When the time comes to move there is always the question of what to do with your books, people tend to fall into 3 categories when it comes to books.
Unless you fall into the first category there are bound to be some books that you are unlikely to ever read again. These may be old text books, ones that you didn’t enjoy the first time you read them or ones that have never appealed, for whatever reason.
Return
Take back any books that you have borrowed from the real library or friends.
Sell
Advertise them on a selling site, you may get a few pounds back for them
Donate
Giving them to a charity will give you a bit of a feelgood factor and also stop you from having to spend money on boxes.
Using the right packing materials will ensure your books arrive in the same condition as when they left.
Double walled book boxes, these are heavy duty and are not massive, so the weight once packed is manageable. If you choose to use bigger boxes that you have collected from the supermarket you may well find that they cannot cope with the weight or will be too heavy to lift correctly.
Packing paper, for delicate, old or valuable books
Bubble wrap
Stretch wrap or cling film
Packing tape
Marker pen
Rule 1 – Do not overpack the boxes, books are heavy and you do not want to hurt yourself or break the box.
When you are preparing the boxes make sure that you use plenty of tape, go at least halfway up the sides and do not interlock the flaps.
Load the heaviest books first, generally these will be the largest books so you can gauge the weight of the box and pop smaller books in to fill the box. If you find that the box is getting too heavy fill out the gaps with bubble wrap.
Make sure that the top closes properly and the box isn’t under filled or over filled, you need to be able to stack the boxes on top of each other without them caving in or not sitting square.
Seal the top of the box, this is where you will be glad that you used enough tape on the bottom, tape seems to stick to itself better than cardboard, so by overlapping the tape you will guarantee it is secure.
Label the box
Old and fragile books require a bit more care because of the condition/value.
Make sure that you wash your hands first
Wrap each book in packing paper and if you have several that are the same size you can cling film them together for extra protection, do not wrap them too tight, just enough to hold them together.
When putting them in the box make sure that they are flat or with the spines facing each other. For very delicate books place bubble wrap or cardboard between layers.
Ensure that any gaps are filled with scrunched up packing paper or bubble wrap
Seal and label the box
Declutter
Use the correct
packaging
Ensure that the boxes
are sealed and labelled
We move boxes of books all the time and it is always easier when the customer has taken the time to pack correctly, when the boxes are uniform and sealed we can stack them tighter, which will reduce the chances of movement and therefore damage.
There are various methods used including:
Load up and disappear – the van gets loaded up and then drives away, with all your items, never to be seen again.
Our van is too small – they start loading then notify you that their van cannot carry all your possessions, they then say that you will need to pay more to come back and get the rest. Alternatively, they load all the valuable items first, then drive off and do not return.
Extra charges – they call you up a day or two before moving day and try to charge more, as they are really busy and will call off the move if you don’t. This leaves you in a position where you either pay extra or try to find someone else, which may be difficult at short notice. Given the stress that you are likely to be experiencing at this time you may decide just to pay up.
Hostage – This is really a variation on the load up and disappear scam, except they don’t totally disappear, instead they contact you to allow you to buy your own items back. As some of your boxes are likely to contain personal items that cannot be replaced, such as family photos, they cannot sell them, so they try to blackmail you, the customer.