Cardboard boxes are important for any house move, but having custom-sized boxes is essential to ensure that those smaller and often more fragile items are transported safely and are easy to locate afterwards.

For any removals firm, having lots of boxes is a must. True, whoever you are helping to move will usually have set about collecting some for themselves, but you can never have too many.

This is particularly true because some of the boxes your customers may have collected will not actually be strong enough to carry the heavy items inside them, which brings the risk of calamity when they rupture and something important is damaged in the incident.

How Often Are Items Damaged During House Moves?

A survey published last year by house moving services price comparison site Compare My Move found that 48 per cent of house movers had suffered damage to items in the process.

Among the findings of the survey were:

·       12 per cent of adults had at least one item broken during their most recent move

·       19 per cent had two items damaged

·       Six per cent had five or more damaged

·       Mirrors were the most commonly damaged item, accounting for 23 per cent of cases, followed by crockery at 20 per cent and tables at 18 per cent.

There are different ways this can have come about, and not always because of packing. For example, tables and large mirrors are likely to be carried as separate items, rather than being packed away in boxes.

However, another finding was that 37 per cent of those who suffered damaged items admitted that they could have done a better job of packing them to prevent this outcome.

Of the others, 33 per cent of movers admitted they personally were at fault for the breakages, while 30 per cent were blamed on the removers.

What Can Be Done To Reduce The Risk Of Breaking Items When Moving House?

Property News Desk responded to the survey findings by issuing some advice to movers about protecting their items, which included:

·       Using strong packing containers with lots of protective filler and bubble wrap

·       Avoiding old boxes that might be losing their strength

·       Taking the time to pack properly

·       Using a reliable removals firm

If you are that removals firm, one step you may take may be to provide extra boxes and protective packaging yourself. You may even spot poor and weak boxes and ensure that the items within them are transferred to a stronger box.

What Would You Use Specialised Boxes for In A House Move?

However, box strength alone is not enough. Sometimes, you need specialised boxes to help with the tricky task of packing unusually shaped items.

The use of custom-sized boxes can also be extremely handy for several other reasons:

·       It helps people to safely pack unusually shaped objects

·       It enables very fragile objects to be put in dedicated containers with lots of soft packaging around them

·       By using smaller boxes for modestly-sized or even tiny items, you can keep them in small boxes where they will be easy to find  

The last of these considerations can be easily overlooked. Some might imagine that as long as everything is packed in somewhere, they will eventually be able to find it all as they gradually get their new home in shape.

How Often Do Items Get Lost In A House Move?

However, the reality is very different. A survey by Admiral Insurance found that as many as 47 per cent of movers in Britain had lost something important in the process. Of these:

·       21 per cent lost something expensive

·       12 per cent lost something irreplaceable for sentimental reasons

·       The most common lost items were books and photographs, both accounting for 19 per cent of lost items

·       Jewellery accounted for 18 per cent of losses and pictures for 17 per cent

·       The average value of lost items was £410

·       The average house move uses 33 boxes, which makes losing things very easy

Sometimes items are lost simply because nobody thought to make sure they were packed, with 39 per cent of home movers finding items the previous residents had left behind.

Given the frequency, cost and sentimental impact involved in such losses, it makes a lot of sense to have dedicated boxes.

Apart from providing an easy way to find the item again afterwards, especially if it is labelled, the biggest benefit is ensuring that by providing a box for them, movers are less likely to neglect to ensure they are packed.

For removals firms, providing the right boxes for all the myriad items that movers will place into them is not just courtesy or kindness. It is the sort of service that will earn rave reviews and may also prompt movers who need to move again in a few years to come back to you.