How to Pack Jewelry for a Move: 12 Simple Ideas & Tips

Co-authored by Marty Stevens-Heebner, SMM-C, CPO® and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: October 25, 2022

Are you wondering how you can keep your jewelry safe, secure, and tangle-free during an upcoming move? No problem! Jewelry collections often include a lot of small valuables that are hard to track individually, but a few clever packing hacks can ensure you don’t lose a thing! Read on for a complete list of tips and tricks to help you organize and protect your entire jewelry collection.

Things You Should Know

Pack your most valuable jewelry pieces and heirlooms in a jewelry roll and carry them to your new home yourself.
Keep necklaces from tangling by threading them through straws. Pack them separately with packing paper or plastic snack bags.
Use buttons or craft foam sheets to organize and pack your earrings. Store small pieces like rings in a pill box or egg carton for safekeeping.

1

Carry valuable pieces in a jewelry roll.

Hand-carrying items in a jewelry roll ensures their safety while moving. Even if you pack other items separately in a box, consider investing in a jewelry roll to carry your most expensive and prized items. Most rolls contain several pouches you can use to organize and store jewelry. Then, roll it up, fasten it closed, and transport it to the new destination yourself.^{[1]
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- If you can’t hand-carry your valuables, try mislabeling the box they’re in so nobody but you knows what’s inside. Label the box with something like “dog toys” or “holiday lights” instead.

2

Thread necklaces through a straw.

Storing necklaces in straws ensures they don’t tangle while moving. Detangling necklaces can be both tricky and time-consuming! Avoid that aggravation by threading necklaces with delicate, thin chains through regular paper or plastic straws for protection. Once the necklace is threaded, clasp it together.^{[2]
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- Trim the straw to fit the length of your necklace when necessary.
- After threading your necklaces through straws, it’s still a good idea to wrap them up with tissue paper for protection, as outlined below.

3

Use a paper towel roll for larger necklaces.

Paper towel rolls work like straws to keep jewelry from tangling. Chunky necklaces (and bracelets) can still be protected by threading them through a tube! Swap the straws for a paper towel roll and slide larger chains through them, then secure the clasp and pack the jewelry for moving. Since bracelets are shorter, thread them through toilet paper rolls instead.^{[3]
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- If you only have a few necklaces or there’s limited space in your jewelry box, you can keep several necklaces together by clasping them into loops in a spiral-bound notebook.

4

Wrap jewelry items in bags or packing paper individually.

Packaging jewelry separately protects it from damage in transit. Store each piece of jewelry in small plastic snack bags, or wrap each one in packing paper for safekeeping. This way, your jewelry will arrive at the destination ready to use—no need to sort through it and untangle several necklaces from one another.^{[4]
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- Whether you use tissue paper or plastic bags, keep them together by putting each wrapped item in a larger plastic bag.
- Once they’re wrapped, store your jewelry in a box lined with packing paper. Any fragile or delicate items are best protected during a move with a generous amount of packing paper.

5

Pack multiple items together with sealable kitchen wrap.

Smaller jewelry collections can be folded in kitchen wrap for protection. Simply lay a large sheet of sealable plastic kitchen wrap on a flat surface. Then, lay out the jewelry items you want to pack on top of it, taking up about half of the sheet. Once they’re in place, fold the kitchen wrap in half and press it together firmly to seal it closed.^{[5]
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- Just like individually wrapped items, it’s a good idea to pack your jewelry in a box lined with packing paper after sealing them in kitchen wrap.

6

Hook earrings through a foam sheet.

Foam sheets can hold earrings in place and keep them together. Thread several pairs of earrings (as many as you can fit) through small craft foam sheets, then secure their clasps on the other side of the sheet. Once all your earrings are attached, tape the back of the sheet to hold them in place.^{[6]
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- If you have any chandelier earrings or other dangling pieces in the foam sheet, tape those down too. They could get tangled if they’re left hanging.
- Wrap your earring-studded foam in a few sheets of packing paper before storing it somewhere.

7

Use buttons to pack pairs of earrings.

Buttons conveniently have 2 holes you can use to keep pairs together. In place of a foam sheet, try packing pairs of earrings individually using spare buttons. Feed each earring through the holes on a button and attach the clasps to hold them in place. A single button can hold a pair of earrings, so you can keep different sets buddied up for the move.^{[7]
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- The button storage method is especially helpful for packing stud earrings since they’re small and easier to lose when left loose.
- Keep in mind that you’ll still need to pack the buttons safely using packing paper, plastic bags, or a pill box.

8

Store small jewelry items in a pill box.

Pill boxes make it easy to organize jewelry without losing anything. Small items like earrings and rings can easily be packed in a pill box for safekeeping! Simply place a few rings or sets of earrings in each cell of the pill box before sealing and packing the box. Pill boxes are helpful tools because they’ll stay closed during transit, so your jewelry is safe, and they make it easy to keep track of each item.^{[8]
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- Since pill boxes typically have at least 7 cells (1 for each day of the week), take the time to organize your jewelry by type, color, size, or any other categories you can think of.
- If you need a little more space than pill boxes can offer, use a tackle box to organize your jewelry instead! They have more cells for storage and could even accommodate bigger pieces like necklaces and bracelets.

9

Pack small items in a repurposed egg carton.

Egg cartons also have multiple cups for organizing rings and earrings. If you’d rather get crafty instead of buying a new pill box, grab an empty egg carton and store a piece of small jewelry (typically rings or earrings) in each cup. Place a wad of crumpled packing paper over the jewelry to fill the carton’s cups. Then, seal the carton with packing tape to ensure it stays closed!^{[9]
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- If you use an egg carton to move your jewelry, label it clearly. Otherwise, it might be mistaken for trash or recycling and thrown out.

10

Put accessories inside a jewelry box or armoire.

Packing the entire jewelry box helps to keep your collection organized. If you have a jewelry box or armoire where you keep most of your pieces, you can always use it as storage for the move. Once your jewelry is wrapped and packaged, put it back in its designated box.^{[10]
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Research source} Then, secure the box (or the drawers of your armoire) by wrapping them with bubble wrap and packing tape.
- Most of the above packing techniques will work with this step! You can store jewelry wrapped in straws, tissue paper, plastic bags, buttons, and even pill boxes in a jewelry box or armoire.

11

Transport packed jewelry yourself, if possible.

Not all moving companies move jewelry because it’s expensive to insure. If you’re using a moving company, check their policies for moving jewelry, too—some companies might require you to move valuables like jewelry yourself. Regardless of what you use to pack your jewelry, try to transport it yourself rather than throwing it in with the rest of your belongings for movers to handle.^{[11]
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- It’s okay if you can’t move every piece of jewelry yourself and need to tuck some in a box. Just remember that the most expensive pieces are safest in your hands!

12

Keep your jewelry out of the heat while moving it.

Many precious metals are sensitive to heat and temperature changes. Jewelry should ordinarily be kept in a space where the temperature is under 75 °F (24 °C). A little temperature fluctuation during moving is normal, but avoid storing your collection in the hot trunk of a car or moving van. Instead, keep it in a part of the car that has air conditioning.^{[12]
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- For example, it’s safer to place your packed jewelry on a passenger seat or on the floor of the car where air conditioning can easily reach it.