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Packing Small Kitchen Appliances: Safety Guide
Small kitchen appliances on a board
Small kitchen appliances on a board

Preparing the kitchen for the upcoming move is one of the most dreadful parts. However, when it comes to packing small kitchen appliances we got you covered! Besides all those dishes, plates, and glassware to pack, you need to find space for cookware, utilities, and all those handy gadgets that every cooking enthusiast has in abundance.

In this article, I’ll walk you through a simple step-by-step process of packing all your kitchen appliances in an easy, quick, and safe manner.  So let’s get cooking people!

Packing A Small Kitchen Appliances Comprehensive Guide

Gather all the packing supplies and equipment

Before you start sorting your small kitchen appliances you need to gather all the necessary packing materials. Here is the list of things you’ll need for packing:

  • Boxes and containers – It’s great if you still have the original boxes of your kitchen appliances, but if you don’t (like most of us) you need to purchase or acquire them. Use sturdy card boxes or plastic containers but make sure you use the right size. In case there is still some space in the box fill it with kitchen towels, old newspapers, or Styrofoam inserts. You can also choose to pack several small kitchen appliances in a single large box, but make sure you divide them with some padding.
  • Paper and packing tapes – You’re going to need plenty of soft packing paper to line the boxes and protect the gadgets. You will also need a lot of packing tape to secure the paper linings and seal the boxes.
  • Twist ties – Use twist ties or rubber bands to secure the electric cords of the appliances.
  • Permanent markers and color labels – Use color labels and permanent markers to mark each box correctly.

Check your small kitchen appliances

Before you go ahead and pack up your small kitchen appliances, it’s a good idea to go through each unit and make sure it’s worth moving to the new home.

Maybe you have a small appliance that’s not been working well recently, or you still keep a broken one for no particular reason, even though you know it is not worth fixing it. However, the upcoming move is the perfect excuse to get rid of the old units and purchase brand-new shiny ones.

Even though you’re probably packing and moving all small kitchen appliances found in your kitchen, it’s still a good idea to go through your kitchen devices and set aside the ones that are not worth packing and moving for some reason or another.

Clean and dry the appliances

It’s advisable that you clean and dry each small appliance before you wrap it up for transport. Why? The thing is that it’s a bad idea to transport unclean small kitchen appliances with crumbs, stains, grease, and other types of debris still on them.

In most cases, you won’t have the time to clean your appliances thoroughly, so it’s OK to wipe them down with a damp cloth or wet wipes. Once you do it, wait enough time so that the electric units can dry out completely before you start wrapping them up with paper.

If your small kitchen appliances are already sufficiently clean, then you should skip this cleaning step altogether.

Disassemble the small kitchen appliances

Whenever possible, you should always remove any loose or detachable parts from the small kitchen appliances before packing them in the paper.

This is largely a safety measure since loose components may shift around or inside the appliance and cause some sort of transportation damage. Also, some kitchen appliances such as blenders are just too large as they are and need to be disassembled – the plastic or glass jars should be removed and packed up separately.

Always pack disassembled components of a single appliance in the same box to save valuable time when unpacking and setting up those kitchen devices after the move.

Disassembling small kitchen appliances for moving should be pretty straightforward. Still, if you get stuck, consult their respective operation manuals or look for disassembly instructions on the Internet.

Secure the cords

Electric cords of small kitchen appliances may pose a tripping risk or they could scratch the devices they belong to. And this is exactly why this step is all about securing the cables of those kitchen appliances to prevent any accidents whatsoever.

If the power cable of a kitchen appliance can be removed completely from the unit, do so. Then, fold the cord a few times without pressing it too much, wrap it up entirely in soft packing paper, and then tape the bundle to keep it from unwrapping.

If the power cord of an appliance cannot be detached from the unit, fold it carefully, use zip ties or rubber bands to keep it in place, and finally – wrap it up in wrapping paper and secure it with packing tape.

Wrap them in packing paper or bubble wrap

If you haven’t already packed the detachable components you disassembled from the small kitchen appliances, then do so now. Use several sheets of packing paper to wrap completely those detached or loose parts, then secure them with tape.

Then, wrap the main body of each kitchen appliance in 2-3 sheets of wrapping paper as if you were wrapping a present. Check to see whether the unit you’re about to protect is completely dry before you start wrapping it up on paper. If not, use a soft dry cloth to dry it up – this is an important step as it’ll prevent the possible buildup of mold.

When you’re done wrapping the sheets of paper around the appliance, use packing tape to secure the package. Do not use packing tape directly onto the appliance because it is rather sticky and may stain the delicate surface of the electric device.

Line the bottom of boxes with packing paper

Small kitchen appliances tend to be rather fragile, so you should do your best to provide the best type of protection you can.

Lay pieces of crumpled paper on the inside bottom of each cardboard box. The paper wads will create a soft shock-absorbing layer on the bottom that should additionally protect the delicate appliances on the road.

Instead of regular packing paper, you can also safely use crumpled newspaper because the ink won’t be able to reach the appliances and potentially leave nasty ink stains on them. If you have pieces of bubble wrap, they can also be used effectively to form that initial bottom cushion that should absorb any shocks along the route.

Pack the kitchen appliances into the box

Transfer gently the packed appliances into their pre-selected boxes. Add in any additional components you have disassembled and packed separately – trays, jars, cords, etc.

When arranging the paper-wrapped appliances in boxes, keep them upright since most of them are designed to be used like that. Also, be careful to place the heaviest kitchen appliances on the bottom of the box and place the lighter ones on top of them.

If there’s enough room for another small kitchen appliance in the same box, then add it too. As a safety rule, you should not exceed 40 pounds for each box no matter how sturdy the cardboard container seems.

Fill the remaining space with crumpled paper

After you’ve filled up a box with protected small kitchen appliances, be sure to fill any remaining gaps inside the box with crumpled paper. Why should you bother with this step?

Packed boxes will be moved around a lot and they will be subjected to various external forces while being transported inside the moving truck. Due to the vibrations, while the vehicle is traveling, your packed kitchen appliances are likely to shift inside the container unless you make sure they don’t have any space to move at all.

For safety reasons, just fill in any remaining spaces inside the boxes with crumpled paper or pieces of discarded bubble wrap. One way to test whether you’ve done a good job immobilizing the delicate electric devices is to lift the box after you’ve packed it up and shake it gently. If nothing is moving inside it, then you’re good to go. But if you feel there’s any movement inside the box, then add more crumpled paper.

Seal, tape, and label the boxes

The final step when packing small kitchen appliances is to seal the boxes and label them appropriately.

Close the top flaps of the box you have just filled in and tape the container shut using a few rounds of packing tape. You should be able to close the flaps comfortably without exerting any pressure downwards. If the flaps happen to be bulking upward, it means that you’ve overfilled the box which is not recommended. In that case, remove one or two items from the box and transfer them into a new one.

Use the permanent marker to label each packed box accordingly. Write the name of the kitchen appliance or appliances that are packed inside the container. The best thing to do is to label your boxes as “fragile” or “handle with care” so a person who transports these boxes will know to be gentle.

Let’s Wrap Up!

Packing small kitchen appliances and the kitchen, in general, shouldn’t be a problem if you know how to properly hand down the task. In case you are too busy or lazy to do it properly and with utmost care then you have another solution – hire professional packers!

Zenit Moving company covers all kinds of moving services from pacing to moving, all you have to do is to contact us and schedule your date. You can do that today, just follow this link.