How to Pack Glasses for Moving

Glasses are some of the most breakable items in the house, and also some of the most expensive to replace if they belong to a set. The good news is that packing them properly does not require anything special. A bit of paper, a sturdy box, and a method that avoids glass touching glass will get almost every glass through a move in one piece.

What You Will Need

Packing paper or newspaper, bubble wrap for anything particularly delicate such as crystal or antique stemware, a small to medium box, packing tape, and a marker pen to mark the box as fragile.

Step 1: Choose the Right Size Box

Use a small or medium box rather than a large one. Glasses are heavy for their size, and a large box full of them quickly becomes too heavy to lift safely, which increases the risk of dropping it. A smaller box also flexes less, which helps protect the contents.

Step 2: Line and Cushion the Box

Line the bottom of the box with a thick layer of scrunched paper, at least two inches deep. This cushion absorbs any impact from below and stops the bottom layer of glasses taking the full weight of everything above them.

Step 3: Wrap Each Glass Individually

Lay a glass at the corner of a sheet of paper and roll it up, tucking the sides in as you go so the whole glass is covered. For wine glasses and stemware, pay particular attention to the stem and rim, as these are the most fragile points. Stuff a small piece of scrunched paper inside the glass itself before wrapping, since an empty glass is more likely to crack under pressure than one with some support inside it.

Step 4: Pack Upright, Never on Their Side

Stand glasses upright in the box rather than laying them down. This is the opposite of how you should pack plates, and it matters because a glass resting on its side is far more likely to roll, shift, and crack under weight from other items.

Step 5: Fill Every Gap

Once your glasses are in, fill any remaining space with scrunched paper, tea towels, or socks. There should be no movement at all when you gently shake the box. Movement during transit is what causes glass to chip or crack, far more often than a single hard knock.

Step 6: Label Clearly and Pack Last

Write "fragile, glasses, this way up" on at least two sides of the box. Load boxes of glasses last so they sit on top in the van rather than underneath heavier items, and unpack them first at the other end before they get buried under everything else.

For more on protecting fragile items during your move, see our full packing tips guide or ask about our professional packing service for anything particularly valuable.