Aside from cardboard boxes that are gathered from a supermarket or other retailer, most people do not give any thought to what packing materials they might need until they are starting to pack things up to put in a Another essential item for proper packing is a roll of high quality, wide tape. The tape is used to securely close the boxes to keep the contents clean and to stick bags of screws or other pieces to furniture that has been taken apart for easy moving and storage. It is important that the tape be strong and that it sticks well to the cardboard boxes or undersides of furniture pieces so that it will hold for an extended period of time. In addition, the roll of tape should be at least two inches wide to ensure that it properly secures the box flaps together even when the box is jostled during moving.
In order to keep the items in the cardboard box from being damaged when moving, it is important to pad everything well. Although newspaper is usually abundant, it is not recommended because the print can rub off onto the items. Another problem with using newspaper for padding is that over time the paper will deteriorate and no longer pad the contents of the box. Once again, it is advisable to ask the staff at the storage facility if they have bubble wrap or other types of padding for sale at a minimal cost.
