How to pack vinyl records for moving

If you’re a record lover, your hand-curated collection of vinyl records will be priceless to you. So, when the time comes to move house, there will be no question that you’ll take your vinyls with you – the only question will be how to move them safely and without any risk of damage.

Unfortunately, vinyl records are quite prone to damage – they can easily break, warp, or even melt if handled improperly. You need to provide them with excellent protection and transport them with great care in order to ensure their safety during a house move. 

Here is how to pack and move vinyl records so they arrive in their new home intact and unscathed.

Step 1. Organize your records

If you haven’t already catalogued your collection, take the time to do so before the move – it will help you keep track of your records during the hectic relocation process and will make unpacking a lot easier.

You can organize your LPs by artist, genre, or whatever other way makes sense for you, but what matters the most is to group them by size – so you can later pack them in appropriate size vinyl record moving boxes.

Step 2. Prepare your vinyl records for moving

As counterintuitive as it may seem, your first step when preparing your record collection for moving should be to remove the vinyl discs from their jackets (the cardboard album covers).

The cardboard covers provide protection to the records, but they can move and slide around in the jackets – and this movement can easily result in damage to the album covers and to the records themselves. The jackets may get imprinted with a depressed ring from the vinyl and the disks may even burst through the cardboard sleeve’s corners. The records themselves may get scuffed from rubbing against the cardboard or may even crack or snap because of the movement.

You’re, therefore, recommended to take your records out of their cardboard covers when packing them for moving, so you can prove adequate protection to both the vinyl disks and the jackets and so you can pack them in such a way as to prevent shifting and movement during transit. 

You can leave the vinyl record in its original inner sleeve (provided that it’s made of acid-free paper and is still intact and not too worn out), but it may be better to take the disk out and place it in a poly inner sleeve instead – the poly sleeve will protect the LP from dust, dirt, and moisture and will prevent static build-up and scuffing.

Put the album cover in a plastic outer sleeve (made of high-density polypropylene) to protect it from wear and damage (nicks and scratches, dust and dirt, heat and moisture, etc.).

Bonus tip: How to wrap vinyl records?

Generally, the poly sleeves will provide good enough protection to your vinyl records, but for added safety you can wrap the disks in soft packing paper or a thin layer of anti-static bubble wrap before sliding them into the sleeves.

Related: How to pack fragile items for moving

Step 3. Prepare the packing boxes

When packing vinyl records for moving, it’s extremely important to use the right size packing boxes – you don’t want the records to be sticking out of the carton or to be shifting around during transit, so you need to find close-fitting moving containers that are sturdy enough to provide proper protection to your music collection.

The best boxes for packing vinyl records are a few inches wider and taller than the records are, so the LPs fit snugly inside but there is still enough room for padding around them. If the box is bigger than that, there will be too much space for jostling during the move, and if it is smaller, there will be too much pressure on the records.

So, once you’ve organized your records by size (7”, 10”, 12”, etc.), you need to find the right-size packing box for each group (the standard small moving box will do well for most LPs, but you can easily find boxes sized specifically for shipping vinyl records, if needed) and prepare it for shipping:

• Seal all the seams with heavy duty packing tape to reinforce the box and prevent dust from entering it and ruining your records;
• Line the bottom and the sides of the carton with bubble wrap or foam sheets to provide extra protection against shocks and vibrations during transportation.

Now, your packing boxes for vinyl records are ready. The records are ready too. It’s time to pack your precious collection for moving.

Step 4. Pack your vinyl records for moving

So, how to pack LP records for moving? When everything is properly prepared, the packing process is quite simple – you just need to stand the records up vertically in the box, next to one other.

There are, however, a few important rules to observe in order to minimize the risk of damage to your LPs:

1. Do not pack different size records together in one box;
2. Do not lay the records flat in a box – pack them upright (if you stack the records on top of one another, the weight of the upper ones will crush those that are at the bottom);
3. Place the records vertically next to their jackets – for added support and protection and faster unpacking (the LPs and their cardboard covers will be next to one another, so you’ll be able to easily put each vinyl disk into its jacket when unpacking after the move);
4. Make sure that the openings of the poly sleeves face upwards, so the records don’t slide out of the sleeves during transit;
5. Pack the records snugly in the box (so they don’t lean against each other or slide around during transport), but do not squeeze them too tightly together (so they don’t start to warp);
6. If there is any empty space in the box, fill it with foam padding, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, or crumpled paper to prevent your records from shifting around and rubbing against each other during transit;
7. Place a foam sheet or a piece of bubble wrap on top of the records for extra cushioning;
8. Seal the box tightly and give it a gentle shake to make sure that nothing moves inside;
9. Label the box and mark it as “FRAGILE”. Do not forget to indicate which side of the carton should be facing upwards (write “THIS SIDE UP” in large, bold letters with a permanent marker).

Good to know: You can safely pack about 80 single albums in a small moving box.

So, the best way to pack vinyl records for moving is to put them in poly sleeves and place them vertically in a padded moving box of appropriate size. But what is the best way to transport vinyl records to a new home?

Step 5. Take your records to your new place

Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, you’ll have to find a safe and efficient way to transport your music collection to your new home. You can take the records in your car if you’re driving to your new place or you can put them in the moving truck, together with the rest of your belongings.

If you’re moving with a moving company, the pros will take care of your records – they will transport your collection with the rest of your items and will deliver them safe and sound to your new home. The experienced movers will know how to properly position and secure your vinyl record moving box in the moving truck, so there will be no risk of damage to your albums during shipping. Yet, it is a good idea to get proper moving insurance for your collection, especially if it contains rare and/or valuable records – just to be on the safe side.

If you’re moving with a rented truck or if you decide to take your records in your car, it will be up to you to ensure their safety during the relocation:

• Place the boxes with your vinyl records on a flat surface – on the backseat of your car, on top of a furniture piece in the moving truck, on top of another moving box, etc. – and secure them in place, so they can’t slide away or topple over during transit;
• Make sure there are no heavy items that can fall over the vinyl record boxes or crush against them during the move;
• Do not stack more than two boxes with vinyl records on top of one another;
• Do not put heavy items – or, better yet, any items at all – on top of your records;
• Purchase insurance to cover your vinyl records during the move.

Bonus tip: Keep your vinyl records cool during the move

If you’re moving in hot weather, your LPs will be at risk of warping – and even melting – from the heat. You need to keep them cool in order to keep them safe during the relocation.

The best solution is to take your vinyl records with you – so they travel in your air-conditioned car.

If that’s not an option and your collection has to travel in a moving truck, the best course of action depends on the circumstances:

1) When moving vinyl records cross country:

• If you’re using professional moving services, request that your movers use a climate-controlled truck (you’ll have to pay extra for a moving vehicle with AC) or that your records are transported in the passenger cabin of the truck;
• If you’re performing a self-move, rent a moving truck with an air-conditioned cargo unit (the rental fee for a climate-controlled vehicle will be higher) or simply transport your collection in the passenger cab.

2) When moving locally, your records will travel only a short time and won’t be exposed to the heat for long, so the risk of damage is smaller. Just make sure the vinyl albums are the last thing to go on the truck and the first thing to be taken inside your new home.  Of course, you can also have your records transported in a climate-controlled vehicle, if you want to.

Whether you’re transporting your vinyl collection in your car or in a moving van, be sure to keep the records away from direct sunlight at all times.

Now that you know how to pack vinyl records for moving the right way, there will be no risk for your albums during the relocation – they will arrive at your new home in mint condition and you’ll be able to start your new life under the sounds of your favorite music.