How to Pack Vinyl Records for Moving

If you own a record collection, then you’re likely to get fairly worried about its well-being when you have to move to a new place.

It’s a well-known fact that vinyl records are extremely fragile – they can warp or break easily if packed incorrectly or moved without proper care.

In reality, moving your vinyl collection – no matter whether you’re moving locally or across the country – can prove to be the most painstaking task on your entire packing checklist. This is especially true if you happen to have plenty of rare albums in your record collection – priceless records that stretch back decades.

This guide will show you the best way to pack vinyl records for moving – from the packing supplies you’ll need to get the job done to the actual packing steps that will ensure your valuable LP record collection reaches the new home perfectly intact.

What to know before moving vinyl records

Before you start packing up your record collection, there are several things you need to know and a few steps you’ll have to take to ensure a smooth and safe packing experience.

First of all, here’s what you should know before packing and moving your vinyl records when moving to a new home:

• Vinyl records are extremely heat-sensitive. What this means for you is that if you’re moving in the summer (most likely since around 70% of all moves take place during the May-September high-season moving period), you have to be very careful how you pack and how you transport your record albums. The temperature inside a moving van can become too hot for your cherished record collection, so you’d be better off moving your records in your air-conditioned car, at least in most cases.
• Vinyl records are super delicate, meaning that if you make the mistake of stacking them on top of each other inside a cardboard box, they might get damaged irreparably. Bear in mind that you should never put too much pressure on the LP records for fear of rendering them completely useless due to possible warping or cracking incidents.

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What to do before packing vinyl records

These preparation steps will help you get ready for the packing process in the best possible way and will speed up the arduous task of packing up all your things. After all, you’ll have many more items to pack than your valuable collection of vinyl records.

Also, your main focus should be to make sure your vinyl records arrive safe and sound in the destination place without any damage whatsoever.

Step 1. Organize your vinyl collection

One of the very first steps you need to take before moving your record collection is to catalog all the vinyl LPs you own.

Regardless of whether you’re moving a large collection of vinyl records or a small one, it’s always best to document them first so that you can keep track of each vinyl piece in your collection until you reach the new destination safely.

Also, cataloging your record collection prior to the move will make the unpacking task so much easier and faster.

Feel free to organize the LPs by artist or genre. Or maybe you can think of a different way to catalog your entire collection. There are mobile apps that will help you catalog your vinyls ways faster: for example, MusicBuddy and Discogs.

Step 2. Prepare your records for packing

The second step to prepare your records for packing is to remove each record from its jacket (the album cover is made from cardboard). This step may come as a surprise to you but there’s a valid reason why you should do this: a vinyl record can and will move inside the jacket during the move and that movement alone, although it’s almost negligible, can end up damaging both the cardboard cover and the LP itself. But how?

A cardboard jacket may get the disk’s ring imprinted on it from the undesired shifts while the LP could cut through the cardboard sleeve’s corners. A vinyl record could get scratched or scuffed from its constant rubbing against the cardboard jacket. In some instances, a record might even break or crack due to the slight yet frequent movements inside its original protective sleeve.

So, here’s what you should do:

• take each vinyl record out of its cardboard sleeve (jacket);
• place the disk in a poly inner sleeve to protect it from dust, moisture, scuffing, and static build-up;
• place the cardboard album cover in a plastic outer sleeve – ideally made from high-density polypropylene – that will keep it safe from possible moisture, dust, and dirt.

This way, both the vinyl record and its original album cover will stay protected inside a box (see below) during the entire house move.

Packing Timeline: What to Pack When for Moving

Step 3. Prepare the cardboard boxes

One of the most important steps when packing vinyl records for moving is to secure packing boxes of the right size. Why is this vital for the success of transporting your record collection to the new place?

If you use boxes that are way larger than the LPs themselves, then the records will most likely be shifting inside them and are likely to get damaged because of it.

On the other hand, if the packing boxes are too small, then the vinyls will be sticking out of the containers and that should surely end badly for the precious LP records.

A 33-rpm LP has a diameter of either 10 or 12 inches. Therefore, as long as you can find boxes that are roughly 14″ x 14″ x 14″ in size, your vinyl records should fit inside them just fine. You want your LPs to fit inside the box snugly, with enough room to add some padding (most often pieces of packing paper or bubble wrap) to immobilize your collection.

A standard medium moving box has the following dimensions: 18″ x 18″ x 16″ (L x W x H), 3 cu/ft, and will be just the right size to hold your vinyl records.

Once you get hold of several clean and sturdy moving boxes of the right size, prepare those boxes for your LP records:

• Use good-quality packing tape to reinforce all the seams of the boxes, paying special attention to the bottom;
• Place a large sheet of bubble wrap on the inside bottom and the sides of each box to create a soft, shock-absorbent layer that will keep the records protected from vibrations on the road.

Types of Moving Boxes

How to pack vinyl records for moving

Before you can get to the point of packing your vinyl collection for moving, you should have completed the previous three tasks:

• Organize your vinyl record collection by cataloging the LPs, which in turn will help with unpacking and will let you keep track of each record during the move.
• Prepare your records for moving by removing each one from its original cardboard album cover and placing it inside a specialized poly inner sleeve for better protection.
• Ensure that the packing boxes you find have the proper dimensions to hold your LPs safely and are sturdy enough to eliminate the chance of breakage.

So, what’s the best way to pack vinyl records for moving? Follow these packing steps for the best results:

• Step 1. Sort out your vinyl records. It’s not a good idea to pack LPs of different sizes into a single box for safety reasons. So, each box should contain records of the same dimensions only.
• Step 2. Start transferring the LPs into a box of the right size. Always place vinyl records upright, vertically next to their jackets. In other words, place a cardboard album cover into the box and then position the record, protected into a poly inner sleeve right next to it.
• Step 3. Remember that you should never pack records flat into a cardboard box. Why? The reason is pretty obvious: the weight of the records on the top is likely to become too much for the ones on the bottom, thus increasing the likelihood of physical damage such as warping, cracking, or breakage.
• Step 4. Keep arranging the vinyl records one by one. First, you place the LP, inside its poly sleeve, with the opening facing you so that it can’t fall off during transit. And then, you position the cardboard album cover next to the record in an upright position.
• Step 5. Pack the vinyl records tight enough so that they don’t get to lean against each other. On the other hand, you should not pack the LPs so tight that you won’t be able to pull one out at all. Your goal should be to hit the right balance – your records should sit upright on their edges without being squeezed too hard by the rest of the LPs.
• Step 6. Fill up any empty spaces in the box with suitable padding materials when done arranging your records. Use pieces of bubble wrap or packing paper for the purpose. When ready, do the shake-up test – lift the box in the air and shake it gently – you should NOT feel anything shifting inside the container. If you do, add more padding materials to completely immobilize the vinyl records.
• Step 7. Be mindful that you should be able to fit around 70-80 single albums inside a medium cardboard box that’s been pre-lined with bubble wrap before packing. Use this number as guidance only and never attempt to pack too many LP records inside a single moving box.
• Step 8. Position a sheet of bubble wrap on top of the neatly arranged records and their album covers. Using a sheet of foam instead of bubble wrap is also perfectly fine as long as you’ve got foam sheets for the packing job.
• Step 9. Close up the flaps of the box and seal it shut using high-quality packing tape. Never use cardboard boxes that don’t have flaps for some reason or another, usually partially damaged second-hand containers.
• Step 10. Use a black marker to label the LP moving box appropriately. Write down VINYL RECORDS, then FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP on at least two sides of the carton. It’s important to indicate which side of the box should face upward during transit. 

How to Pack Fragile Items for Moving

How to move your vinyl collection to a new home

Once you’ve packed your vinyl records in poly inner sleeves and arranged them vertically next to their corresponding album covers in a pre-lined and pre-padded cardboard box of the right size, it’s time to figure out the best way to transport your record collection to the new home.

So, what’s the best way to move vinyl records?

As mentioned above, vinyl records are very heat sensitive so it’s best to move them in a climate-controlled environment. In other words, do everything in your power to take them with you in your car where you’ll be able to keep an eye on them and will keep them cool during the entire road trip.

If you’re about to drive a rented moving truck to your destination place and you’re moving on a hot summer day, then you just have to make sure you transport the box or boxes containing your valuable LPs in the cabin of the truck where they will be protected from the extreme heat in the back of the moving vehicle.

On the other hand, if you’re moving on a cool day, then your prized vinyl records should be perfectly safe in the back of the rental truck. In that case, follow these general moving tips to keep your records safe during the trip:

• Position the box or boxes full of LPs on a flat surface and secure them so that the boxes cannot shift around during transit.
• Ensure that there are no large and heavy items inside that truck that can tip over and fall onto those boxes, ultimately crushing them as a result.
• Do not stack the boxes that contain your vinyl records.
• Do not place any other boxes on top of them for fear of damaging your LPs.

Remember that, whenever possible, you should move your prized collection of vinyl records by yourself. If you can’t, you can still trust a top-rated moving company to transport them for you under three conditions:

1. You use the services of one of the best long-distance movers in your area;
2. You request a climate-controlled truck from the moving company if you’re moving during a hot summer day; and
3. You buy extra insurance for your valuable record collection before you entrust it to complete strangers.

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