Tips for Packing Awkwardly-Shaped Items

Whether you’re changing locations or simply moving some stuff into storage, you’ve likely encountered a few items that are difficult to pack and store. To make things worse, these awkwardly shaped items are usually among the most valuable in your possession, making proper packing and storage all the more important. In this guide, our storage experts here at Stor-It Self Storage provide a number of packing and self-storage tips for taking care of awkwardly shaped items. Read on to learn more, and contact our Treasure Valley team for premium-grade packing supplies and quality self-storage today!

The Big Stuff — Packing and Storage Considerations for Large Items

We’ll start with the big stuff. Items such as furniture (chairs, chandeliers, ceiling fans) motorcycles, instruments, and a number of other awkwardly-shaped large possessions often need to be moved, and sometimes need to be sent to storage. Packing and storing these items properly can be quite the process—but it’s important to do it properly. Otherwise, you risk damage to your big-ticket items, which can mean big bills for repairs or replacements, and a big hole in your bank account.

How to pack and store a chandelier

When packing and storing awkwardly-shaped big items, the first thing is to ensure that your items are properly cushioned against impact. Use your item’s shape as your guide. Does it have long or skinny parts that may be prone to snapping? These parts aren’t easily contained within a box (and may not fit anyway), so we recommend wrapping them in bubble wrap, clothing, or blankets. Follow the contours of your item as closely as possible when wrapping to ensure they are cushioned. For items such as chairs (with legs) and ceiling fans (with blades), the best move is to fill the area between these easily-snap-able parts after placing them in a large box. Use clothing, pillows, or Styrofoam to fill these spaces and prevent legs or blades from snapping.

Does your large item have fragile components? Items like chandeliers should be dissembled as much as possible before packing and cushioning begins. (Disassembly is also the preferred route of choice for the legs and blades chairs and ceiling fans. However, not all models dissemble.) Take off smaller components, neatly wrap them, and place them in a box. If your larger item will fit in a box, fill the spaces around it in the box with bubble wrap, small clothing, or newspaper. This will keep the item from moving around too much. Perform a test to see if you successfully neutralized movement by gently shaking the box.

For tall items such as lamps and cabinets, we recommend fitting a box on bottom and top of these items to create a larger storage container. You’ll want to wrap the item beforehand since totally neutralizing movement in a double-box situation can be difficult. Be sure to invest in ample tape — you’ll need it to keep your creative wrap jobs in place.

Besides outfitting your big items with proper coverage, you’ll also want to place them correctly in your moving truck and storage space. Always load in big items first and strap them down in moving trucks whenever possible. Try to avoid stacking overly-large or awkwardly-shaped big items. In the event that they do fall, they may crush smaller items on their way down.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – How to Correctly Package and Store Smaller Items

Big items aren’t the only goods that can be difficult to pack and store. The small stuff can sometimes provide quite the challenge, too. Little items such as glassware, silverware, electronic goods, and other small possessions can be awkwardly shaped and easily broken.

Tips for packing small, awkwardly-shaped items

With smaller items, bubble wrap is your friend. We recommend completely covering your small items in bubble wrap before placing them in a box. If the items won’t fit neatly into a box, bubble wrap is all the more important. For proper coverage of awkwardly-shaped small items, we recommend mummification. That’s right: wrap your smaller items as though they were mummies. Take care to hug your bubble wrap as close to the shape of the object you’re wrapping as possible, ensuring that all corners and spots that may be prone to snapping are covered.

Again, when wrapping with bubble wrap, clothing or blankets, using quality packing tape is of the utmost importance to ensure that your wrap job holds. You can also use rubber bands to fasten folds and wraps around parts of your awkwardly-shaped small item.

If you do find a box to hold your smaller item, fill the box with packing peanuts or other soft materials such as clothing. This will help keep your small items for moving around during transport. Perform the gentle shake test after filling your box to ensure that you have successfully minimized or even neutralized movement.

Storage and Packing Materials at Stor-It Self Storage

The key to properly packing and storing awkwardly-shaped items depends greatly on having the right materials. Bubble wrap, packing tape, and quality cardboard boxes are all essentials for your packing arsenal. Here at Stor-It Self Storage, we are proud to carry an extensive selection of professional-grade packing materials to help homeowners and business owners properly pack items large and small. Head over to our Packing Supplies page to find a list of all of our available packing products.

In addition to our selection of packing and storage supplies, we also proudly provide self-storage for property owners in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, and McCall. With a number of unit sizes available—plus a host of perks, including 24/7 access, free locks, month-to-month contracts, on-site surveillance systems and more—we are “hoarder friendly” and the right choice for storage needs large and small.

Learn More about our Boise Storage Facilities

Interested in learning more about how to pack and store your awkwardly-shaped items? Our experts here at Stor-It Self Storage would love to help you out. Contact us directly to speak with a member of our team about packing supplies and tips, and be sure to check the many self-storage units we have in Boise, ID and beyond!