Armoires and cabinets are heavy furniture and although they are quite sturdy in comparison to other household items, a certain amount of consideration still goes into packing them properly when moving into a new house.
- Detach the loose or movable components. Armoires and cabinets could have drawers and shelves that are not permanently fixed. These parts could easily slide and fall off when moving and lifting the whole piece of furniture around, damaging the part itself, the furniture or other items stored beside it. Consider detaching these components and packing them separately in a plastic bag. Just be sure to label it properly so you know which shelf or drawer goes into which armoire or cabinet. These types of furniture could also have glass doors. In this case you'll have no choice but to remove and pack them in the same way you would pack mirrors. Be especially careful in removing the screws and hinges and storing these in small plastic bags. Again label these plastic bags properly so that you know which screws and hinges go with which piece of furniture.
- Consider using shrink wrap or other ways to secure or seal drawers and doors.Shrink wrap is recommended because it effectively seals the whole piece of furniture and secures its drawers and doors from accidentally sliding or swinging open during moving. An alternative method is to use twine. If the doors or drawers have locks then using those would be so much better. Most people don't recommend using packing tape or any other tape. The adhesive could stain the wood surface and it might prove too hard to remove without damaging the wood. This is especially true for antique armoires and cabinets.
- Utilize furniture padding. This is standard procedure for moving any type of furniture. It's to protect the corners and edges from getting scratched or chipped. Furniture padding also blunts these possibly sharp edges thus protecting other items that may be stored beside it in the moving van.
- Consider using the armoire or cabinet as a packing container. If the piece of furniture isn't too heavy and the drawers and doors don't need to be detached because they can be safely sealed or locked, you might want to take advantage of the space they provide for packing. You can pack clothing, curtains, linen or any other clothing items inside their compartments. You can attempt to put small household items in the drawers just make sure their packed tight and padded with clothing so that they don't damage the drawer or wiggle around and break.
Although bulk and weight is the bigger consideration when packing heavy furniture, these items still have fragile components. Furniture won't easily break but their wooden surfaces - which are part of the value of furniture - can be scratched and stained.
