larger than one square meter. For a large piece, a valuable one, or a drawing in soft media, ask a framer, a conservator or a fine-art shipper before you pack it. Ask the authority
The museum methods are one practice for protecting framed work, written for collections, not for household moves. Neither guide says its method prevents damage, and CCI reports a test in which taping the glass made little difference. Following them does not settle who pays if a piece breaks: the valuation you chose and the evidence you kept settle that (Damage, delays and disputes).
The two museum methods in detail
The two guides differ in materials and in the size of work they address.
| Step | CCI, Wrapping a Painting (2015) | NPS, Conserve O Gram 17/6 (2009) |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Paintings in general; laminated glass suggested over 1 square meter | Framed objects no larger than 16 inches on any edge |
| Glass | Consider strips of low-tack tape over the whole outside of non-laminated glass; notes a 2005 test that found similar damage taped or untaped | Low-tack tape over the entire glass or plexiglas surface, with a folded pull tab |
| First layer | Cardboard cut to the frame on the front; the painting laid face down without anything touching its surface | Glassine (a smooth, translucent paper used as a first wrap) or unbuffered tissue |
| Next layers | Polyethylene sheeting of 2 to 4 mil, or Mylar, sealed with carton tape; then bubble wrap or thin foam | Urethane foam and corrugated board, then bubble wrap |
| Box | Not covered in this note | A box lined with 2 inches of foam |
| Other | Leave packing materials that absorb moisture in the same room as the painting for at least a day first; mark front and back | Not for charcoal, pastel or soft pencil drawings |
CCI's related note, Paintings: Considerations Prior to Travel, covers checking a painting's condition before it moves. Neither guide is written for a household, and a household rarely has museum materials. The household steps above keep their order and their cautions and use materials a moving supply shop sells.
Heirlooms and valuables: carry them or declare them
For anything you could not replace, the first decision is whether it goes on the truck. There are two sound answers: carry it yourself, or put it on the truck with its value declared in writing.
For moves between states, the federal rule sets out why the writing matters. An article of extraordinary value, in the rule's terms, is one worth more than $100 per pound. When you choose a valuation above the basic released rate of 60 cents a pound per article, the mover may limit its liability to $100 per pound for any such article you did not declare in writing; a written notice entitles you to full recovery up to the value you declared (49 CFR 375.201 and 375.203). A 2-pound silver bowl worth $1,000 is $500 a pound. Undeclared, the mover's liability for it can be limited to $200. Regulation
Moves within one state follow that state's rules and the mover's tariff instead. California's in-state consumer booklet, as an example, says to describe items of extraordinary value separately on the inventory with a value for each, and that it is best not to ship money, jewelry, important papers or other valuable personal articles but to take them with you. Ask your mover how it wants high-value items listed, and read the answer against your state's rules. Ask the authority
Our default: jewelry, cash, documents, irreplaceable photographs and data travel with you, marked "Carry myself" on the inventory (Your inventory covers that decision). Anything of value that has to go on the truck goes on a written list with a value, kept with the bill of lading. How the valuation you choose pays on a claim is in Hiring a mover and on the valuation box. This manual's practice
TVs, computers and other electronics
Flat-screen TVs
Your TV's own manual is the instruction to follow, and its maker's support site usually has it by model number. Product-specific As an example of what one says, LG's safety and reference manual for one series of LED TVs says to keep the TV upright while moving it, not to turn it on its side or tilt it to the left or right, to keep it from jolts and heavy vibration, and not to flex the frame. It recommends moving the TV in the box or packing it came in, and laying it face down only on a cushioned surface and only to attach the stand (LG, LED TV Owner's Manual, Safety and Reference (PDF)). Other makers' manuals may differ; yours decides.
Without the original box, a TV carton sold for your screen size, or cardboard over the screen and a moving blanket around the set, does the same job. Two people carry it upright by the frame, and it rides upright, wedged so it cannot tip. Mark it Fragile on the register. This manual's practice Some movers charge extra for a large TV. Washington's tariff for in-state moves, as an example, lists televisions with a screen of 40 inches or more among bulky articles that carry their own charge (Washington UTC, Tariff 15-C (PDF), Item 140). Ask whether your estimate includes it.
A TV that comes off a wall mount or stand goes back up at the new home with its anchoring. CPSC's Anchor It campaign covers TVs on furniture as well as dressers; Unpacking in order has the move-in steps.
Cables, remotes and small parts
Before you unplug anything with more than one cable, photograph the back of it with every plug in place. Put a piece of masking tape on each cable and the same letter on the port it came from. Then put the cables, the remote, the stand screws and any wall-mount hardware in one bag, write the device's inventory number on it, and pack the bag in the same box as the device or tape it to the device's wrapping. At the new home, the photograph and the letters put it back together without guesswork. This manual's practice
Batteries and data
Lithium batteries, in phones, laptops, power tools and e-bikes, are a transport question as well as a packing one. PHMSA, the federal hazardous materials agency, regulates lithium batteries as a hazardous material when they are carried in commerce, and says damaged, defective or recalled batteries carry a greater risk of fire (PHMSA, Transporting Lithium Batteries). Movers' and container companies' lists treat batteries differently; Your inventory and What cannot go on the truck sort them out. Our default for laptops, tablets and phones: they travel with you, which also keeps your data, passwords and documents with you. This manual's practice
Computers and the tariffs' servicing rules
Back up a computer before it is packed, and keep the backup apart from the computer on moving day: one in your bag, one on the truck, not both in the same box. Pack a desktop computer and monitor in their original boxes if you kept them, or wrap them as you would a TV. Take out any disc, and photograph the cables. This manual's practice
Two in-state tariffs show how movers treat electronics. Washington's lists computers and television sets among the articles whose transport rates do not include servicing: preparing an appliance or device so it travels without damage, with re-servicing at the other end (Item 62). California's says the mover is not responsible for readjusting a TV unless its own negligence made that necessary, and that the mover may inspect an appliance to see whether it works before accepting it (Item 176). So switch each device on and photograph it working before it is packed. It is evidence of its condition if a claim follows.
Washers, refrigerators and freezers: your model's instructions
Appliance makers write moving instructions for their own machines, and they disagree with each other on points that matter. So this manual's default is one sentence: follow your model's own instructions, and where they say to call a technician, call one. Product-specific This section is how to find those instructions and what to look for in them.
Find your model's instructions
- Find the model number. It is on the appliance's rating label; the owner's manual says where the label is on that model.
- Find the maker's instructions. Search the maker's support site for the model number with "moving" or "transport," and read the owner's manual sections on moving and installation.
- Write them down. On the inventory, mark the appliance "Appliance prep" and write in its notes the steps, who does each, and the wait before it is plugged in again at the new home.
- Settle who does it. You, the moving crew, or a technician. If the movers do it, get it in writing (if the movers prepare them).
Washers: the transit bolts
A front-load washer's drum hangs on springs and dampers so it can spin. Transit bolts (also called shipping bolts) are bolts the factory fits through the back of the machine to hold the drum still in transport; they are taken out before the washer is first used. What to do with them before a move is where the makers part ways.
LG tells owners to save the bolts and reinstall them to move the washer, because they prevent damage to the internal parts, and warns that running the washer with the bolts still in may cause severe vibration and lasting damage (LG, Front Load Washing Machine: Shipping Materials and Vibration). Samsung says the same for its front-loaders (Samsung, Install a Samsung washing machine). Whirlpool's page on moving its front-load washers says the opposite: call for service to install new transport bolts, do not reuse the old ones, and have the washer set up for relocation by a certified technician (Whirlpool, Moving a Front Load Washer). The same part, opposite instructions: your washer's own manual decides. Product-specific
Three practical points follow. If your manual says to reinstall the bolts and you did not keep them, ask the maker's parts service for the set for your model before moving day. If your washer is a top-loader, read its manual; our research found no maker page on moving top-loaders. And the bolts come out again before the first wash at the new home: LG gives a check, that with the door open the drum should move forward and back, and if it does not, the bolts are still in.
Whirlpool's page also lists the steps around the bolts, which are a fair picture of what a washer's moving instructions cover: shut off both faucets, disconnect and drain the inlet hoses, disconnect the drain hose, unplug, put the hoses in the drum and bundle the cord; at the new home, flush the pipes and hoses and run a heavy-duty cycle with half the usual detergent. It adds that a washer moved in freezing weather gets its winter storage steps first. A washer that rides in an unheated truck or container in winter is the case for that note.
Refrigerators and freezers: upright, and the wait
Before. California's consumer booklet suggests emptying, defrosting and drying refrigerators and freezers. GE's moving instructions are more specific: turn the refrigerator off a couple of hours before moving so the evaporator can defrost, empty and clean it, tape loose parts, and put charcoal or baking soda inside if it will be in transit more than a day (GE Appliances, Refrigerator Moving Instructions). Food that spoils does not go on the truck (What cannot go on the truck). A water line to an ice maker or dispenser is plumbing: see the Limits box below.
Moving it. GE says a refrigerator travels best standing upright, that its French-door and bottom-freezer models must stay upright though they can be tilted, for example through a doorway, and that a dolly or hand truck goes against the side of the refrigerator. LG explains the reason for upright: moving one lying down can let the compressor's oil flow the wrong way, and can damage the compressor or a gas pipe (LG, How to Transport an LG Refrigerator). GE also says to measure the doorways at both homes; Learn Space Planning's chapter on measuring furniture shows how. Product-specific
The wait. Most makers give a settling time: how long the refrigerator or freezer stands upright at the new home before it is plugged in. Makers' figures run from a few minutes to 24 hours, depending on the maker and on whether the appliance stayed upright or was laid down. So write your model's figure on the inventory before moving day, tell whoever loads it, and ask at delivery how it rode. If you cannot find your model's figure, ask the maker before you plug it in. Product-specific
Do not plug in a refrigerator or freezer that was laid down or tilted until your model's wait has passed. GE's freezer instructions say the appliance can be damaged if it is plugged in too soon, and LG gives 24 hours for a refrigerator that was not moved upright.
If the movers prepare them
Ask who prepares each appliance, and do not assume the crew does. Two in-state tariffs give examples of how movers treat it. Washington's says its transportation rates do not include servicing or re-servicing appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and washing machines; on your request the carrier services them if it has qualified staff, or hires a third party with your authorization, and the service does not include disconnecting or reconnecting gas, electrical, plumbing or ventilation hookups. Front-load washers have their own servicing charge in that tariff (Item 62). California's says that, on moves priced at its distance rates, the mover takes no liability for damage to an appliance that was not serviced, unless the damage came from the mover's negligence (Item 176). For an interstate move, the mover's own tariff and your estimate say what is included (Hiring a mover). Ask in writing, and get any servicing on the estimate as its own line. Ask the authority
This manual does not teach disconnecting or reconnecting gas, water or electrical lines, removing doors to get an appliance out, or installing an appliance. A gas dryer or range, a refrigerator's water line and a washer's hookups are work for the instructions of your model, and for a technician, plumber or electrician where the maker says so. Washington's tariff, as an example, leaves hookups out of even a mover's appliance servicing. Our pages report what each maker says; they do not decide which maker is right about your machine.
The makers' instructions side by side
These are the makers' own pages as read on November 2, 2026. Each covers that maker's appliances only.
| Maker (washer) | Transit bolts for a move | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| LG | Save them and reinstall them; the manual for one model, the WM8000, says not to transport the washer without them and shows four (LG WM8000 manual (PDF)) | Owner |
| Samsung | Keep the bolts and spacers; front-load models only; the number and location vary by model, on the back | Owner |
| Whirlpool (front-load) | Do not reuse; new transport bolts installed by service | A certified technician |
| Maker | Wait before plugging in | Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| GE refrigerators | As long as it lay on its side; 24 hours if that was more than a day; a few minutes after a brief tilt | Best upright; French-door and bottom-freezer models stay upright; others laid on a named side if they must lie down |
| GE freezers | None if moved upright; otherwise as long as it was down, 24 hours at most (GE, Upright and Chest Freezer Moving Instructions) | If on its side, on the compressor side |
| LG refrigerators | 24 hours if not moved upright; 5 minutes if only unplugged or moved within the house | Upright |
| Sub-Zero | 24 hours after any tilt from upright, however brief (Sub-Zero, Moving a Sub-Zero) | If laid down, on the left side or the back; the maker points to its certified installers |
| Whirlpool | "A few hours" if it was tipped on its side, in its installation article (Whirlpool, How to Install a Refrigerator) | Not stated there |
A single wait printed on a moving checklist, such as "24 hours for every refrigerator," matches the longest figure in this table and not what several makers give for a refrigerator that stayed upright. Your model's figure is the one to use. The washer table gives only the moving pages we read; a maker's manual for your model can be more specific than its general page.
Furniture, mattresses and the heavy pieces
Each large piece gets one mark in the Special handling column of the inventory, and each box that needs care gets a check in the box register. The marks tell whoever carries the piece what it needs before anyone lifts it.
| Mark | Means | Write beside it |
|---|---|---|
| Fragile | Glass, ceramics, framed art, electronics, anything with a finish that scratches | How it is wrapped, and whether it rides on edge or upright |
| Heavy, two people | Too heavy or awkward for one person: dressers, sofas, bookcases, a loaded dish pack | The two names, and the dolly or straps |
| Take apart | Beds, tables with removable legs, shelving, anything that will not fit through a door whole | Who takes it apart, and where the hardware bag goes |
| Appliance prep | Washer, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, anything with water, gas or a compressor | The maker's steps, who does each, the wait before plugging in |
| Specialist | A piano, a large safe, a pool table, anything over the household's lifting limit | Who is booked, the date, and what they charge |
| Carry myself (a decision, not a mark) | Jewelry, documents, heirlooms, medicines, data | Which bag or car it travels in |
Mattresses
Your mattress maker's care page is the instruction to follow. Product-specific Tempur-Pedic's, as an example, says to lay its mattresses flat when moving or storing them, not on their side or folded; to fold one only if absolutely needed, with the top side in, and not for long; and not to force a mattress that was folded in temperatures below 50 °F to lie flat (Tempur-Pedic, Product Care). We found no innerspring maker's moving instructions we could read. A plastic mattress bag keeps a mattress clean in the truck, and Washington's in-state tariff lists mattress cartons, crib to king, among the cartons a mover may charge for. Write "flat" or "on edge" in the mattress's inventory notes so the crew knows before loading.
Taking furniture apart
We found no maker or agency source on taking household furniture apart for a move; makers publish assembly instructions for each product, often online by product number, and those are the guide. The method below is ours. This manual's practice
- Photograph each stage as it comes apart, with the hardware still in its holes.
- Bag the hardware by piece. One zip bag per piece of furniture, labelled with its inventory number and name ("No. 1, bed frame").
- Keep the bag with the piece. Tape it to the underside or the back, where the tape will not touch a finished surface. The exception is the bed: its hardware bag goes in the essentials box, so the bed can go together the first night (Unpacking in order).
- Wrap the parts together. Legs, rails and shelves from one piece bundled and marked with the same number.
Two questions before you take anything apart. Will it go through the doors at both homes whole? Learn Space Planning's measuring chapter settles that with a tape measure. And will it survive? Washington's in-state tariff, as an example, says the carrier is not responsible for furniture made of pressboard, particle board or similar pressed material. Ask how your mover's tariff treats it, and decide in Your inventory whether that piece moves. Ask the authority
Pianos, safes and anything over your lifting limit
Safes. Liberty Safe, one maker, says most of its safes weigh from 200 to over 1,000 pounds and strongly recommends hiring professionals for safes over 500 pounds or for moves with stairs or tight spaces. Its page lists the steps for any safe move: empty the safe, measure the route, use a high-capacity appliance dolly with straps, protect the floors and keep the safe upright (Liberty Safe, Can I Move My Safe?). Ask a household mover before booking whether it accepts a safe and of what weight; the answer is the mover's. Product-specific
Pianos. We found no piano maker's or piano technicians' guild page on moving a piano. The tariffs treat a piano as special work. California's table counts a spinet piano as 60 cubic feet, an upright or baby grand as 70 and a parlor grand as 80, and both California's and Washington's in-state tariffs set a handling charge per piano plus a charge for each flight of stairs. That supports one plain instruction: a piano is a job for a mover that moves pianos, with its equipment, priced in writing. Ask whether the mover you are hiring does it or subcontracts it, and ask a piano technician about tuning after the move. Ask the authority
Your household's limit. There is no single safe weight for a person to lift. The 51 pounds often quoted is the starting point of NIOSH's lifting equation for workplace jobs, cut down by six factors for distance, height, twisting and the rest, and the equation does not cover carrying a load more than a step or two. Moving it yourself explains it. Your limit is set by the people doing the lifting, their equipment and the stairs. If anyone in the household should not lift or carry, their part of the move is something else: the register, the run sheet, or the children. Physical principle
Get help for anything heavy or awkward, and use a dolly or straps. OSHA's materials handling guidance tells workers to get help when a load is too bulky to grasp, blocks their view, or is more than they can handle safely. For a safe over 500 pounds or on stairs, Liberty Safe strongly recommends professionals; a piano goes to a piano mover. On the truck, the heavy pieces load first, in front and on the floor (Moving it yourself).
Outdoor equipment, grills and fuel
Outdoor equipment is awkward for reasons of its own: fuel, and in some places insects. Convention
- Fuel and gas cylinders. California's in-state booklet lists butane, propane and gasoline in garden equipment, lighter fluid and charcoal among the things not to pack. U-Haul's truck instructions say to empty and air out the tanks of lawn mowers, camping stoves and lanterns before loading, and that a nearly empty container is as dangerous as a full one (U-Haul, Truck User Instructions). U-Pack takes lawn mowers and small engines only with all fluids drained (U-Pack, Do Not Ship List). A grill moves; its propane cylinder does not go on the truck. The full list, and what to do with each item instead, is on What cannot go on the truck.
- Insects. Grills, bikes, patio furniture and other things kept outdoors, moved out of a federal spongy moth quarantine area, need a self-inspection and a signed checklist in the vehicle. Your inventory covers the rule and the form.
- Firewood. Leave it. USDA's advice is to buy firewood where you burn it.
- Bikes and e-bikes. Turn handlebars and pedals in to save space and wrap the derailleur side. An e-bike's battery is a battery question first: the carrier's list and the bike maker's instructions decide where it rides.
See it: the Brandts' appliances and Walter's heirlooms See it
Elena Brandt (she/her), 38, and David Brandt (he/him), 40, are fictional; every fact about them is invented for this manual. They own a 3-bedroom house and are moving 870 miles to another state with full-service movers, who pack, load and drive. Loading is Monday, June 21, 2027; the delivery window is June 25 to 28, and the family stays with relatives until the shipment arrives. Among their special items are a washer and a refrigerator. For this example, the washer is a front-load model and the refrigerator a French-door model with a bottom freezer (fictional details added here). Their grill, two bikes and patio set are a separate job, handled in Your inventory.
Known: David finds both model numbers on the rating labels and both makers' instructions on their support sites. The washer's manual says not to reuse the transit bolts and to have a service technician install new ones before a move. The refrigerator's instructions say to turn it off and empty it the day before, keep it upright, and plug it in after a wait that depends on whether it stayed upright. Elena writes both sets of steps in the notes of the two inventory rows and marks each "Appliance prep."
Assumed: that the moving crew will prepare both appliances. That is Elena's assumption, and the estimate says nothing about servicing. Also assumed: that the refrigerator rides upright for the whole trip, which is the crew's decision on loading day.
Open: who installs the washer's new bolts (the mover answers in writing whether it services washers); how the refrigerator rode (the crew lead says at delivery, and the answer sets the wait); and freezing weather, which is unlikely in a late-June window, so the manual's winter steps are not part of their plan.
Elena emails the mover: "Does your crew prepare a front-load washer and a refrigerator for transport? If so, please add it to the estimate as its own line. If not, we will book a technician." The mover replies in writing that its crew will move the refrigerator upright but does not install washer bolts (a fictional answer). The Brandts book an appliance technician for Friday, June 18 (fictional). The inventory rows now read:
| No. (fictional) | Item | Special handling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Washer, front-load | Appliance prep | Manual: new transit bolts, do not reuse. Technician June 18. Hoses drained and in the drum. Upright. At the new home: bolts out before the first wash; flush hoses; heavy-duty cycle, half detergent. |
| 42 | Refrigerator, French-door | Appliance prep | Off and emptied Sunday, June 20. Shelves taped. Upright only. Plug in after the wait in the manual: the short one if it rode upright, the long one if not. Ask the crew lead at delivery how it rode. |
Elena also writes "Refrigerator upright only" on the moving-day sheet, to say to the crew lead in person on June 21. Under these assumptions, if the refrigerator rides upright, the wait at the new home is potentially the short one in its manual. If the crew lays it down to fit the load, it is the long one. The crew lead's answer at delivery settles which, and the Brandts plug it in only after that wait. Their dishes and framed pictures are the crew's to pack; Elena checks that the estimate shows the packing and the cartons.
Walter Osei (he/him), 78, is fictional; every fact about him is invented for this manual. He is moving from the 2-bedroom house he has lived in for 41 years to a 1-bedroom apartment in an independent-living community 25 miles away in the same state, on Thursday, March 11, 2027. His daughter, Grace Osei (she/her), lives four hours away; she helps by phone and visits twice. He keeps about a third of his furniture. For this example, the heirlooms are his mother's china, a mantel clock, six framed family photographs and a box of letters (fictional details added here).
Known: the move is within one state, so the federal interstate rules do not apply; his state's rules and his mover's paperwork do (Moving services compared). The pieces he keeps are his bed, one dresser, a recliner, a small dining table with two chairs and one bookcase (fictional details).
Assumed: that the china goes on the truck. That is Walter's choice; Grace would rather carry it, and it stays his decision.
Open: which valuation options his mover offers and how it wants high-value items listed (the mover's written estimate and his state's rules settle it; Grace asks by email); and who carries the carry box on March 11 (Walter and Grace settle it).
On Grace's first visit, they pack the china into one dish pack: plates on edge in the bottom third, bowls above, cups at the top, paper in every gap. The box passes the shake test, and on the bathroom scale it weighs more than Walter wants anyone to lift alone, so it is marked Fragile and Heavy on the register. The framed photographs go in a picture carton, glass covered with cardboard and corners protected, each photographed first. The clock and the letters go in a box marked "Carry myself" on the inventory, to ride in whichever car Walter rides in.
The furniture marks: dresser and bookcase "Heavy, two people"; bed and dining table "Take apart," each with a labelled hardware bag; the bed's bag goes in his essentials box. The recliner's notes say "measure the apartment door," and the community's floor plan and Learn Space Planning settle it. At the new apartment, the dresser and bookcase are anchored as they are placed, if the community's rules allow drilling; that question goes to the community office (Unpacking in order). Under these assumptions, everything irreplaceable is either with Walter or on a written list. How much the china's listed value would recover depends on the valuation he chooses, which stays open until the mover's estimate arrives.
- Canadian Conservation Institute, Wrapping a Painting (CCI Notes 10/16, on canada.ca): a museum's step-by-step for glass, wrapping and marking, with its own caution about taped glass.
- National Park Service, Conserve O Gram 17/6 (PDF): packing a small framed object, layer by layer, and when not to use the method.
- GE Appliances, Refrigerator Moving Instructions: one maker's preparation, orientation by model type and settling time.
- Whirlpool, Moving a Front Load Washer: the disconnecting steps, the winter note, and the instruction that differs from LG's and Samsung's.
Practice: one special item of each kind Practice
Minimum: every special item on the inventory with a mark, a method and a person; the moving instructions for any washer, refrigerator or freezer you are taking, written beside it; and one box of dishes or glasses and one framed piece packed and marked on the register. Time: about 2 hours, plus the rest of your packing. Materials: the inventory and box register (or paper), a phone for photographs, a dish pack or double-wall carton, packing paper, tape, a marker, cardboard and corner protectors, and a bathroom scale.
- Walk the home for special items. Room by room, add or mark every fragile, heavy or awkward piece: glass, ceramics, framed art, TVs and computers, appliances, mattresses, furniture that comes apart, and anything you doubt two people can carry.
- Give each one a method and a person. Write in its notes how it travels (wrapped, upright, flat, taken apart) and who handles it: you, a named helper, the crew, a technician or a specialist.
- Look up each appliance. Model number, the maker's moving instructions, the steps, who does each, and the wait before plugging in. Email the mover if you expect the crew to do any of it.
- Pack one box of dishes or glasses. Follow the steps in inside the box. Shake it, weigh it, and mark it Fragile (and Heavy, if it is) on the box and the register.
- Pack one framed piece. Photograph it, cover the glass, protect the corners, box it on edge and register it.
- Book what you cannot do. A specialist for a piano or heavy safe, a technician where an appliance maker says so. Write the name and the date on the inventory.
A valuable framed piece. Read both museum guides for it, and decide which materials you will use and whether the glass is taped; for anything larger than 16 inches on an edge or in soft media, call a framer first. Your heirloom list. Write each irreplaceable item, whether it travels with you or on the truck, and, for those on the truck, a value and a photograph. The makers compared. Find your appliance's maker in the side-by-side tables, and note where your model's manual differs from the maker's general page.
Your move Your move
Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Does every fragile, heavy or awkward item on your inventory carry a special-handling mark, a method and a named person?
- For each appliance you are moving, are the maker's steps for your model, who does each, and the wait before plugging in written beside it?
- If you expect the movers to prepare an appliance, do you have that in writing, as a line on the estimate?
- Does each box of dishes, glass or framed art pass the shake test, carry "Fragile" on two sides, and show the Fragile check on the register?
- Is every piece over your household's lifting limit booked with a specialist, or confirmed in writing by the mover?
- Is each heirloom or valuable marked "Carry myself," or listed in writing with a value?
Worked example
The Brandts' inventory has both appliance rows marked, with their makers' steps, the technician's date and the refrigerator's two possible waits. The mover's written answer about servicing is filed with the estimate, and "upright only" is on the moving-day sheet. It passes. What it does not settle is how the refrigerator actually rode, which the crew lead answers at delivery. Walter's inventory marks every piece he keeps, his china box passes the shake test and is marked Fragile and Heavy, and the clock and letters are marked "Carry myself." It passes, with the valuation question written as open until his mover's estimate arrives.
Common mistakes
- Following a friend's or a checklist's appliance steps. Washer makers give opposite instructions on the same bolts. Read your model's.
- Packing a strong box to its strength rating. A dish barrel rated for 120 pounds is not a box anyone should lift at 120 pounds. Weigh the first one.
- Plates stacked flat with space at the top. The bottom plate carries the stack, and the empty space lets everything move. Stand them on edge and fill the gaps.
- Assuming the crew prepares the appliances. Two state tariffs leave servicing out of the moving rate. Ask, in writing.
- Hardware in a kitchen drawer. Bag it by piece, number it, and keep it with the piece; the bed's bag goes in the essentials box.
- Shipping the irreplaceable without a word. An undeclared high-value article can be limited to $100 a pound on an interstate move. Carry it or list it.
What is still unresolved
Which valuation to choose, and what it pays on a dish pack or an heirloom, is settled in Hiring a mover and the mover's paperwork. Whether a damaged piece is the mover's responsibility is settled by the evidence you kept and the claim process in Damage, delays and disputes. How heavy pieces load and how people lift them on a self-move is in Moving it yourself. Whether a particular appliance can be reconnected, and how, belongs to its maker's instructions and a qualified technician. Anchoring the furniture you have just moved is in Unpacking in order.