I've moved cross-country with 1,000+ books three times, so I put this together to share my experience, tips and tricks and best practices from my perspective.
The first time I moved, I fit everything I owned in an 6x7x8' pod and my small hatchback and moved 1,000 miles west. I didn't have specific boxes or techniques for packing my books, but they thankfully made it through safely. The biggest mistake I made (other than organization) was not using a box that fit my books perfectly, so many volumes got scuffed or warped due to being stored in a weird position or shifting in the box during transit. Most distortion of books can be remedied over time (e.g. if your cover is bent you can set a bunch of heavy items on top of it and it will correct itself over time). I actually stored most of my collection in a climate-controlled storage facility for about six months.
After 6 months, I moved 30 minutes away to a neighboring city. I made a bunch of trips to and from the storage facility to the new home, which is where I first set up my "floating shelf" library concept. This is my favorite setup I've tried by far, and has traveled with me through four years and three homes. My favorite part about the floating shelf setup is that it's super easy to take apart and shove in a truck.
Two years later, I moved 1,500 miles east. My collection had grown substantially during the pandemic, so I had roughly 2,000 volumes by this point. I knew exactly when I was going to move out but had no idea how long it would take to prepare my collection, so I started several months in advance. I was fortunate to be able to take my time and develop a new process. It was time to invest in better packing materials and techniques.
The primary change was to find appropriately-sized boxes to pack all of my books in. Unlike novels, the vast majority of manga is the standard Shonen Jump size (with the exception of larger volumes like VIZ Signature and smaller volumes like Dark Horse comics). I did a lot of measuring and searching, and settled on a size that would accommodate both standard and large manga.
Boxes & Tape
These are my moving boxes of choice for manga. They're available in packs of 10 or 20 (and they have handles!!!). These 18" x 14" x 12" boxes can fit 90 volumes of standard size manga, with 18 volumes in 5 stacks. They can fit approximately XX number of taller volumes like VIZ Sig, with XX volumes in 4 stacks. Technically there's a little more space on the sides of these boxes if you're filling them with the standard-size volumes, but I use bookends as spacers and add an extra inch to each shorter side of the box, and packing paper and foam on the longer sides and top/bottom. This helps to keep everything super compact, and serves as a precaution in case the boxes are damaged in transit. If you don't have bookends, you can use many other things to act as spacers (packing paper, towels, bed sheets, clothes, basically anything that won't hurt your books).
Try to make sure your boxes are packed evenly to the brim. If you have four stacks of 18 volumes and one stack of 16 volumes, that one shorter stack can cause problems. If your uneven box is on the bottom of the pile, other boxes on top of it can cause that box to buckle or collapse, which can shift all of your books around and they can get damaged. Adding spacers will help with this, but mostly you just want to make sure your box is packed full and tight. If you don't have enough books to make the box even, add a spacer in the place of those last two books - packing paper or a hand towel.
USE GOOD TAPE. I can't emphasize this enough! Imagine using crappy tape, picking up your heavy box of books...and everything comes crashing down. Don't skimp on cheap tape. I love duck tape. (It's good tape and it's punny. What more can you ask for?)
Grouping
The second time I moved, I made the choice to "group" series together by wrapping them in packing paper. This was in invaluable improvement that helped with organization when boxing, and made it incredibly easy to get my library set up at the new house. I group books together by series, staying conscious of the "5 stacks of 18 volumes" that fits in each box. For example, Naruto (72 volumes) is broken up into 9 volumes per group; 1-9, 10-18, 19-27, and so on. Then, I found 18 volumes of a different series to add to that box and it was taped shut. Because I organize my collection alphabetically, I try to keep boxes to the fewest amount of letters together so it's easier to unpack in the new setup.
I use as much packing paper as I have on hand from other shipments, RightStuf orders, etc. If you need packing paper, I recommend using 18" paper like this one. When I unpack I take care to cut the paper carefully, as I'll reuse it the next time I move.
The third time I moved long distance, I didn't have a fixed move-out date or a place to live yet, but I knew was going right back to where I had been out west a year ago. So I packed up all my books (and other junk), found a place, bought a car, and busted my butt to get everything ready to go in two weeks' time when I found a house. It was exhausting.
My friend helped me move 30 boxes of books down the stairs and into a trailer. I stacked books 4 boxes high and put lighter belongings on top. Three boxes of the most rare volumes of manga went in my car, and I drove back across the country.
I did need to clean up my shelves when I arrived at the new home because they shifted and got scuffed in transit, but they all arrived in good shape. If a shelf or two had gotten damaged, it's an easy (and inexpensive) task to replace individual pieces of wood. The boxes got a bit scuffed and marked too, but every single book arrived safe and sound.
Final thoughts
Practice correct lifting and moving maneuvers. Lift with your knees, not your back. Ask someone for help if something is too heavy for you to lift alone. Don't contort your body in weird positions. If you have stairs and/or you have a lot of books, just hire movers. Take care of yourself, because you and your body are more important than material possessions.
As always, please feel free to reach out via social media or send me a message if there's anything I can help you with!
As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments