How to Pack a Mirror For a Move

Allie Johnson
January 16, 2017
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Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck, which definitely isn’t a good way to start off life in a new home.

Even if you’re not the superstitious sort, you’ll want to avoid cracking a mirror because mirrors can be expensive to replace and may have sentimental value.

“Shipping mirrors can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it to make sure your mirror gets to its destination safely,” said Meghan Adamo of France & Son, a midcentury furniture company that ships mirrors all over the country.

If you want to make sure your mirrors arrive intact at your new place, proper packing is key.

Here are four steps to get a mirror ready for a move:

1. Tape It Up For Safety.

Take a roll of blue painter’s tape and tape up the surface of the mirror horizontally and vertically in a grid pattern, Adamo recommends.

“Just in case something does go wrong and the glass ends up breaking, the pieces will be contained,” she said.

Man sealing box with tape at home, bubble wrap

2. Cushion With Bubble Wrap.

Wrap the mirror tightly in bubble wrap, and tape it down to form a protective coating that will cushion the glass from the bumps and jolts sure to occur on the road during the move.

3. Use The Right Box.

Place the mirror in an appropriately sized box. The heavier the mirror, the sturdier the box should be, Adamo said.

Even if you get most of your moving boxes for free, consider shelling out a few bucks to buy mirror cartons for large, heavy mirrors. Mirror cartons are sturdy boxes consisting of four pieces of cardboard that piece together to form “a complete protective layer,” said Jacob Beckstead, marketing manager for Bailey’s Moving & Storage, in Colorado and Utah. You can buy these specialty boxes at home improvement stores or truck rental companies, Beckstead said.

Or, if you’re on a very tight budget, you can create your own makeshift mirror box by cutting and taping together several smaller boxes, said Yuval Beton, operations manager for Oz Moving & Storage, a full-service moving company in New York City.

Fill any extra space inside the box with more bubble wrap, packing paper or even rolls of paper towels. “You don’t want the mirror flopping around,” Adamo said, adding that you reuse the paper towels to clean your new place. Avoid using packing peanuts, though.

“They can shift around during moving and leave parts of your mirror exposed,” Adamo said.

For even more protection, wrap that box in bubble wrap and place it inside another box, Adamo recommends.

Cardboard boxes and mirror in new house

4. Label the Box.

Clearly label the exterior box as fragile and also write, in thick marker: Do Not Lay Flat.

“I recommend pointing it out to the movers when they arrive so they don’t think the writing is from a previous move and disregard it,” Beckstead said. “As a general rule of thumb, more communication with the movers about what needs extra care is always appreciated.”

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The SpareFoot Blog offers tips about self-storage, information about storage auctions, advice about home organization, news about SpareFoot and much more.
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