Planning a move?? Our family recently moved, and with a big move comes a whole lot of packing, so I put this simple moving tip to use from frugal friend Kendra!
To help your plates arrive safely when moving, simply purchase a pack of foam plates… check your local dollar store!
Then… place a foam plate between each of your plates…
You’ll want to wrap and pad in addition to this, but this simple trick will help to keep your plates from clinking and clanking around during the move! 
How easy is that?!?
See Also:
More Moving Tips from your Frugal Friends!
Got a Moving Tip or Trick??
Leave a comment and share!
Heidi! What a great packing tip! Did you really move back to Washington? How exciting! Welcome home!
Aww ~ thanks so much, Michelle! Yep… we’re really back in WA!
~ Heidi
Oh no! You left me in the desert! All the best in Seattle. We’re looking forward to cooling down when we visit next month.
Ha, ha… well I’m mixed-emotion girl right now ~ I’m missing the desert, but loving the cooler summer, too!
I’m going to be making the move from Oregon to Arizona in about 6 months…
A couple of questions if you have the time.
-How did you move your plants and/or animals?
-Did you use a moving service?
-How long did the trek take you?
Thanks for your time and for the tips!
what a great idea…i usually use towels that way i’m packing them and keeping my plates safe
Love the fiestaware… we have 12 different colors, and I love them so much! and we get compliments on them all the time… my 2 yr. old son now likes to pick out which color he can use for a meal.
Thanks, Jessica! I am an in love with Fiestaware too… the fun colors just make me happy! {I found it on a crazy good sale at Kohl’s a few years ago!}
~ Heidi
I did this the last time I moved and it worked great! Another thing I like to do (sorry if it has already been mentioned) is use socks for packing delicate glassware. I still use other packing in the box as well.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing.
This is one of those so painfully easy and smart ideas that you just NEVER think of! Thanks! Totally pinning it!
This really does work great! I have moved my dishes many time with this packing method. Works good for bowls as well.
Gorgeous fiestaware, and great tip!
I did this when I made an international move and everything came though perfectly.
that’s an interesting tip…another thing to do, once you have your dishes packed and you’re going to be putting them in a box, place the plates on their side like you’re putting books on a bookshelf (use this trick for plates and bowls only). tightly pack the box to prevent any “wiggle room” and go in tiers in the box, in between the tiers, add some of the packing paper..once you get to cups you have them setting upright.
This is awesome! I’m a Realtor (here in AZ!) and am always looking for great packing tips for my clients. Thank you!
you might want to refer your clients to YouTube–there are several very good videos on packing china, etc which were done by moving companies, presumably for their employees. I searched under ‘packing china’. I recently moved cross country and did my own packing, with movers loading their van and I did not have any cracking or breakage, although the van was stacked floor to ceiling with furniture and boxes. Our mover referred us to a local company that sells boxes and packing paper very reasonably [interestingly, Home Depot and Lowes had competitive prices for the standard size boxes].
I’ll be glad I pinned this someday! Thank you for the tip!:)
Heidi,
We just moved this summer too. Not as far as you though! I never would have thought of foam plates!!! I did use towels and washcloths! Which worked well for our small move. We were even so blessed as to have plate packing sleeves to put our china in! (Never would have purchased it myself, but it was a pass it on moving gift! What a blessing!)
Your “new” old house looks fabulous! Enjoy all the new memories!
I just moved from Charleston, SC to New Mexico. 6×12 U-haul trailer pulled by my Durango. Packed myself in U-haul boxes. Bought them in packs of 15 – makes them cheaper. U-Haul gives free month of storage when you get there. My 3 dogs stayed in hotels with me the whole way. Cheapest way to go. Plants? I would give to neighbors. I did give away a few things that didn’t fit. Used discount movers on both ends to load and unload trailer. Thought this might help. Cost of trailer: 500 bucks for 6 days.
Why use styroforam when you can use hand towels you own to keep your china safe?
I have moved not less than 15 times in my life and that is what I’ve done each time. Never a broken dish and never a problem for the landfill.
Great tip! Something we did when we moved was to wrap them in dishtowels and put them in a cooler. We have 2 hard-sided coolers, i figured we have to move them anyways might as well put stuff in them. Everything made it in one piece!
My mom was a hoarder. I don’t have to purchase foam plates to do this—–merely use some of the stuff that is already on hand. If it lasts that long, I won:t have to worry about unpacking it in my lifetime and it will be perfectly safe forever! Thanks ya’ll!!!
Handy tip… For the naysayers, I would suggest the 3 R’s – Reduce, reuse, recycle. Instead of throwing these in landfill, store for re-use. At the end of their life, they can go to a recycler. Many are now taking clean styrofoam.
Definitely some great ideas. Keep in mind how you put your dishes into the moving boxes as well. Standing your plates on edge actually makes them stronger and less likely to break than just laying them flat.