The tea chest is no more. The image of a removal team packing everything into tea chests has long gone, and the torn hands and clothing on the nails has gone with it.
The modern way of packing your home for removals is the use of moving boxes - these have replaced the humble tea chest. Your boxes are delivered flat packed and can therefore be stored easily until they are required. Whilst not made from wood, cardboard cartons are a lot easier to manage, especially now everyone seems to have so many items to pack and are more environmentally friendly.
This can be anything from packing every last thing to just your glass and china. If they are only packing glass and china they will expect this to laid out onto a suitable work surface, like the dining table. Also check to see if they will be arriving the day before to pack, or if they will do it all on the day. This depends on the time scale you have to leave your house.
If you are doing the packing yourself, begin as early as possible. Make sure that you use suitable boxes that are strong enough (double wall boxes), and large enough to carry your goods (but not to become to heavy when filled). They should allow you to maximise the space inside the box (less trips to the van) and be boxes that are modular (when stacked together they will produce a uniformed level).
Always fill the box to the top and then close the lid, this allows the boxes to be stacked on top of each other in the removal van. NEVER make the boxes so heavy that they cannot be lifted safely. If they are becoming heavy while you are packing them, try filling the rest of the box with light bulky items such as linen, towels, cushions or soft toys. Books are the worst offenders when it comes down to weight, use smaller boxes for these types of items. Always make sure that you use packing tape to fasten the bottomand the top of all your boxes. Whilst a general packing tape will be easily suitable for taping up your cartons, PVC tapes are stronger. For fragile and delicate items printed “fragile” tape is a must. Please DO NOT just fold the flaps of the box and tape along the fold. If the box is overloaded there is a danger that if the box is picked up with any weight inside, the flaps just unfold and everything falls out.
Now you will have, a strong and secure box. Clearly write which room you would like the box to end up in. If you do this on the tape, the removal team will know that these are your instructions, and should help keep the boxes in better condition, allowing them to be used again.
Place heavy and bulky items in the bottom of a box, but remember there is a culmination of weight. One dining plate on its own doesn't weigh very much, but ten together is surprisingly heavy. Keep this in mind while loading your boxes. If at all possible, try stand items like plates on their end as this will make them stronger, do the same with glasses. Always use plenty of paper, bubble wrap and newspaper as packing or use items of linen or soft toys that you will be taking with you anyway. Filling up any free space in this way helps to cushion delicate items. You might end up using a box or two more, but it ensures your goods have reliable protection in transit.
Make sure that all the lids, tops on bottles or anything else that could spill are securely fastened, and in the case of bottles make sure they are stood upright and held in that position firmly.
Refuse sacks are very useful for placing bedding etc into. This even helps with the packing of the van or containers as they squash and fill all the awkward gaps.
Different types of boxes are used for different jobs. Small boxes are used to pack books into (these are some of the heaviest items you will have to pack) and therefore keep the overall weight of the box down. Boxes for packing linen boxes can be bigger because the contents are obviously lighter. Wardrobe Cartons are used to hang your clothes into. As well as these there are various types of boxes that can be used for specific jobs for example packing pictures and paintings.
DO NOT pack flammable items like paraffin or creosote into boxes, these will not be allowed on the container and will invalidate any insurance cover if they find their way on. Make sure sharp objects like knives are placed inside some sort of container like an old biscuit tin, before they go into your box as they easily cut through the cardboard, and can do some serious damage to the person carrying the box.
Acid free tissue paper is used to protect silverware from tarnishing. If you are going into store for a long period of time it is highly advisable that you use this.
How much space do I need ?
Shipping lines charge either by weight of the consignment or by its volume, whichever gives them the greatest return, sometimes known as W/M Ship’s Option.
For sea freight the units are : metric tonne (1000 Kgs) or cubic metre (CBM or M3 ).
The weight unit is 1000 kgs known as a metric ton or tonne, and freight will be calculated on gross weight of the consignment. That is the weight of the packing (tare weight) will also be included for freight purposes.
Example : a consignment of two cases each 4000 kgs would generate a total of 8 freight tonnes.
Volume, or measurement, unit is the cubic metre and is calculated by a multiplication of the length by breadth by height.
So, if out two cases above were each 200 centimetres x 200 centimetres x 150 centimetres, then each would be 6 cubic metres(CBM) giving us a total of 12 CBM.
This can be calculated by multiplication of the centimetres to give cubic centimetres, and then dividing by 1,000,000 (1CBM = 1,000,000 cubic centimetres) or, more easily by converting centimetres into metres by dividing by 100, and then multiplying.
So, in our example we actually have two cases that are 2 metres x 2 metres x 1.5 metres, that is 6 CMB per case, multiplied by 2 (cases) = 12 CBM
So our freight would be calculated by volume as this is greater than the weight ( 8 Tonnes, 12 CBM)
Most personal effects are calculated by volume. It is important to get the weight and volume correct as you may be charged more than you expect. The consignments are checked at point of loading and charged accordingly. For the cubic capacity of containers please click here.
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