There are so many variations on how to move. From doing it all yourself to not lifting a finger and letting a moving company take care of it all. The latter is pretty stress free but expensive. On the occasions when we were footing the bill, I would do all the packing and rent a 'pod', put it into the driveway and over time load the boxes in. Then movers would come to load the heavy stuff in, move the pod and unload the heavy stuff. I've moved fabric in plastic tubs - no problem with breakage. Put your machines in the original boxes and move them in a car yourself.