While packing for a move, you might unexpectedly find that some items are much more difficult to pack than anticipated – especially your precious alcohol!
Alcohol is a tricky item to move because it’s fragile and needs extra care. Plus, depending on what kind it is, it can be very expensive! If you’re moving an entire wine cellar, there could be 10’s of thousands of dollars worth of alcohol that all needs to be moved safely.
What you’ll need
Before you start packing, you might need to take a trip to the store and get yourself some essential moving supplies. Make sure you have an ample amount of the following:
- Sturdy moving boxes
- Packing tape
- Bubble wrap (or similar protective material)
- A marker and some plain labels
Optionally, you might also want some disposable cups and a bottle opener handy – so you can have a hard earned drink at the end of the move!
To ensure your alcohol survives the move, here are some tips for packing alcohol when moving house.
1. Tightly seal and wrap bottles
Make sure all your bottles are tightly sealed and wrapped in bubble wrap, or a similar protective material, before you place them into a box. This will help protect them from being damaged during transport to your new home.
No matter how slow you drive, your bottles are bound to move a little bit in the box, so make sure there aren’t any unsealed parts where the glass of two bottles can knock each other.
2. Place the bottles in a secure box
To avoid breakage during transit, place the bottles in a secure box that is labelled ‘Fragile’ and shows which way it should be moved. If you are using professional movers, this will tell them they need to take extra care.
If you are moving yourself, you might not think you need labels. But after a while, boxes start to look the same. So don’t take the risk of forgetting, label them for your benefit too.
3. Carry your alcohol with you
If you can, always carry your alcohol with you when moving house. This will help reduce the risk of damage during transport. This doubles as a good tip for any really fragile objects. If you keep them in your car away from other heavier objects, you can ensure that they aren’t accidentally smashed by a wayward box or piece of furniture.
4. Ensuring there are no sharp objects
Make sure that there are no other sharp objects inside the moving box with your alcohol to avoid any breakages and leakage.
Duh! This may seem like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how often people don’t categorise their boxes and mix different objects. So if you’ve got half a box of alcohol and you’re considering filling the other half with your cutlery – don’t do it!
5. Place the box in an upright position
When packing your box of alcohol, make sure to place it in an upright position – not on its side or upside down. This will help to reduce the risk of any breakage while in transit.
Alcohol bottles are weak at the sides, but resistant to downward pressure. So if the box is upright and something falls on top of it, you’ll find there is much less damage than if something fell on it while the alcohol was on its side.
6. Unpack your alcohol last
When you arrive at your new home, unpack the other items first before tackling the box of alcohol. This will make sure you don’t accidentally run into it with anything during the chaos of the move.
Plus, when you move into a place for the first time you might change how you want things to look multiple times until you get it right. Everytime you relocate the alcohol it increases the risk of dropping or breaking it, so leave it till last and then you only have to move it once!
7. Store away from heat
When you arrive at your new home, you’ll probably just dump all your boxes inside until you are ready to unpack things properly. Even though it’s only a temporary location, take care of where you decide to store your alcohol.
Make sure it’s away from any direct sources of heat (such as radiators or ovens) to ensure it stays in good condition and doesn’t spoil. This is also true of the cold. If you live somewhere really cold, make sure you don’t store it in a shed or garage that is too exposed to the elements.
8. Hire a reputable moving company
If you are not able to carry your alcohol with you when you move, then make sure to use a reputable moving company that can carefully transport it for you.
Here at Gentle Giant Removals and Relocations, we offer a secure and reliable service. We’ll always ensure your belongings make it to your new home safe and sound – especially your alcohol! If you’re interested in our removal and relocation services, contact us today for a free no obligation quote!
By following these tips, you should be able to safely and securely pack your alcohol when moving house. This will ensure that your favourite bottle of whiskey or vodka is still in one piece when it arrives at its new home.
If you need more packing advice, we have a range of resources available to help make sure your move goes smoothly. While you read, why don’t you pour yourself a well-deserved drink!
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