How to Pack Glasses and Plates
How to pack glasses and plates for a move: materials, wrapping, plates on their edge, bowls, mugs and teapots, glasses, box weight, labels and unpacking.
To pack glasses and plates for a move, wrap every piece on its own in plain paper, stand plates on their edge, fill the bowl of each glass with paper and stand it upright in a divided box, and keep every box light enough to lift from the floor. Old, repaired or gilded china needs acid-free tissue first; see old, repaired or gilded china.
The quick answer
Plates: On their edge, each one wrapped, never a bare stack
Glasses: Paper in the bowl, then stood upright in a divided box
Wrapping: Smooth paper first, bubble wrap over it, bubbles out
Box weight: Light enough to lift, from the floor: 10 kg men, 7 kg women
What You Need to Pack Glasses and Plates
To pack glasses and plates you need plain packing paper, unbuffered acid-free tissue for anything gilded, bubble wrap, small strong boxes, and tape and a marker.
Materials for china and glass, in order of use
Plain packing paper: clean and unprinted, against every piece
Acid-free tissue: unbuffered, the first layer on gilded or painted china
Bubble wrap: over the paper, bubbles facing out
Small, strong boxes: double-wall if you can; dish and glass packs have dividers
Tape and a marker: for the box, never on the china
Sources: the US National Park Service and our own packing materials page.
Our box shop sells packing paper, bubble wrap and small boxes, 18 by 13 by 13 inches, the size meant for heavy things like crockery. On our fragile packing service we use double-walled dish packs and glass packs, with cell dividers that give every plate or glass its own space.
Before You Start Wrapping
Before you wrap any china or glass, clear a padded surface, take off your rings, and check each piece over before you lift it. The V&A says rough or careless handling is one of the most common causes of damage to historic ceramics.
Getting ready: four things to do before the first plate
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Work on a padded surface, such as a thick pad of packing paper on the table.
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Take off rings, bracelets and watches; they can scratch or catch.
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Look over each piece for cracks, loose repairs, lifting glaze or loose parts before you pick it up.
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Lift with both hands under the body, one piece at a time. Never lift by a handle, spout or rim.
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Clean, dry hands are fine. If you wear gloves, use nitrile, never cotton: cotton is slippery on glaze and glass.
Sources: the US National Park Service (ceramics and glass), the V&A and the Canadian Conservation Institute.
Paper or Bubble Wrap?
Use paper against the piece every time, with bubble wrap over it for anything fine. Plain paper or tissue touches the china or glass; bubble wrap goes on top, bubbles facing out.
The wrap, in layers
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Smooth, plain paper against the piece. Tissue goes in smooth pads, never crushed into hard wads against it.
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Bubble wrap over the paper, bubbles facing out, because bubbles can leave marks on a smooth surface.
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Crumpled paper fills the box around the wrapped pieces. That’s where crumpling belongs.
Sources: the US National Park Service.
Keep printed newspaper off the china. The US National Park Service says anything touching an object must not stain, and its one use for newspaper is as filler between an inner and an outer box, away from the object. We don’t wrap china in newspaper.
How to Pack Plates
To pack plates and other flat crockery, cushion the bottom of a small box, wrap each plate on its own, stand the wrapped plates on their edge, and fill the box to the top so nothing can move.
Plates, from empty box to full
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Cushion the base of the box with a thick layer of crumpled paper.
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Wrap each plate on its own in plain paper. Give fine or decorated plates bubble wrap over the paper too.
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Stand each wrapped plate on its edge, side by side, the way we pack plates on our own jobs.
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Fill the gaps and the top with crumpled paper, so the lid closes flat on a firm load and nothing can move. Don’t force paper against the china.
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Never a bare stack. The US National Park Service says not to stack ceramics to move them, or let pieces knock together.
Sources: the US National Park Service (ceramics and glass) and our full packing and fragile packing pages.
How to Pack Bowls, Cups, Mugs and Teapots
Wrap each bowl, cup and mug on its own and put soft paper inside anything hollow. For a teapot, take the lid off and wrap it separately, pad the spout, fill the pot with paper and pad under the handle.
If you nest wrapped bowls, slip a layer of paper between each so the rims don’t touch. Fill each mug with paper, so it can’t be crushed by the pieces around it, and pad the handle first. Handles and spouts break off easily (Canadian Conservation Institute).
A teapot, the museum way
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Take the lid off and wrap it on its own.
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Pad round the spout.
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Put soft paper inside the pot.
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Pad the gap under the handle, then wrap the whole pot into a rounded bundle.
Source: the US National Park Service.
Saucers, platters, decanters and vases
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Saucers: wrapped one at a time and stood on their edge with the plates, as on our own jobs. Cups are wrapped apart from their saucers.
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Platters and serving dishes: wrapped and stood on their edge like plates, in a box big enough that nothing presses on the rim.
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Decanters and lidded dishes: stopper or lid out and wrapped on its own, like the teapot lid.
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Vases and decanters: lift from the base, never by the rim, and fill the inside with soft paper.
Source: the US National Park Service (separate parts wrapped separately; lift from the base, not by handles or rims).
How to Pack Glasses and Stemware
To pack a wine glass, fill the bowl with paper, pad the stem, wrap the whole glass, then stand it upright in a box with dividers, one glass to each space. Glasses travel upright, never on their sides.
A wine glass, step by step
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Fill the bowl with soft paper, so it is supported from inside.
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Pad the stem, the way the US National Park Service pads any part that sticks out.
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Wrap the whole glass in paper, then bubble wrap for fine stemware.
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Stand it upright in a box with dividers, so no glass touches another.
Sources: the US National Park Service and our own fragile packing page.
Put heavier tumblers in one box and fine stemware or crystal in another; the US National Park Service packs only pieces of similar weight together.
How Many Plates Should Go in One Box?
Work it out from the weight. With, say, 650 g dinner plates and 2 kg of box and paper, about twelve plates keep a box under 10 kg, the HSE guideline for men lifting from the floor, and seven keep it under the 7 kg guideline for women.
HSE guideline weights, load held close to the body
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A box picked up off the floor falls in the bottom band: 10 kg for men and 7 kg for women.
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With your arms stretched out, the figures drop further: from the floor, 5 kg for men and 3 kg for women.
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They are guidelines, not legal limits; HSE says they are not “safe limits” either.
Source: Health and Safety Executive, Manual handling at work (INDG143), Figure 1.
To work out your own number, weigh one plate on the kitchen scales, then the empty box with its paper. Take the box from the guideline and divide what’s left by the weight of one plate.
Use small boxes. A large box of china is too heavy to lift long before it is full. Lift it close to your waist, with the heaviest side next to your body (HSE), and see our guide to lifting safely.
How to Label a Box of Glasses and Plates
Write FRAGILE on the top and a side, draw arrows on the sides pointing up, and add the room. Never stick tape or labels on the china itself: when they come off, they can lift gilding and decoration.
What goes on the box
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FRAGILE, on the top and a side.
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Arrows on the sides, pointing up, so nobody stands it on its head.
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The room it’s for, so it goes straight to the kitchen.
Sources: the US National Park Service (arrows and warning labels) and its ceramics and glass guidance (no tape on the china).
Keep the box to china and glass. Heavy, dense things such as books, tins and tools go elsewhere; the US National Park Service gives the same rule for china. In the van, fragile boxes go in last and on top, never under furniture, and wedged so they can’t slide; that’s how we load them on our own moves.
How to Unpack Glasses and Plates
After a cold journey, let the boxes reach room temperature, then unwrap one piece at a time on a padded surface, check every sheet of paper before you throw it out, and wash glass by hand in lukewarm water.
Four steps at the other end
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After a cold journey, let the box reach room temperature before you unwrap or wash anything. For a museum shipment, the US National Park Service waits 24 to 48 hours.
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Unwrap on a padded surface, one piece at a time.
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Open out every sheet before it goes in the recycling, in case a chip or a small piece is inside.
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Wash glass by hand in lukewarm water, and keep valued china and glass out of the dishwasher.
Sources: the US National Park Service, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the V&A (glass, ceramics).
Sudden changes in temperature can crack glass and china, says the Canadian Conservation Institute, and a glass already under strain can fail outright (American Institute for Conservation wiki).
Mark one box of everyday mugs and crockery to open first, so you can make a cup of tea and a meal on the first night.
Old, Repaired or Gilded China
Wrap old, repaired or gilded china in unbuffered acid-free tissue first, and look for cracks and repairs before it’s packed. A repaired piece is always weaker than one that was never broken, and gold or painted decoration on top of the glaze is easily damaged (Canadian Conservation Institute).
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Avoid buffered tissue on gilding; the US National Park Service warns it can be slightly abrasive.
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Tell whoever is packing it about any loose repair, hairline crack or lifting glaze.
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If a valued piece does break, leave the repair to a conservator rather than gluing it yourself, as the V&A advises.
When to Use Professional Packing
Pack it yourself if it’s everyday crockery and glass. Hand it over if it’s fine, old, gilded or there’s simply a lot of it: the kitchen is usually the slowest room in the house to pack.
Our fragile packing service packs just the china, glass and other breakables, with acid-free tissue against gilded china and cell-divided dish and glass packs. Our full packing service does the whole house, and our unpacking service puts it back in the cupboards at the other end. Wolves Removals is a LAPADA Approved Service Provider, and our specialised antiques moving service nests antique ceramics in foam cut to their shape.
Tell your remover about anything valuable before the move. Which? notes that cover can be limited per box unless you declare what’s inside.
For the rest of the house, how to pack boxes for moving covers boxes, weight and the order to work in.
Moving fine china or glass?
Tell us about it at a free survey, and we’ll plan the packing.
The Wolves Removals Team
Family-run removals · Ashington, West Sussex
We have moved families and businesses across West and East Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent since 2016, from our Ashington base. We are fully insured, Checkatrade-verified and a LAPADA Approved Service Provider for antiques and fine art. More about us, or read our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
On their edge, each one wrapped in plain paper, standing side by side in a small box with crumpled paper underneath and in the gaps. That’s how we pack plates on our own jobs. Never pack them as a bare flat stack: museum guidance says ceramics shouldn’t be stacked to move them at all, or allowed to knock together.
Fewer than the box holds. Weigh one plate, then the box with its padding, and stop before the box passes the HSE guideline for lifting from the floor: 10 kg for men and 7 kg for women. With 2 kg of box and paper and, say, 650 g dinner plates, that is about twelve plates under 10 kg, or seven under 7 kg. The HSE figures are guidelines, not legal limits.
Paper first, then bubble wrap over it for anything fine. Plain paper or tissue goes against the plate, and bubble wrap goes on top, bubbles facing out, because bubbles can leave marks on a smooth surface. Crumpled paper is for filling the box, not for pressing against the china.
Not against the china. Museum guidance says anything touching a piece must not stain, and uses newspaper only as filler, away from the object. Use plain, unprinted packing paper against the china instead.
Fill the bowl with soft paper, pad the stem, wrap the whole glass in paper, then bubble wrap for fine stemware. Stand each glass upright in a box with dividers so no glass touches another, and keep heavy tumblers in a separate box from delicate stemware.
Upright. We stand every wrapped glass upright in a glass pack with cell dividers, one glass to each space, so no glass touches another. Never lay them on their sides.
Not straight away after a cold journey. Let the boxes reach room temperature first, because sudden temperature changes can crack glass and china. Then wash glass in lukewarm water, and keep valued china and glass out of the dishwasher.
