How to Pack and Move Delicate Lamps and Lampshades

Lamps and shades should always be boxed separately to avoid damage.
Remove the shade and put it unwrapped into a clean box with lots of paper to keep it from moving around within the box during transport.

Seal it up and mark it fragile.

How to pack lamps and lampshades

If you want to put 2 identical shades together into 1 box, then put a piece of plain paper (not newspaper because the print ink will get onto the shade and ruin it) between the shades to facilitate pulling them apart when unboxing them later because they tend to stick together, and when you separate them, you can damage them. Place shade boxes on top of the load or in your car and don’t stack them under other boxes because they can easily collapse.

Lamps themselves should be blanket-wrapped, bubble-wrapped, foam-wrapped and/or packed with bunched-up paper and placed in a box of their own as shown in the 6-picture sequence below.

The lamp’s bulb and its brass center piece and top screw are also wrapped up and put into this box so that it’s ready for reassembly at the new residence.

The shade shown below is just a bit too big for this box. When it’s a little too big for the box because of its shape (as this one), just fold the flaps over it as much as you can without crushing the shade. If you half-cut the outside cardboard layer of each flap, it is easy to get the fold-overs.

Then, reinforce the remaining inside cardboard layer with tape as is shown above and finish the fold-overs as is shown below.

Then, by just taping a cut piece of cardboard over the hole, it will give you a custom-made box for the shade.

Here’s an example of packing a smaller lamp.

Here, its top screw and the brass bulb protector and the bulb are
removed, and will all be put into the lamp box after the lamp is packed in it. Then, bubble-wrap the lamp just like you would a small vase.

Three to four layers of bubble wrap protection should be adequate, and then tapeseal it.

Next, put it into a box with its hardware. Other small light fragiles, similarly wrapped, can then be used to fill the box and hold the lamp in place.

These lamp and shade boxes should never have other boxes stacked on top of them and should be placed on top of the load or in your car.

How to pack floor lamps

Floor lamps themselves need not be padded or boxed. Just tape or tie the cord to it and remove it’s top screw, brass bulb protector, shade and the light bulb. Box those things together in one box.

Then, gently place the standing lamp on top of your load in the truck or stand it somewhere braced within the load where it won’t have heavy things squashing it. If it’s a halogen lamp, the bulb and the barrier shade must stay attached so you’ll have brace it somewhere in the load where the barrier shade will not get bent up during the ride.

Bear in mind that packing lamps and lampshades for moving is NOT a piece of cake due to the fragility of the items you’re packing and moving. Most of the times, you should be able to get the job done by following the packing steps above. However, should you run into some difficulties, know that professional packers are just around the corner, ready to give you a hand with that uneasy task.