Pack your books in small boxes

Paper is compact and heavy, so the size of the box has to cap the weight. A small moving box full of paperbacks comes out at around 15 kilos, around 22 with hardcovers, and the lifting limit of the Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (the Dutch labour inspectorate) is 23 kilos in ideal conditions. A narrow staircase is never ideal. Reach for a large box anyway and the cardboard will hold, but you will not. If you move with us, the moving boxes are free on loan as part of the move, with small ones for exactly this job.

Lay books flat in the box, with the spines alternating to the left and to the right. A spine is always slightly thicker than the pages, so alternating keeps the stack level and the box in shape. Never stand books on the open edge, because the weight then pulls the pages crooked out of the binding. Upright works too, spine down, as long as the row is wedged from wall to wall. If a gap is left over, stuff it with crumpled packing paper so nothing shifts when the box is tilted.

Once a box is heading towards 20 kilos, stop adding books and fill the top half with light things: linen, pillowcases or whatever is in the drawer under the reading lamp. Two boxes half filled with books go down the stairs faster and more safely than one full box that really takes two people. As a rule of thumb, count on roughly one small box per metre of full bookshelf, so you know in advance how many boxes the bookcase will take.

Wrap old editions, photo albums and books with a smooth dust jacket in unprinted packing paper first. Do not use newspaper, because the ink comes off on the binding. Put these books at the top of the box, never under a stack of hardcovers, and write the contents on the side. Cardboard is not waterproof, so do not leave book boxes outside or in a damp storeroom, and when it rains load them into the van from a dry hallway.

Carry book boxes with both hands under the base and keep them close to your body; boxes with hand holes make a difference on every staircase. In the van, never stack more than three book boxes on top of each other, with the heaviest at the bottom. If you are dreading it, our packing service takes the whole bookcase off your hands: packing, carrying and setting everything down room by room at the new address. Call 023 532 26 23 or request a quote.

How heavy can a box of books be?

Keep to 15 to 20 kilos. The lifting limit of the Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie is 23 kilos in ideal conditions, and a move with stairs and thresholds is not that. A small box full of books lands around that weight by itself.

Can books go in a large moving box?

Only if you fill the top half with light material, such as linen or cushions. A large box filled right up with books weighs more than anyone can safely lift on their own.

Do I have to pay for book boxes?

Not if you move with us: you get the moving boxes free on loan, including small boxes for books, and we collect them again afterwards. What else to arrange, week by week, is in the moving checklist.