How to pack lamps for moving

Unscrew the finial at the top, lift the shade off, remove the bulb, then pinch the two arms of the harp and lift it out of its saddle. That leaves a base, which is the only heavy part. Put the finial and the harp into a bag and tape the bag to the base, because a harp is sized to a specific shade and a replacement is rarely the right height.

A shade goes in a box of its own with crushed paper around the outside only. Nothing is ever packed inside a shade, because the weight rests on the ring and pushes the fabric out of round. Shades of very different sizes can nest with a full sheet of paper between them, provided the inner one hangs from the rim rather than resting on the one below.

Wrap the base in a blanket or several sheets of paper, paying attention to the neck, which is the narrowest section and the point that snaps. Stand it upright in a box with crushed paper packed around the bottom third so the base cannot tip. Two lamp bases can share a box if a sheet of stiff card divides them and neither can touch the other.

Coil it loosely and tuck it against the base rather than wrapping it tightly around the neck or the body. A cord wound tight around a lamp puts a permanent kink in the flex and, on an older lamp, cracks insulation that is already stiff with age. Secure the coil with a twist tie rather than tape, since tape adhesive left on a cord in a warm truck is difficult to remove.

Most floor lamps unscrew into two or three pole sections. Take them apart, wrap each section, and bind them together as a bundle rather than moving the lamp at full height. A tall lamp moved assembled catches on doorframes and bends at the join, and a bent pole never stands straight again. Glass torchiere bowls come out and are packed as glass.

Bulbs left in, which break inside the box and put glass through everything with it, and shades crushed because something was stacked on top of the box they were in. Mark shade boxes as top-load-only and put them in the truck last. The other frequent loss is the finial, which is small, unmarked and specific to the lamp, and is usually found in the bottom of a box of kitchen items weeks later.