How to pack family heirlooms for overseas transport

In many cases, the family heritage has more sentimental than material value. The simple fact that they once belonged to your ancestors makes them an invaluable treasure. For that reason, you want to pack family heirlooms for overseas transport in the best possible way. You want to make sure that will survive such a long trip. So, it is good to know that you can find a solution easily. You can trust that specialists of international movers New York will pack, handle and ship them to your new destination professionally. So, you will be able to enjoy your family heirlooms in your overseas home. Or, maybe you want to give it a try and pack your valuables alone. If so, you can follow our short guide. It will help you to understand which moving supplies to use. And how to properly pack each of your valuables.

Things to keep in mind when you pack family heirlooms for overseas transport

Family heirlooms are unique and usually very delicate. That is why they require special care. So, when you are packing them for overseas transport, you have to handle each piece with great care. And, when you are packing them, never rush. Trying to speed up the packing process, you may apply inadequate wrapping. Such can easily damage the item’s delicate surface. Also, missing to wrap and pack them properly, they can easily shift inside the boxes during overseas transportation. Unfortunately, such shifting can easily end in losing your precious inheritance.

What the family heirlooms are?

Under family heirlooms, we consider any treasured item that was belonging to your ancestors. So, you can sell some of them for large sums. On the other hand, some have great sentimental value. Therefore, any object that we inherited from our ancestors can be considered an heirloom. Some of the most common among them are:

• Jewelry
• Old clocks
• Furniture
• Recipes, letters, and diaries
• First edition books
• Copies signed by the author
• Various collections (coins, postal stamps, etc.)
• Musical instruments
• Photo albums

This is to name just some of them. And when you are moving from USA to Spain for a longer period, you will probably want to take them with you.

Things to take into consideration when packing your family heirlooms

For you, your family heirlooms are unique. You are also aware that international shipping is a challenge. Therefore, you will want to ensure the optimal security for your treasure. Letting the preparation of your heirlooms for transport to professionals is very advisable. Still, you may want to do the packing yourself. If so, you will have to divide your items considering:

• How old and fragile your heirlooms are
• What is the right wrapping material for each of them
• Can you pack them in cardboard boxes
• Do you need a wooden crying for some of them

As you can see, moving heirlooms is a complex task. Also, you have to keep in mind that they can be easily damaged, even behind repair. Therefore, it is so important to pack them in the best possible ways. Only well packed, they will be safe during international shipping.

Importance of the heirlooms age

The age of your heirloom items might not look so important. But it actually is. The older your items are, the more fragile they become. So, you will need to pack them with more care. Also, some of your items may require specific conditions. For example, they might be prone to weather conditions and temperature fluctuations. Say, the moisture can easily damage your old books or photos.

Their fragility is also the reason you will have to decide how to pack them. That is, whether to use overseas moving boxes. Or you will need to pack them in wooden crates, and thus protect them better. Or, can simply let the packing job to professionals.

Use proper wrapping materials

It is very common when people are opting for DIY packing, to use whatever wrapping material they have. Well, some of the materials that you already have at home, like old papers and cotton clothes you may use for wrapping some items. But, will that be proper for your heirlooms? Probably not. For example, they can get stains from newspaper sheets used for wrapping.

So, it is better to invest in the proper packing material. Or, you can make mistake and apply the self-adhesive foil directly to the old wooden chest. Most probably, that will ruin the fragile wooden surface.

Wrap and pack family heirlooms for overseas transport properly

Although we are still of opinion that hiring professional help is a safer option, you may like to DIY. Therefore, we will here provide some practical steps to help you. They should help you to prepare your heirlooms for overseas transportation. 

• Buy enough quantity of packing materials.
• Whenever it is possible, dismantle your antique furniture pieces. By wrapping them separately before packing, you will better preserve them.
• It is best to use proper size boxes for packing. Too big, or too small boxes may cause problems. Boxes that are too small can be torn apart by contents that have sharp parts. In oversized boxes, things will move, hit each other, and thus damage each other.
• When packing, put a sheet of cushioning material first. After that, place the wrapped item in the box. Fill the empty space with styrofoam peanuts. When the box is filled up with causing peanuts, close the lids. Close the box with the packing tape, and label it.
• For additional protection, you can put the smaller box into a bigger one. Doing so, make sure that the smaller box is surrounded by styrofoam peanuts from all sides.
• For very fragile items, like expensive vases, china, or sculptures, it is better to use wooden crating for packing.

To avoid mistakes, and be sure that your heirlooms will be properly packed and shipped, hiring international furniture movers is a much better solution.

Moving overseas

So, after you found the right way how to pack family heirlooms for overseas transport, it is time to move them. However, moving your heirlooms overseas also requires knowledge of import and export laws. That is an additional reason to hire professional help. Shipping companies have a network of experts who will find the right import and export solutions for your items. Also, they have connections to customs agents all around the globe. That way, it is much easier for them to take care of the customs regulations.