6 Best Practices For Packing Electronics When Moving
Electronics are an essential part of everyday life. Whether you’re working remotely, attending online classes, streaming your favorite binge on your big-screen TV, listening to music, or hanging out on social media, you want your devices to be ready on demand.
Moving can cause a brief interruption to your digital lifestyle. For minimal disruption, you’ll want to carefully pack electronics so you don’t run into problems at the other end of your move. Today, we’ve got some expert tips to share when you make your residential move.
1. Take Lots of Photos (Or Video)
While IoT and wireless devices have become increasingly common, chances are you still have an array of electronics with wires connected throughout your house. Identify everything with wires, cables, and other pieces associated with connectivity.
- Computers
- Printers and peripherals
- Televisions with video and audio components
- DVD and Blu-ray players
- Game consoles
To ensure you can correctly reinstall your devices in your new home, take photos of the current arrangements and then clearly mark each wire so you know which device they go to and how they connect. Many people prefer to color-code using labels to make identification quick and easy. You can also consider taking video of someone uninstalling your devices. This way, you will have a reference when reconnecting.
2. Prep Your Devices
The next important step is to prepare your devices correctly for your move. For instance, take disks or cartridges from each device and securely close each tray. For printers and scanners, remove ink cartridges to avoid ink spills or damage to laser printers.
3. Run Backup on Devices With Storage
It would be disastrous to lose your treasured photos or important documents. To be on the safe side, proactively run a backup of any device that contains storage. An even easier way is to upload them to the cloud for safekeeping. This way, you don’t lose cherished or valuable data.
4. Label Everything
Label each box and try to keep all “pieces” with their respective devices, including remotes and accessories. This avoids confusion and frustration after you unpack and want to use your electronics.
5. Pack Deliberately and Carefully
If you have the original boxes for electronics, these are your best bet. They are usually sturdy and have appropriate padding. However, if you don’t, use large boxes to support each device and still have room for extra padding to keep them immobile. Mark each box containing electronics as “fragile” so your movers and others handling the boxes know to be careful.
6. Let Devices ‘Settle’
After arriving at your new home, do your best to avoid plugging in major electronics immediately. If possible, wait about 24 hours to allow your electronics to “settle” and have time to adapt to the temperature and humidity in a new place. This is especially important if your devices have spent time in storage.
Moving Made Easy
Packing and transporting electronics requires careful handling. Our expert movers can handle and transport your electronics with great care. Contact us today if you would like to learn more about our moving process and services. We’re also happy to answer any questions. Get your free quote today!
