Packing Services

Packing services are the difference between a move where nothing breaks and one where you spend the following week filing a claim. Most damage in a removal does not happen in the truck — it happens because a box was packed with void space in it, and the contents moved.

We pack fully or partially, with proper double-walled cartons, bubble wrap, blankets and anti-static materials for electronics. There is one point worth knowing before you decide: items we pack ourselves are covered by our insurance. Items you pack yourself are not.

Full packing or partial packing

Full packing means we arrive the day before, pack everything, and you touch nothing. Partial packing means we handle only the categories that actually need skill — kitchen, glassware, electronics, artwork and mirrors — and you do the books, linen and clothing yourself. Partial is what most people should choose: it covers the items that break and the items that are insured, at a fraction of the cost of full packing.

Why self-packed boxes are not covered

This is standard across the industry and worth understanding rather than discovering at claim stage. An insurer cannot assess whether a box was packed correctly if it did not see it packed, so self-packed cartons are covered for loss and for visible external damage to the box, not for breakage inside it. If something is genuinely valuable or genuinely fragile, having us pack it is not an upsell — it is the only way it is insured.

Materials, and why supermarket boxes fail

Free supermarket boxes have already carried one load and been through a warehouse. They are single-walled, often slightly damp, and sized for produce rather than for stacking. Under three or four boxes of books they collapse, usually while being carried. We use new double-walled cartons in standard sizes so they stack squarely and take weight, which also means the truck packs tighter and your load takes less space.

Electronics and screens

Televisions and monitors are the single most commonly damaged category in a move, because a flat screen is strong across its face and very weak in torsion. Original boxes are ideal; failing that we use purpose-made TV cartons with corner protection, and screens travel upright, never flat with anything on top. Computers and audio equipment are wrapped in anti-static material rather than ordinary bubble wrap.

Artwork, mirrors and glass

Anything framed travels on its edge, not on its face, with corner protectors and a cross of tape on the glass to hold fragments if it does break. Large mirrors and framed pieces go in purpose-built crates or picture boxes. Marble and glass tabletops are separated from their bases, wrapped and carried vertically — a glass top carried flat by two people flexes in the middle, which is exactly how they crack.

Unpacking, and what to do with the boxes

We can unpack at the other end and remove the empty cartons and wrapping the same day, which is worth considering if you are moving into a home you need to live in immediately. If you would rather unpack yourself, ask us to place boxes in the correct rooms rather than stacking them at the door — labelling by room during packing is what makes that possible.

What packing costs

Packing is priced on the volume of your home and how much of it you want us to handle:

Indicative figures for budgeting, not quotes. For an accurate price use our Inventory Hub.

If you are packing yourself

Most of what goes wrong is avoidable, and comes down to four habits:

• Fill every box completely. Void space is what lets contents move. Top up with linen or paper rather than leaving a gap.
• Heavy items in small boxes. Books go in book cartons. A large box of books will fail at the base or injure whoever lifts it.
• Plates on edge, not stacked flat. Stacked flat they crack under their own weight over a few hours of road.
• Label the room, not the contents. The crew needs to know where a box goes; you can find the contents later.

Start with what you do not use daily — books, out-of-season clothing, garage and roof space. Those alone are usually a third of the job.

Where we pack

Across Gauteng — Johannesburg, Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, Roodepoort, Pretoria, Centurion, Alberton, Benoni and the wider East and West Rand — usually the day before the move. On long-distance jobs packing matters more, because your goods face several days of sustained vibration rather than twenty minutes of road, so we build packing into the schedule as standard.

Why choose Careful Movers

The cheapest quote is very often the most expensive outcome. An unusually low price generally means no Goods in Transit cover, a casual crew hired that morning, or a figure that grows once your goods are already loaded. We run our own branded fleet with trained permanent crews, we publish our prices, and we quote in writing so the figure agreed is the figure charged. The warning signs are set out in how to avoid moving scams.