You may have several sets of heritage Waterford or Galway crystal; a collection of stemmed flutes, Burgundy balloons, and cordial glasses; or a nostalgic assortment of wine glasses you’ve acquired from tasting events or wineries over the years. Whatever your stemware includes, you need to pack your fragile wine glasses and crystal with care to ensure they survive the move. The following steps will help you pack your wine glasses and crystal like a pro.

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Moving Supplies You’ll Need to Pack Your Wine Glasses and Crystal

  • Glass pack cell boxes
  • Packing paper
  • Tissue paper
  • Packing tape
  • Permanent black marker

Steps for Packing Wine Glasses and Crystal for a Move

1. Use glass pack cell boxes

Stemware and valuable crystal glasses, even those without stems, should be wrapped individually and placed in separate cells. The cells provide each glass with ultimate protection.

2. Prepare the box

Seal the bottom of the box with several overlapping layers of packing tape. Make sure the bottom of the box is exceptionally secure. Fill the bottom of each cell with crushed tissue paper. Packing paper can be too stiff and doesn’t provide the protection wine glasses and crystal require. Tissue paper provides softer protection and crumples tighter to fill empty spaces and provide support to delicate items.

3. Work with one glass at a time

Fill the bowl of each wine glass with crushed tissue paper. This filler provides extra protection during the moving process by supporting the glass from the inside. Place each glass diagonally on the corner of a stack of tissue paper and wrap several layers of paper around the glass as you roll it away from you. To provide extra support to the stem, fill the area around the stem with additional paper as you go. Secure the tissue with tape as needed.

4. Insert the glass upside down in the cell

Each cell already has crumpled tissue paper at the bottom. Place each glass upside down into the cell space. Pack crumpled tissue paper on top of the upside-down wrapped glass.

5. Cover all of the cells with a layer of crumpled packing paper, close and seal the box

Make sure to fill any empty spaces in each cell with crumpled tissue paper. The goal of filling space is to prevent glasses from shifting during transport. Tape the box closed and label the contents: ‘Wine glasses’ or ‘crystal.’ Also, write the room destination ‘Kitchen,’ ‘Bar,’ ‘Dining Room,’ and so forth. Finally, in large lettering, write ‘Fragile’ on all sides and the top of the box.

6. Place the packed box in a safe spot

Be sure to find a safe spot to store the boxes of packed wine glasses and crystal. You don’t want other things, like boxes of books, to get stacked on top.

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