How to Pack Old Family Photos for a Move

How to pack old family photos for a move: scan or photograph the irreplaceable ones first as a backup, wrap prints in acid-free tissue rather than plastic wrap, pack them upright and snug in a rigid box sized close to their dimensions so nothing shifts, keep loose corners and albums separated with packing paper, and carry the box with you instead of loading it with the rest of the truck. A moving truck exposes photos to heat, vibration, and hours of being stacked under other boxes, which does more damage in one day than years in a closet. Here's how to get a box of old photos from one house to the next without losing anything.

What actually damages photos during a move

Three things do most of the harm: pressure, heat, and shifting. A box packed too loosely lets photos slide and rub against each other for the length of the drive, enough to scratch emulsion or crease a corner. A box packed too full bends whatever is on the bottom. And a moving truck can sit at highway heat for hours, worse for old prints than a closet, since heat accelerates fading and makes emulsion soft enough to fuse two photos together if they're pressed flat against each other. None of this shows up until you unpack, which is why the packing matters more than the driving. If the boxes are headed to a unit rather than straight into a new house, our guide on protecting photos in a storage unit covers what changes once they're sitting there for months.

How to pack old family photos for a move without damage

Sort loose prints into small, even stacks, no more than fifty per bundle so the stack doesn't bow under its own weight. Wrap each stack in acid-free tissue paper rather than plastic wrap or newspaper. Plastic traps moisture over a long drive, and newsprint ink can transfer onto a print in a hot truck. Stand the wrapped stacks upright in a rigid box sized close to their dimensions, the way books ride better upright than flat, and fill any gap with more tissue so nothing has room to shift. Albums travel best flat, one or two per box, with packing paper between covers so they don't rub. If a frame is coming too, our guide on how to store old family photos covers the acid-free materials worth using once you unpack.

What to scan before you pack, not after

Anything you would be genuinely sorry to lose should be photographed or scanned before it goes into a box, not after the move when boxes might sit unopened for months. Pick the twenty or thirty photos you'd grab first in an emergency, the wedding portraits, the ones of people no longer here, the only copy of a childhood photo, and get a phone photo or a quick scan of those specifically. A flat, well-lit phone photo in daylight is enough for a safety copy; a proper scan can wait until you're settled. Our guide on restoring old photos is a good next stop once you're unpacked and ready to do the set properly. The point now is a second copy that exists independently of the box, so the move is never the only thing standing between you and losing them.

What to carry with you instead of putting on the truck

Movers are careful with furniture because furniture is replaceable. A box of photos isn't, and it looks like any other box once it's taped shut. Set aside the smallest, most irreplaceable stack, the ones you scanned above, plus anything one of a kind like a tintype or a glass negative, and keep that box in your own car rather than on the truck. Everything else can travel with the shipment as long as it's packed snugly and labeled clearly. Write "fragile, photos" on at least two sides of every box, since a mover stacking by size alone puts whatever's on top wherever it fits, and a heavy box of books on top of loose prints is how corners get crushed.