I have a quilting friend who has to move. Not only have we been friends for many years and it is sad to see her move on, but she has ask me to help her pack her stash.

Any suggestions on how to pack her stash?

Plastic totes?

Xerox paper boxes.

Well-labeled copy paper boxes, or plastic totes.
Maybe put "projects" into certain ones, UFO's, etc. Labels so she can find her projects without too much hassle~

I might put fabric in plastic bags before setting it into a cardboard box, just in case there is a leak or other water hazard during the move itself.

Carefully in clear garbage sacks in small bundles. When we moved from Texas to Missouri, I had carefully packed in carboard boxes and tubs all my material and books. Well, two men packed the truck to move. They took most of it apart in packed it into small places. They threw plastic storage units aside (and other things), and I ended up with a huge bill from the rental company to "haul those" things away. $$$$

Then, as it turned out, the load was unloaded into storage, until our house was finished, loaded again to finally get here. We thought the house would be finished, but it wasn't for nine weeks. Best laid plans of mice & men...

Ditto this. Several years ago the theatre where I work rented a special kind of curtain from another theatre (it was black velveteen with fiber optic cables to create a starry sky). When the other theatre packed it up for shipping, they put it in a box without a plastic barrier of any sort, and something greasy/oily spilled all over the box in transit. It soaked through the cardboard and poof, several-thousand-dollar curtain was ruined. We were just glad it happened in their packaging, rather than ours.

What the???????

Totes or medium sized boxes, fabric can weigh a lot :wink:

I agree with lining the boxes with garbage bags, I do this with anything that I don't want water/liquid damaged.
I do the same when packing any kinds of liquids too :D:D:D

The dollar tree has great bags for this, 10 in a box for a dollar :D

I definitely used totes the last time I moved. They can be stacked for one. I bought enough blue totes so I could see at a glance that they contained fabric and sewing items. Other household items went into the grey ones. Keep in mind that fabric is heavy, so the totes were NOT the large ones. I also had a "go-to" box (green) that had a change of clothing, my bathrobe and slippers, a skillet, paper plates, plastic cutlery and the coffee pot and with a container of coffee and filters, toilet paper and meds.

These hints helped me drastically. I'm trying to get ready to move at the end of Sept. i just bought 20 med size boxes and 15 large boxes from UHAUL last Monday and spent $85.00. This is a drop in the bucket. I do have about 30 see thru 12x12x12 totes purchased at WalMart about 6 months ago to put some of my fabric in. They are see thru with blue or pink tops. I have a tendency to buy collections, a little bit at a time, so these totes are being used for those collections. I'm nervous that I won't have room for all of the fabric. So there will be some great deals on here soon. I am thankful for the idea of using trash bags as a liner inside the boxes. I hadn't even thought about that. Invaluable information on here. Thank you all for reading and responding to questions that people post. Cheryl

This.

The last time I moved my stash all went into the smaller size boxes from Home Depot. Fabric is heavy and I knew we were doing the move ourselves.

I think it'll ruin all the fabric if you pack it... she should let you store it at your house. :)

You can get boxes from Home Depot and even Wal-Mart pretty cheap. Wal-Mart has a really nice size box for .88 cents.

If you're going to rent a U-Haul I highly recommend you get the safe move insurance. It saved me somewhere between $3 and $5 thousand!!! We were in a hail storm and the windshield, the roof and one whole side of the truck had to be replaced.

We have a 1/2 priced box store in Houston - there may be similar stores in your area. Saved me a bundle the last time I moved.

I had to laugh because I'm in the process of moving my stash for the 3rd time in as many years, and I think we have figured out the best way to do it, haha. (And no, I will NEVER move again unless someone packs ME in a box, and in that case, I will not care about what happens to everything else.) I'll write generally about moving because it sounds like lots of us are faced with this at some point in our lives!

We found the 16x16x18 boxes at Lowes or Home Depot (around 70 cents each) are the best for fabric and books. If you're moving yourself and don't want to injure your friends and family members, they won't be overly heavy. If you're using movers, they prefer the standard size boxes, the weight, and the fact that they stack so well in small spaces. Cardboard boxes that are packed properly (not overstuffed, not underfilled) can be stacked VERY high and hold up very well.

The issues that professional movers have with plastic containers is that they are not a standard size so they don't stack uniformly or evenly, they are often very heavy, and they are prone to collapse when they are stacked, especially with something heavy like fabric. Moving them yourself may also aggravate or create back problems. So cardboard is the way to go.

If you are doing a short move and your fabric will not be packed for more than a week or so, you needn't be concerned about developing any problems by wrapping it in plastic first. I use Tall Kitchen Trash bags with the drawstrings - they are a fast and easy way to get plastic around a stack of fabric, and you can use them in your kitchen after the move. It's worth the effort, because you never know if it will rain on moving day.

If the fabric will be stored at a facility during any part of the move, it's worth it to rent a climate-controlled unit, pack in cardboard, and take your chances with the rain. (Also better for your furniture.) We have never had a problem with rodents in nice, newer, very clean storage facilities. We did have some trouble with mice in a unit a few years ago, but in that case it was not climate controlled and my fabric was in plastic tubs. The mice didn't get into it, but the humidity did and it all smelled a bit musty when we got it out six months later. So, climate controlled and clean = good.

If you have projects in ziplocks and smaller plastic containers, set them into the same 16x16x24 cardboard boxes.

If you have any baskets or boxes that are too large to set into the boxes, you can get the next size, 18x18x24, place one container or basket inside and fill the rest of the space with packaged and scrap batting.

Sewing notions and thread are best packed in plastic containers with secure lids and placed inside a cardboard box. You can again use batting to fill the extra space, or a quilt top, folded and bagged first.

When we move ourselves, we always get a roll of plastic from the UHaul store and wrap up the sewing and cutting tables so the drop leaves won't band around and get damaged. This is standard practice with good moving companies.

Finally, we pack the machines (I have a domestic Bernina as well as a TinLizzie longarm) in their original boxes because that offers the best protection. If you don't have original packaging, be sure to purchase sturdy boxes that are large enough to allow lots of padding: foam, batting, etc. so they won't be damaged by bumps and, worst case, if the boxes falls over in the truck. If that concerns you a lot, a few glasses of wine the night before moving might help allay your fears.

I hope this helps! If I've forgotten anything, please ask. I'm off to pack some more fabric. We move a week from Saturday. For the LAST time in my life. Right?

Depends on how large her stash is.
I use large plastic garbage cans on wheels with lock on top. Don't have to worry about it getting dirty and easy to move from room to room.

i used plastic totes

I found a fabulous way to pack my stash in December when I bought a house. I used my fabric as a cushion for my plates, pictures in frames, glasses. This way I something to prevent breakage and got the fabric packed all at the same time. Saved using that nasty newspaper to wrap your dishes.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I will be moving Aug 22, hope and pray it rains. hopefully it will rain way before. I bought some tubs, and they are to heavy to move, in process of reworking all my packing.

I manage a storage facility with a Uhaul dealership.

Packing tips? Try to use uniformly sized boxes. Use SMALL boxes, not mediums. Fabric is heavy, and someone has to lift those boxes once they're packed. Someone else suggested using fabric to pack around breakables. Good idea.
I ALWAYS recommend when you rent a Uhaul that you get the Save Move damage waiver (insurance)!! Considering that Uhaul thinks those trucks/trailers are made of gold under that orange and white paint, and that they don't deal with private insurance companies, most of which do NOT cover Uhauls anyway, you get to pay out of your own pocket for any new damage, regardless of fault. Then you get to deal with your insurance company to try to recoup all or part of your money...it can take months!

If your fabric is going to be in a storage unit, put out the money and buy some Decon (mouse poison) and spray the unit before you load it with bug spray. Most storage places try to control pests, but we try to control them in our homes as well, and don't always succeed....nothing worse than opening a box of fabric (or anything else) and finding a mouse nest, or holes in stuff!!

Most of mine is in totes so it's already packed. :)

Keep the containers light enough to move. I can move one heavy box and I'm done for the day but I can move many lightweight boxes. She'll have enough to do without throwing her back out.

I am in the process of moving. I used clear trash bags for my fabric because I want to refold it into those neat all one size pieces that someone did a tutorial for a while back and this will make me do it as I put it on the shelves.

I bought a lot of the Uhaul boxes figuring they'd know how to make a packing box. I won't discuss my opinion of the quality of those boxes. You're better off with a sturdier box especially if you're packing anything that has any weight to it. Or that you care about, especially if someone else is going to be tossing those boxes around.

Be careful packing books, they are HEAVY. I filled a small box (about 9x12x12) with books and tried to take it downstairs but ended up having to wait and have DH do it.

A really nice box to pack things is the kind that printer paper comes in. They're strong, they stack great and are almost indestructible. You can pack folded fabric in them really well. Kinko's has them and can sometimes save some for you, or Staple's.

Tell her it is just too much trouble and to leave it with you...?

I used 150 of these 9 years ago to move my stash & other quilty stuff. They are great as they have built-in handles for lifting & because they are all the same size, makes loading a truck so much easier. I did sort fabric by color & type: reds/blues/greens & solids/small prints/holiday, etc.

I would put the fabric in plastic bags before boxing. If it will be in storage or have a long time in transit, it is important to protect it well. I received fabric I had ordered on line and it was wrapped in cling plastic wrap. It protected it, because it sat on my front porch for a couple of days while I was away and the package got rained on. The mailing envelope was soaked, but the fabric was safe and dry!

Using the plastic bins inside cardboard boxes seemed best to me. Also as someone else said, smaller boxes are best as they do get heavy. Also mark on the outside what type of fabric, color, etc is in them so you can have an easier time unpacking and knowing what goes where.

pack any way you want but CARRY it in your own car wherever you have to go sharet (maybe consider sending part of it by ups store - I havent had anything bad happen with them, lol) sharet

I packed my whole sewing room in Plastic totes when I moved and packed them in my car no moving van for my sewing room . Well all the van moved was my cutting table and sewing cabinet.

I used mine to wrap my glassware and breakables, then put the rest in boxes. It was a plus-plus for me...didn't have to buy any extra packing material for fragiles and used fewer boxes to hold only fabric.

Most of my stash (16 large bins in garage) is ready to go - the stuff in my sewing room would be packed in more plastic bins. Just tape the tops.

Great idea. Think I will use it instead of packing sewing room stash when we move from Navarre, FL to Ocala, FL. Thanks....

:thumbup:

I used a lot of those vac-seal-bags -I stacked my totes in side each other -stood v/bs into the top tote This saved me a lot of space and was easier for me to handle at both ends of the move -THERE is no way I'd let strange moving people near my stash They show very little respect for other peoples belongings I'm like an old mother hen where my sewing room contents are concerned I can replace most household stuff But my Stash is irreplaceable

How does she store her stash now? Mine is mostly in plastic bins so that is how they would go. I would also put small plastic bins together in a larger box. If it is loose I would pack it in boxes if she has space. If she has no space pack the dishes with the stash instead of packing paper. Bless you for helping her.

I buy the banker's boxes from Offfice Max when they are on sale. Also, liquor store boxes are a good size but don't have tops.

I used the plastic totes, preferably see-through ones, labeled on the lid what was in them, and continue to store stash in them!

use some of your fabric to pack your other household goods. All my dishes were packed this way and when un packed the boxes were again in my sewing room