How to Pack Mugs for Moving in 10 Simple Steps

Your favorite coffee mug is one of the first things you get to see and use each morning as you’re taking your morning dose of coffee in an attempt to wake up for the busy day ahead of you.

And if you prefer tea to coffee, then it’ll be your beloved tea mugс that you’ll be holding in your hands first thing every morning before you go out of the home in pursuit of your daily tasks.

When you’re getting ready to move out, there’s some bad news, good news, and then bad news again when it comes to packing and moving your mugs.

• Bad news #1. Most often, mugs are made from porcelain. What this means is that they are rather fragile and can break easily during a house move unless you pack them really well using adequate padding materials such as packing paper and bubble wrap.
• Good news. Porcelain mugs are fairly inexpensive so unless a concrete mug you own has sentimental value for you, then it shouldn’t be a problem for you to replace any mugs that did not survive the relocation.
• Bad news #2. Despite their universal affordability, mugs often have sentimental value because they happen to be very popular gifts thanks to their high degree of personalization. Mugs usually have some sort of personalized inscriptions or messages on them, general words of wisdom (quotes), or images that have special meaning for the person receiving the mug as a gift.

When you’re about to move to another home, you’ll definitely want to move your favorite mugs with you. And there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t. The only thing you’ll need to know is how to protect these highly breakable kitchen items so that they arrive in the new home’s kitchen in the condition they left the old one.

Below you will find how to pack mugs for moving in 10 simple steps.

Step 1. Make an inventory of all your mugs

Think about this: is it worth packing and moving mugs that you’ve never really liked and don’t actually intend to use after the move? Of course not.

This is why your very first task when packing mugs for moving is to decide which porcelain cups to take with you and which ones to leave behind – usually to just throw away for recycling.

For this purpose, you’re going to need to inventory your kitchen mugs and decide what you’re going to do with each one on a case-by-case basis. Here are the steps that will show you how to inventory your mugs prior to packing:

• Arrange all mugs you can find in the home onto the kitchen table;
• Take a closer look at each and every mug to see whether it’s damaged in any way. Mugs are usually damaged in one of three ways: stains, cracks, or chips;
• Form two different groups as you’re sorting out your kitchen mugs – a group for the ones that you will take with you and a group for the ones you won’t take with you;
• Base your decisions on a combination of factors. For example, you can choose to move a mug that’s in relatively bad condition simply because it’s a gift from a special person. And vice versa – you can choose to discard a mug that’s in pristine condition simply because you have no special attachment to it.

Step 2. Get rid of the mugs that are not worth moving

The following steps will show you how to pack the mugs you’ve decided to take with you to the new home. But this step is about figuring out what you should do with the mugs you won’t move with you.

Should you just throw all unwanted cups away? Or should you gift them to somebody who you know will use them? Or maybe you should do the right thing and donate to charity the ones that you’ve never used until that moment?

• Consider gifting to your friends some of the brand-new mugs that you may own. This is especially relevant when you know somebody who you just know will love a mug you’re not taking with you;
• Donate to charity some of the mugs you’ve never used, especially if you happen to have a bunch of them. Mugs are not valuable items but some charities will take them as long as they are new;
• Try to sell the brand-new mugs you may own at a moving sale together with other unwanted items;
• Throw away for proper recycling all the ceramic cups that you won’t move and that are damaged in any way.

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Items When Moving

Step 3. Prepare the packing materials

The next step when packing mugs for a move is to prepare the necessary packing supplies so that you won’t have to interrupt the packing process once you start it.

Remember that porcelain mugs are rather fragile and can easily break during a house move. Therefore, you’re going to need a number of padding materials to keep your cups safe all the way.

• Cardboard box. A medium-sized box made of thick corrugated cardboard should be a suitable container for your breakable kitchen items. If possible, get your hands on a dish pack (aka dish barrel) – a double-walled cardboard box specially made for transporting kitchen plates, glasses, mugs, cups, and other breakable kitchen stuff.
• Soft packing paper. Wrapping paper will be critical for keeping your porcelain mugs safe. You can either get soft, white packing paper or you can use harder, brown paper that’s called Kraft paper.
• Bubble wrap. You’re going to need bubble wrap for the mugs that are really special to you in any way. For the rest of the cups, packing paper should be enough to keep them safe during transit.
• Packing tape. You’re going to need tape to secure the paper bundles, reinforce the packing box, and seal the carton when you’re done.
• A permanent marker. Have a marker pen on hand to label the box correctly when you’re done packing it.

How to Pack a Kitchen When Moving

Step 4. Reinforce the moving box

When packing mugs into a box, you want to make sure that the cardboard container will be strong enough to withstand the load.

If you’re using a dish pack to transport your kitchen breakables, then the extra thickness of the cardboard walls should give you enough insurance that there won’t be any accidents on the road. However, if you’re using an ordinary middle-sized moving box, then you’re going to need to reinforce the carton just in case.

Here’s how to reinforce the box you’re going to use to pack your kitchen mugs:

• Tape the bottom of the box and its sides using good-quality packing tape. This step is more of a safety measure to prevent accidental breakage of the carton while it’s being carried around;
• Place crumpled paper on the inside bottom of the box to create a soft insulation layer that will add extra protection for your breakables. Feel free to use crushed newspapers simply because newsprint shouldn’t cost you anything.

Step 5. Wrap each mug in packing paper

Once the cardboard box is ready for the fragile kitchen items, it’s time to protect each mug individually so that it stays perfectly intact during the haul.

The best way to pack mugs for moving is to wrap each one in several layers of soft wrapping paper.

• Place the big stack of packing paper onto the kitchen table – the usual packing hub for all kitchen items;
• Check whether the mugs you’re about to pack up are dry. If not, dry them out completely using a towel or paper towels;
• Position a mug onto the center of the paper stack as you would normally do when you put a glass on the table;
• Take a couple of sheets of paper from one corner and tuck them inside the mug. Repeat the same with the remaining 3 corners so that the empty cup is filled inside with soft paper while the exterior is wrapped well with a double layer of packing paper;
• Use a few small pieces of tape to secure each paper bundle. This way, you’ll know that the two paper layers around each mug won’t start to unwrap during the move.

How to Pack Glasses for Moving

Step 6. Add bubble wrap around your favorite mugs

Out of the porcelain mugs you’re taking with you, you’ll surely have several favorite ones, either because they are gifts from people you love or because they have original inscriptions or images on them. Or maybe the design of some of your mugs is what makes them so special for you.

And of course, you’ll want to make sure that you do all in your power to pack your favorite coffee mugs or tea mugs in the best possible way – and the best way in this case is the safest way.

So, when packing mugs for moving that you do love, you’re going to need to add another protective layer over the initial paper one.

• Wrap a single sheet of bubble wrap around each cherished mug you’ve already protected with paper;
• Use bits of packing tape to secure the external layer of bubble wrap and to keep it from getting unwrapped during transit.

Step 7. Pack each mug into the box

The moment you’re done wrapping a porcelain cup in paper (plus bubble wrap for the valuable ones), you should transfer the protected mug into the box you’ve prepared for the task. Remember that in one of the previous steps you should have already double-taped the bottom and sides of the carton and created a soft insulation layer of crumpled paper on the inside bottom.

Usually, it’s not a good idea to keep the protected mugs on the kitchen table for fear of accidentally knocking one onto the floor while you’re busy packing the other mugs for moving.

• Place carefully each protected mug onto the bottom layer of crumpled paper inside the cardboard box;
• Position the next paper-wrapped cup by the first one, arranging them in a snug fashion. The good news is that the fragile porcelain items won’t be able to get into contact with each other thanks to the padding layers of packing paper;
• Be mindful not to apply too much pressure when trying to fit yet another mug into the box. When one row of ceramic cups is ready, you can start a new one or prepare another box altogether.

How to Pack Fragile Items

Step 8. Protect the mugs inside the box

When packing fragile items for moving, one of the most important things you should know upfront is that breakables should not shift around when arranged inside a packing box. In reality, any movement inside a cardboard box during transit increases the risk of damage to your fragile things.

This step is all about making sure that the mugs you’ve packed cannot move inside the container.

• Inspect the arrangement of the mugs when you finish packing the first (bottom) row. If you notice any gaps between the paper bundles, insert more paper or pieces of discarded bubble wrap into the empty spaces. Using old newspapers as space fillers is also fine;
• Complete the shake-up test to ensure you’ve packed your porcelain cups correctly. Lift the box in the air and shake it gently – you shouldn’t feel anything to be moving inside the container. If you do, add more padding materials into the gaps for full immobility;
• Place a sheet of bubble wrap when you’re done arranging one row of paper-wrapped mugs, then start setting up the top row.

Step 9. Close the box securely

You’re almost ready with the task of packing coffee mugs and tea mugs for moving. Don’t rush the final two steps of the packing process since they often prove to be more important than you might think.

• Finish arranging the top row of fragile porcelain cups. Depending on how deep the cardboard is, you can usually fit 2-3 rows of neatly arranged breakables with no gaps to be found anywhere inside the carton;
• Place one final sheet of bubble wrap over the top row of protected mugs;
• Close the lids of the box and tape them shut using a generous helping of packing tape;
• Check again whether all sides of the cardboard box have been reinforced with tape as it was recommended in Step 4;
• Buy rolls of high-quality tape from a brand you can trust for all your packing needs. Bear in mind that going for the cheapest packing tape you can find often proves a mistake in the long run.

Step 10. Label the box appropriately

The final step to packing mugs for moving is to label the box correctly, which in turn will enable you to reach 3 goals at the same time:

• Making sure the box containing your kitchen cups will be taken to the new home’s kitchen;
• Being able to find your favorite coffee mug shortly after your things are delivered to the new place; and
• Instructing whoever’s carrying the box that they should be careful because there are breakable things inside it.

Labeling the box containing fragile kitchen items is easier than ever. Just take a black marker and write MUGS (or CUPS) and KITCHEN on two sides of the box. Also, it’s a very good idea to use a red marker to write down FRAGILE and HANDLE WITH CARE.

Packing mugs for moving is not a very complicated task but it does require time to be done correctly and safely – time that you may not have, especially when moving out in an emergency.

Consider hiring professional packers and movers who will pack your fragile kitchen items not only in record time but in the safest way possible as well.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Packers?