Moving Tips & Tricks to help make your move more enjoyable

Packing Resources

Arpin of RI packer in a bedroom packing up the last minute items of pillows and bedding

Chapter 1: Things You Need to Know Before You Start Packing

Things You Need to Know Before You Start Packing   When should I start the packing process?   Packing items into cartons is a time-consuming process that is easily underestimated by the novice packer. Arpin Rhode Island’s professional packing staff can pack an average room in 1-3 hours depending on how many items are there are and how much space they have to work in.   Keep in mind that professional packers are emotionally indifferent

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Arpin of RI three cube and one-point five cartons.

Chapter 2: Packing Supplies

Packing Supplies   The packing materials that you’ll need to acquire to self-pack your shipment; moving boxes, paper, tape, and export wrapping paper   An overview of professional moving boxes.   A successful move relies on well-packed items. Whether you’re a professional mover like the Arpin RI packers or a do-it-yourselfer, a quality pack job starts with quality cartons. (movers don’t call them boxes…we say cartons) We use professional-grade moving boxes and we recommend that

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Arpin of RI packer standing in a dining room carefully folding in the first two top flaps of a fully packed carton

Chapter 3: Pro Tips to Help You Start Packing

Pro Tips to Help You Start Packing   Self-Packing: What types of boxes do you need and how many of each are needed?   Customers who are going to pack themselves should choose to buy the best boxes possible. Unfortunately, Arpin Rhode Island does not have a retail sales license so we cannot sell our high-quality cartons to the public. However, there are cartons available for customers that are very similar to ours and are

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Arpin of RI packer in a bed room taping the top of a wardrobe carton.

Chapter 4: How to Tape Your Moving Boxes the Proper Way

How to Tape Your Moving Boxes the Proper Way   Now that we are up to speed with the assortment of professional moving boxes available, let’s cover the proper way to tape and seal them. Professional moving cartons have two small tabs of cardboard which make the four flaps of the top into just two. By creating just two flaps, they are able to stay folded down out of the way while you’re packing the

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Arpin of RI packer in a dining room carefully wrapping a valuable statue

Chapter 5: Ground Rules and Background Info About Packing

Ground Rules and Background Info About Packing   The ground rules for packing Arpin RI understands that packing cartons for a move is not “rocket science” or “brain surgery”.  However, packing involves a moderate level of skill, experience, judgment, and understanding to do it well. Without these traits, even packing simple items can turn out to be a disaster.  Since Arpin RI has been in the packing business for over 120 years, we have learned

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four dinner plates being wrapped by an Arpin of RI packer.

Chapter 6: Understanding Packing Science

Understanding Packing Science   Physics of packing   Before we begin to pack, we need to understand the physics of packing and the forces placed upon the items when we pack. There are basically three forces affecting packed items during a move; compression, tension, and vibration. Compression is a force that attempts to flatten or squeeze a material. Tension is a force that pulls or stretches a material. Vibration is the rapid alternation of these

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Arpin of RI packer in a bed room removing folded sweaters from a drawer and packing them in a carton.

Chapter 8: Determining the order items are packed in a room

Determining the order items are packed in a room   There are many approaches to decide what to pack in a room and when to pack it. However, there is one approach that is field-tested by the packers at Arpin RI and has proven to be universally effective. This approach has 4 parts: 1.) Pack all of the items on top of furniture first. This prevents these items from being accidentally damaged during the regular

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Arpin of RI packer in the kitchen wrapping utensils directly from the drawer.

Chapter 9: How To Pack Everything In A Kitchen

How To Pack Everything In A Kitchen   How to pack a kitchen Let’s take a look at the individual areas of the home and the strategies the best movers in RI use to pack them. We’ll start in the kitchen. All of the Items from the countertop should be packed first. This not only clears an area for you to work but when you’re unpacking these items at the destination, they can be unpacked

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Arpin of RI packer setting up an export wrapping station on a dining room table.

Chapter 10: How To Pack A Dining Room

How To Pack A Dining Room   The dining room usually has some of the most valuable items in a home and virtually all of these items can be described as “breakable”. Before we can start packing, we need to set up a portable wrapping station for the white news and another for the export wrap just like the best movers in RI, Arpin of RI. To set up the wrapping station, tape up a

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Arpin of RI packer in a dining room carefully wrapping fragile china plates with white newsprint.

Chapter 11: How To Pack Everything In A Living or Family Room

How To Pack Everything In A Living or Family Room   How to pack a living or family room/speakers Speakers are made of multiple materials; wood, metal, plastic, fabric, and paper. For our purposes, we’ll focus on its most vulnerable materials on the front of the speaker case; the fabric front and the delicate speaker cones.       Speakers should be wrapped in a sheet of brown export wrap. Only have smooth layers of

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Arpin of RI packer packing a night stand with its drawer in a carton.

Chapter 12: How To Pack Everything In A Bedroom

How To Pack Everything In A Bedroom Packing dressers and furniture   When packing bedroom furniture, the first order of business is to examine the contents to determine their suitability for transport.       If fragile items are present in the drawers, they can be wrapped in paper and left in the drawer or packed into a carton.       Remove any items which may be prohibited as liquids, perfume, nail polish, ammunition,

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