Moving and Packing

My living room in my old house.  My wife, and my friend COL Jim and I packed all the boxes.  I have over 300 underbed storage boxes for the move.  For each box I started with an empty box.  Then lay down a layer of bubble wrap from end to end.  Then put in each vehicle, and a second layer of bubble wrap over the models.  Put a 3X5 card with the contents listed on it, at the end of the box so they label can be read from outside the box.  Then fill the box with biodegradable packing peanuts.  I used well over 300 cubic feet of packing peanuts.  Then each box was wrapped at each end with stretch cling wrap to hold the lid on. 

Each box was weighed and the weight of each box noted on the end, in pounds.  The heaviest box was 24 pounds and the lightest was three pounds.  I tried to keep them under 12 pounds.  Lightest boxes on top.  Don't stack over twelve high or over 100 pounds in weight.  There was a lot of storing to keep the weight below the limit.  The movers damaged about 4% of the boxes, mostly the lids, by stacking them poorly and without regard to the box weight limits I prescribed.  As far as I can tell, none of the contents were damaged due to the careful packing I did on the boxes.  Sterilite makes the boxes and I contacted them for a dozen replacement lids, and I offered to pay for them.  They sent me a terse email reply saying they don't keep extra lids in stock and they don't sell them without the box.  Not very good customer service in my opinion.

Many of the larger items were packed in this size box. I used the same technique for them as I did the other boxes.  I lost two of the lids in the move, but again the contents appear fine.  Some items required even larger boxes and I even had a few custom made cardboard boxes for larger items like my flak tower and Altes Museum.

The vast majority of the collection is in climate controlled, high security, storage sheds waiting for our house to be ready.  Then it will move to it's permanent location in late 2018.