Yes.
All lamps need to be packed during your move.
Lamps are possibly the most commonly overlooked item during the packing process. People use lamps up until and even on moving day. We all need light right? It makes sense that this can happen, however we need to ensure we have a plan to pack lamps as well, even if it is on moving day.
Lamps are often extremely fragile items. Lamps often have a cloth or delicate plastic structured lamp shade; lamp shades need to be packed separately from lamps. Additionally, the light bulbs in your lamps should be removed along with the lamp necks and then packed with the lamp.
How do you pack a lamp?
Step by step, lamps can be packed very efficiently and at a low cost. Below are the step by step directions for safely packing a lamp.
- Remove the lamp shade. Most lamp shades are extremely delicate, whether they are made of plastic, cloth or even Tiffany glass, be very careful doing this.
- Pack the lamp shade in a suitably sized box. You can expect to fit a few lamp shades in each box used for this purpose if you have more than one lamp.
- Remove the light bulb. Light bulbs must be removed from lamps.
- Pack the light bulb(s) in a separate box. Light bulbs are hazardous and must be packed, moved and stored very carefully.
- Disassemble the lamp, if possible. Some lamps, like standing lamps, can be broken down into several pieces reducing the lamp to fit into a small sized box.
- Pack the lamp. Make sure you wrap the lamp with appropriate packing materials, preferably 24×36 newsprint.
- Label the lamp box appropriately.
PRO TIP #1: If needed, custom sized lamp boxes can be used to pack a lamp. These box es are expensive but can fit large single piece lamps safely into a secure box
How much does it cost to pack a lamp?
Packing lamps are low cost, averaging between $15-$20 per lamp. Lamps can normally be packed into medium sized or large sized boxes. Some smaller desk lamps and even standing lamps can be packed into book boxes.
There is not much labor involved in packing lamps and so the labor cost is low on a pack job. It only takes about 5 minutes to pack a lamp or even a set of lamps.
How do you pack a standing lamp into a book box?
Many standing lamps can be disassembled into 4 or 5 pieces and packed into a small sized or book box.
These lamps are about 6 feet tall and have a sturdy sand filled or cement base. There is a metal shaft containing the main power cord that acts as a conduit for the electrical cable leading from the male plug all the way to the bulb. This shaft can usually be disassembled by twisting it counter clockwise at a few different points about 18 inches apart. Once the standing lamp is completely apart you will have about 5 pieces bundled up that can easily fit into a book box.
Remember to remove your bulbs and pack them separately. Light bulbs are considered hazardous and flammable due to the argon and nitrogen gas used to preserve the tungsten filament, which extends the life of the light bulb.
