How To Pack Pictures And Mirrors For A Safe Move

As a valued Wilmington, NC full service moving company, we are often asked advice on the best ways to pack and move large framed pictures and mirrors for a safe move.

If you’re up for the challenge of packing yourself versus hiring a pro, we’ve prepared a step by step guide for helping you pack fragile frames and pictures that can be tricky (and dangerous) if not secured properly.

What You Will Need

• Enough space to lay the picture or mirror down
• Bubble wrap
• Packing Tape
• Newspaper or packing paper
• Cardboard Boxes
• A permanent marker

Here is a video from the folks at Relocation.com to help get you started.

How to Pack Pictures, Mirrors and Artwork

Here are the proper steps needed to pack these for safe travel.

1. First of all, lay your mirror or picture down on the floor in an area where you will have enough room to work. (A linoleum or carpeted floor is ideal, but if you only have wood or tile, just be a little extra careful when flipping it during the packing process.)
2. Then, take the bubble wrap and cover your picture or mirror sheet by sheet on both sides, wrapping around the edges as you go. Do not forget to wrap the corners too! By leaving the corners exposed you leave them vulnerable to chipping or cracking if the frame were to get bumped during the move.
3. As you wrap the picture or mirror, be sure to use plenty of packing tape to hold the bubble wrap securely. Once you have several layers, you are able to move onto the next step. To test whether you have applied enough bubble wrap, feel around any raised details to see if you can feel their shape through the bubble wrap at all. You should not be able to make out individual features. If you can, wrap some additional layers of bubble wrap around these areas. (You can go through a lot of bubble wrap as you are packing these types of larger items, which is why our Wilmington, NC moving company stocks a lot of supplies for each job that we do).
4. What you will want to do next is cushion each edge of the picture or mirror with newspaper or heavy packing paper as you put it into the box. If you have a box that easily fits the picture or mirror with room to spare, put some additional paper be bottom, sides, and top in to avoid any jostling or bumping around inside the box.
5. There are boxes made specifically for pictures that you can use to slide your bubble wrapped picture into for transport, but if you do not have any of those, just take large regular boxes and cut them so that you can bookend the wrapped picture or mirror on all sides. The idea is to cover each of the four sides of the frame so that it looks like a book spine, overlapping as you go so that by the time you are done, all of the sides are properly covered.
6. Once you are done, write on the box in large capital letters “FRAGILE”with a permanent marker. Also be sure to write down on the box which side has the “GLASS SIDE UP” for the purposes of keeping that area as shielded as possible during loading, transport and unloading.
7. You will want to put the picture or mirror vertically in the moving truck so that nothing heavy is placed on top of it.

In Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to pack your pictures and mirrors safely.

While many moving companies offer the service of packing these items, there are still people who opt to do the packing themselves. Keep in mind, that if you end up damaging your favorite mirror, antique frame, or family artwork during the move, you may not end up with a bigger bill than had you hired a professional mover. In fact, compared to using movers that are fully insured, it can ultimately end up costing you more money and more frustration. If you find you’d rather trust the experts, we’re just a phone call away 910-512-6999 or request a FREE quote online.