If you’re wondering how to pack your dishes without newspaper, you’ve come to the right place. Why? Because you’re actually not supposed to use newspaper at all to pack your dishes or any other items in fact. When you use newspaper to wrap your fragile items, oftentimes the newspaper ink will bleed on to your items and ruin them.
The best material to use for packing your dishes is packing paper. Packing paper is essentially the same thing as newspaper but it’s blank. It’s often referred to as unprinted newspaper. Sometimes when packing your dishes, if you just can’t seem to get your hands on what you’re originally looking for, newspaper, here are some alternatives to help you pack your dishes right.
You can get packing paper for moving at department stores. So if you’re wondering about some alternatives to using newspaper for packing your dishes and fragile items, here are 8 great substitutions that can do the job.
1. Packing Paper
Packing paper is the industry-standard when it comes to packing your dishes. Packing paper can be bought in bundles and it’s pretty affordable, and most major department stores carry it. You can also get it from your moving company, U-Haul stores, Home Depot, Lowe’s and other moving supply and boxes stores. Here are some ways to find cheap moving supplies like boxes and tape.
2. Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap is another great way to pack your dishes safely but it’s a bit more expensive and less eco-friendly. If you don’t have packing paper, this would be your next best choice as it provided sufficient protection for your items. For your dishes and plates, try to find the bubble wrap with small bubbles because they can wrap around the items better than the ones with large bubbles.
3. Pillowcases
Chances are, like with most people pillowcases are abundant in the linen closet. If you don’t have unprinted newspaper, you can use pillowcases to wrap the dishes and protect them.
Although this wouldn’t be the best method to protect your fragile items, if you don’t have unprinted newspaper or bubble wrap then this could be a good alternative and is will help you save money on your move.
4. Sheets
Similar to your pillowcases Sheetz can work to protect your plates and dishes and cups just make sure you provide enough padding between each item because sheets are thin and don’t provide a lot of cushioning material. But, if you’re in a bind and you don’t have the proper materials or you just want to be eco-friendly this could work.
5. Towels
Towels are probably the most helpful item to use to pack your dishes is you don’t have packing paper, bubble wrap, or newspaper. Towels are thick and if you do it right, you should be able to bundle 2 or 3 plates per towel.
Unlike the pillowcases and the sheets, towels, in fact, do provide enough cushion between each item to protect them. they also could serve as a great cushioning at the bottom of the boxes. Just make sure you’re not using too big of a box with the towel method because when you pack the towels alongside the dishes and the plates the boxes could get very heavy and unable to move.
6. T-shirts
T-shirts are another item you can use to wrap your dishes and plates. Although you might only be able to wrap one plate or bowl per t-shirt, it can still work to help protect your items.
7. Foam Plates or Bowls
You can also buy styrofoam plates and place a few plates between each glass plate to keep them protected. Although you would still have to bundle the plates with something, these can be useful if you don’t have packing paper or bubble wrap.
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8. Socks
Socks can also be used to help protect champaign glasses or small glass cups. You would simply place the item inside the sock. Once in the box, it’s still recommended to place some packing paper or other material in between the items to keep them from pressing hard up against each other.
How To Properly Pack Your Dishes Using These Materials
Packing your dishes starts by clearing a space to work. This can be your kitchen island, breakfast table, or dining room table.
Always use a dish pack box when packing your dishes. Dish packs boxes are twice as thick as regular boxes and are designed to keep the items inside safe for moving.
Place a stack of opened packing paper on the surface you’re working on. Here’s a video on how to bundle the plates using the packing paper. You can also use the other materials in place of the packing paper. Just make sure the box is lined with cushion on the bottom and the items are packed inside neatly and safely. Then line the top with more packing paper or protection material and close the box.
Additional Important Tips When Packing Your Dishes and Fragile Items
- Always pack your dishes vertically inside the box. If you lay them flat, it’s likely the weight of dishes on top of each other will crack the dishes when the moving truck goes over bumps in the road.
- Consider having the professional moving company pack your items. Although it might be a bit more expensive, if you’ve picked the right moving company that has a good reputation, it gives you the assuredness that the items will be safe during transit.
- Be sure to use enough packing materials to wrap the items. The more the better. Each bundle of plates should use several pieces of packing paper.
- Plan ahead. Packing your entire house for a move
Packing your dishes without newspaper is actually recommended. Not only is newspaper hard to find nowadays, it actually can ruin your items by leaving ink behind. Also, always be sure to plan ahead when moving. Packing your entire house is a long and tedious task, but if you’ve blocked out the time way ahead of the move, you should be fine.
If you are moving in a hurry, packing paper is again, the best item to use. If you can’t get a hold of any, use your towels, linens, clothes, and sheets.
Related Questions
What items do I pack first when moving? When moving, always pack the items you don’t need every day first. This means the garage, spare bedroom, china cabinets, basement etc. Also, when moving, always pack your essentials separately, like your prescriptions and other everyday items you need.
Do I really need to use a dish pack box? Check out this article about dish pack boxes. We explain when you really need to use a dish pack and when you can just use a regular box. For the most part, if you have expensive items or are moving long distance, it’s recommended using a dish pack.
