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The framed photograph of your grandparents’ farmhouse. The oil painting you brought back from Door County, WI. The oversized mirror that has hung in your Milwaukee dining room for years. Wall art and mirrors are among the most nerve-wracking items to pack for a move. They can break easily; they carry meaning a replacement check will never cover, and their shapes are awkward. With the right supplies, you can pack them for a household move and have them arrive at your new home in New Berlin or Appleton exactly the way they left.

Start With a Real Inventory

Walk every room and photograph each piece of art or mirror you plan to move. Note approximate dimensions, whether the frame is wood or metal, and any existing damage. If something arrives broken, you have proof of its condition before the move. For higher-value pieces, request written appraisals or keep the original bills of sale. Check with your homeowners insurance whether the policy covers art in transit, or whether you need a separate rider.

Buy the Right Supplies

Bubble wrap, packing paper, painter’s tape, corner protectors, and rigid picture boxes are the core kit. For anything with a glass front, run a large X of painter’s tape across the glass. It will not prevent a break, but if the glass cracks, the tape holds the shards together and keeps them off the artwork behind. Never place tape on the frame or a painted surface. Picture boxes come in adjustable sizes; select a box with an inch of clearance on every side. Check with your moving company for supplies.

Pro Tip: For mirrors and framed art larger than 36 inches on the longest side, buy telescoping mirror cartons designed to expand. Standard picture boxes bend and fail on oversized pieces, and a bent carton in the truck is a broken piece on arrival.

Pack Each Piece Individually

For framed art with glass, place the piece face down on a layer of bubble wrap, wrap the frame, then double-wrap the glass side. Corner protectors defend the corners, which take most of the impact in a bumped box. Canvas paintings need different handling. Cover the painted surface with acid-free glassine paper first, then wrap in bubble wrap with the bubbles facing outward. Bubbles pressed against oil or acrylic paint can leave impressions on soft areas. For mirrors, tape an X on the surface with painter’s tape, wrap in a moving blanket, add bubble wrap, and slide the piece into a mirror carton with foam corner blocks. Label the box “GLASS” and “THIS SIDE UP” on multiple sides.

Load and Transport With Care

Framed art and mirrors travel best standing upright, on edge, packed vertically against the truck’s interior walls. Setting them flat makes it easy to pile other boxes on top, creating a major risk of breaking the frame. If you are working with Schroeder Moving, our crews load fragile pieces last, so they come off the truck first. Between homes in Milwaukee, Waukesha, or up in the Fox Valley near Neenah and Kaukauna, temperature swings can affect artwork. Panel paintings, antique frames, and works on paper are especially sensitive.

Pro Tip: Photograph the arrangement of art on each wall before you take pieces down. When you unpack in your new home, you will have a reference for where each piece lived, which speeds up decisions about where to hang it in the new layout.

Special Cases Deserve Special Handling

Museums have long relied on custom crating for the most valuable works, and the same practice makes sense for oversized, extremely fragile, or high-value pieces in a household move. The American Institute for Conservation publishes public guidance on caring for cultural property that applies to heirloom art as much as museum collections.

Antique gilded frames, oversized beveled mirrors, and stained glass benefit from custom-built wood crates. A professional special products crew can build one to the piece’s exact dimensions and cushion the interior with foam blocking.

Unpacking at the New Home

Do not rush to unpack art and mirrors on the first day. Let the boxes sit in the room where each piece will hang so the artwork acclimates to the interior temperature and humidity. Inspect each piece as you open it, and photograph any damage before removing it from the packing materials. Save your inventory list and photos for at least 30 days after the move, in case you need to file a claim.

Trust Your Wisconsin Family Heirlooms to a Team That Knows Them

Since 1947, Schroeder Moving has been helping Wisconsin families safely move the pieces that matter most. From framed photographs to oversized mirrors and heirloom paintings, our packing crews treat every piece with the care it deserves. From Appleton to New Berlin, get a free quote and let us protect what hangs on your walls.

A commercial move is a promise your customers didn’t ask you to make. They expect the doors to stay open, the phones to be answered, and the orders to keep shipping. They don’t know the whole operation is being unplugged, packed, driven across town, and set back up somewhere new. For Appleton and Fox Valley businesses, protecting the customer relationship during a commercial move takes as much planning as the physical relocation itself. Here is how to move without losing the people who pay the bills.

Tell Customers Before They Find Out

The worst way for a customer to learn about your move is to show up at an empty storefront. Start a customer communication plan at least six to eight weeks before move day. Email your active list. Post on every social channel you use. If you serve foot traffic on College Avenue, near Fox River Mall, or in downtown Neenah, a printed sign in your window with the new address and opening date does more than any digital ad.

Be specific about what changes and what stays the same. New address? New phone number? Same email? Same team? Repeat that in every touchpoint. Customers forgive a move. They don’t forgive being ghosted.

Update Every Public Listing on the Same Day

Your Google Business Profile is how most new customers find you. Update it the moment you open at the new location, not before and not after. Google’s guide to changing your business address walks through the steps and warns that address changes sometimes trigger a re-verification. Plan for the lag. Do the same on Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and any Fox Cities community sites where you’re listed.

Don’t forget the mail. Filing PS Form 3575 with the USPS forwards business mail for up to one year and gives you a safety net for invoices, checks, and any customer correspondence still routed to the old address.

Pro Tip: Build a single master spreadsheet of every place your address appears online, from your website footer to your email signature to your invoice template. Assign one team member to work through it on move day. Missing even one directory can send a paying customer to your old parking lot.

Keep Service Running Through the Transition

Maintaining service ensures customer trust. A phased move keeps essential operations running while the physical relocation happens. Move non-essential departments and archived files first. Keep sales, support, and shipping running at the old location until the new one is set up. Then switch over on a Friday evening, use the weekend to test everything, and reopen Monday morning.

For businesses in Menasha, Kaukauna, or Grand Chute, WI, that depend on same-day pickup or delivery, coordinate with your mover on a shift plan for critical departments. If your operation includes specialty equipment, medical devices, or restaurant fixtures, ask about special product handling so those items get the care they need.

Pro Tip: Set up temporary call forwarding from your old number to a mobile phone before you disconnect service. Customers who call the old line during the transition still reach a human, not a “number no longer in service” recording.

Turn the Move Into a Marketing Moment

A business move is a story worth telling. Share progress photos of the new space on social media. Post a countdown to the grand opening. Invite loyal customers to a soft-launch preview before the public opening. Local outlets like the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce newsletter, community Facebook groups, and Appleton, WI, neighborhood pages will often run short pieces on member businesses that are expanding or relocating. Free coverage that reaches your actual local customer base is worth more than any paid ad.

Plan the Logistics With Someone Who Has Done It Before

The physical relocation is where professional coordination truly shines. A dedicated moving team ensures every piece of equipment and furniture is transitioned with precision, maintaining a strict schedule that keeps your business on track. A professional commercial team handles the packing, transport, IT reconnection, and furniture setup so your leadership can focus on customers instead of loading docks. If your new Appleton, WI, space isn’t ready on the same day, short-term warehousing bridges the gap without cluttering either location.

A Fox Valley Move That Keeps Your Business Running

Schroeder Moving has been helping Appleton and Fox Valley, WI, businesses relocate without losing a beat since 1947, backed by the UniGroup network for moves that extend beyond state lines. From your first customer notice to your first day at the new address, our commercial moving team handles the details so your operation keeps humming. Get a free quote and plan a move your customers barely notice.

Signing a moving contract can feel like signing a mortgage. Pages of fine print, a mover asking for your initial on every other line, and most people just want the truck on the road, so they sign. That is where problems start. If you are planning a move out of New Berlin, Waukesha, or anywhere in the Milwaukee metro, a little time spent understanding your legal rights can save you money and give you real recourse if something goes wrong. Here is what a Wisconsin homeowner should know before your household move begins.

Federal Rules Cover Every Interstate Move

If your move crosses a state line, federal law applies. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates interstate household goods carriers, and it publishes a booklet called Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move that every interstate mover is required to give you before your move begins. Read it. It covers how estimates work, how weight is calculated, what your mover can and cannot charge for, and how to file a claim if goods are lost or damaged. If a mover does not hand you this pamphlet, that itself is a red flag.

Interstate movers also have to be registered with FMCSA and carry a USDOT number. You can look up any carrier’s registration and complaint history for free on the FMCSA website. Doing this five-minute check has stopped a lot of moving nightmares before they started.

Wisconsin Handles Intrastate Moves Differently

If your move stays inside Wisconsin, the rules change. FMCSA does not cover intrastate moves. Instead, complaints go to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). DATCP’s interstate moving guide is a useful starting point, and their Consumer Protection Bureau investigates billing disputes, damage claims, and deceptive practices from any mover doing business in the state.

The takeaway for a New Berlin resident moving to Waukesha or Brookfield: get a written estimate before the truck shows up, keep every receipt, and know the DATCP hotline exists.

Pro Tip: Ask your mover in writing whether your quote is a binding estimate, a non-binding estimate, or a not-to-exceed price. These are three very different contracts. Non-binding estimates can grow at delivery time. Binding and not-to-exceed protect you from surprise charges.

Understand Valuation, Not Just Insurance

One of the most misunderstood parts of a moving contract is valuation coverage. Movers do not sell insurance in the traditional sense; they offer valuation, which is the amount of liability they accept if your belongings are lost or damaged. The FMCSA outlines two federal options for interstate moves: Released Value Protection and Full Value Protection.

Released Value is the free default. It caps the mover’s liability at 60 cents per pound per item. Your 40-pound flat-screen TV that got dropped? Twenty-four dollars, regardless of what the TV cost. Full Value Protection costs extra but makes the mover responsible for the replacement value of anything lost or damaged. For most families moving out of Waukesha County, Full Value is worth the added fee.

Read Every Document Before You Sign

The bill of lading is your contract. It lists services, charges, pickup and delivery dates, and valuation choices. Do not sign a blank one, and do not sign until every line is filled in. At delivery, walk through with the driver and check items against the inventory sheet before signing off. If something is missing or damaged, note it on the inventory before the driver leaves. Once you sign a clean delivery, filing a claim gets much harder.

Pro Tip: Take a photo of the odometer if your mover charges by mileage, and photograph any pre-existing damage on high-value items before they leave the house. These pictures are your evidence if a dispute comes up later.

When Something Goes Wrong

You have nine months to file a written claim with your mover for loss or damage on an interstate shipment. The mover has 30 days to acknowledge and 120 days to pay, deny, or make an offer. If the response is not fair, federal law requires interstate movers to offer neutral arbitration for claims of $10,000 or less. For intrastate disputes, DATCP is your route. Save every document, take pictures, and put your complaint in writing rather than sorting it out over the phone.

Move Confidently With a Wisconsin Team You Can Trust

Understanding the paperwork is your protection. Working with a mover who explains the paperwork is your peace of mind. Schroeder Moving has been guiding Wisconsin families through the fine print of residential moves since 1947, from New Berlin and Waukesha to Milwaukee, WI, and beyond. Get a free quote and start your move with a team that puts everything in writing.

Your company found the perfect new space in the Fox Valley. Maybe it is a larger office on College Avenue, a warehouse closer to I-41, or a storefront with better visibility in downtown Appleton. The lease is signed, and the move is on the calendar. Now comes a step that many business owners overlook until the last minute: telling everyone about it.

A well-planned office relocation announcement protects your customer relationships, keeps your employees in the loop, and even generates some positive buzz. Here is how to handle it like a professional.

Start With Your Team

Your employees should hear the news before anyone else. Nothing damages trust faster than a staff member learning about a company move from a customer or a social media post. Call an all-hands meeting (or a video call if your team is spread across locations) and share the key details: the new address, the projected move date, and what it means for their daily routines.

Be specific. Will parking change? Is the commute longer for some people? Will there be a temporary work-from-home period during the transition? Address these questions directly. Employees who feel informed are far more likely to stay positive and help the move go smoothly.

Notify Your Customers Early

Give your customers at least 4 to 6 weeks’ notice. For businesses in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, or the broader Fox Cities, your customer base is often local and loyal. They want to know they can still find you.

Send a personalized email or letter that includes your new address, your expected last day at the old location, and the date you will be open at the new spot. If there are any expected service interruptions during the transition, be honest about it. Customers respect transparency far more than finding a locked door with no explanation.

Pro Tip: Include a small map or a Google Maps link in your announcement. Even longtime customers may not recognize the new address right away, especially if you are moving from one side of Appleton to another.

Update Your Online Presence

This is where many businesses drop the ball. Your Google Business Profile, website, social media pages, Yelp listing, and any online directories need to reflect your new address the moment you open at the new location. Outdated information sends customers to your old space and hurts your search engine visibility.

Make a checklist of every platform where your address appears. That includes the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions if your business is registered there, your bank, your insurance provider, and any industry-specific directories. Updating these in batches the week before your move saves headaches down the line.

Use the Move as a Marketing Moment

A business relocation is actually a great story. Share behind-the-scenes photos of the new space on your social media channels. Post a countdown to opening day. If you are a retail business, consider hosting a grand re-opening event with discounts or giveaways to draw foot traffic to the new location.

Local Fox Valley media outlets, community Facebook groups, and Appleton neighborhood newsletters are all worth reaching out to. A short press release about your move, why you chose the new location, and what it means for your customers can earn free coverage that paid ads cannot match.

Pro Tip: Update your voicemail and email signature with your new address at least two weeks before the move. These small touchpoints catch people who might miss your formal announcement.

Coordinate the Physical Move

While you handle the communication side, make sure the logistics are covered. A professional commercial moving team handles the packing, transport, and setup of office furniture, equipment, and inventory. If you need temporary storage during the transition, warehousing solutions keep your assets safe without cluttering your new or old space.

Make Your Business Move a Success

Schroeder Moving has been Wisconsin’s trusted partner for commercial relocations since 1947. From Appleton to New Berlin and everywhere in between, we handle every detail of your business move. Request a free quote and let us help your company settle into its next chapter.

You have spent weeks packing boxes, labeling rooms, and sorting through years of accumulated stuff. Now the truck is scheduled, the coffee maker is the last thing you plan to unplug, and tomorrow is the big day. Moving day itself is where all that preparation either pays off or falls apart. Here is a step-by-step playbook to keep your Milwaukee household move running smoothly from sunrise to the moment you collapse on the couch in your new home.

The Night Before: Final Prep

Set out the clothes everyone will wear on moving day. Charge every phone and tablet. Pack a “first night” bag for each family member with pajamas, toothbrushes, a change of clothes, and any medications. This bag rides with you in the car, not on the truck.

Walk through every room one last time. Check closet shelves, the garage rafters, and that cabinet above the refrigerator that nobody ever opens. It is remarkable how often things get left behind in spots you rarely think about.

Morning: Before the Movers Arrive

Wake up early. Eat a real breakfast because grabbing a drive-through meal on a chaotic morning rarely works out. Strip all the beds and add the sheets to your laundry bags. 

Disconnect the washer and dryer if the movers are not handling that.

If you live in a neighborhood with tight parking, like Bay View, the East Side, or Walker’s Point, make sure the moving truck has a clear spot to park. Talk to your neighbors ahead of time or arrange temporary no-parking signs through the city.

Pro Tip: Keep a small cooler stocked with water, juice boxes, and snacks near the front door. Moving crews work hard, and having cold drinks ready is a simple gesture that goes a long way. It also keeps your family fueled without needing to hunt for a nearby gas station.

Mid-Morning: Loading Begins

When the crew arrives, do a quick walk-through together. Point out fragile items, anything that needs special handling, and which boxes are marked for specific rooms. If you are using Schroeder Moving’s household moving services, our team handles the heavy lifting, but clear communication up front saves time and prevents mistakes.

Keep kids and pets out of the loading zone. Designate a safe room or arrange for a friend or family member to watch them during the busiest hours. A toddler wandering near a ramp while furniture is being loaded is a safety hazard nobody needs.

Afternoon: The Drive and Unloading

Before leaving your old home, do one last sweep. Check the basement, the attic, every bathroom, closet, and the backyard shed. Lock all the doors and windows. If you are renting, take photos of every room as proof of the condition you left it in.

At your new home, arrive ahead of the truck if possible. Unlock all the doors, turn on the AC or heat depending on the season, and tape room labels to doorways so the crew knows exactly where each box belongs. A simple sign reading “Kids’ Room” on a bedroom door saves a dozen questions.

Pro Tip: Bring a basic toolkit with you on moving day. You will need a screwdriver, pliers, a utility knife for opening boxes, and a tape measure. Do not pack these on the truck where you cannot reach them.

Evening: Settling In

You do not need to unpack everything tonight. Focus on the essentials: set up beds, locate the bathroom box (towels, soap, toilet paper), and find the kitchen basics so you can make coffee in the morning. Everything else can wait.

Order dinner from a local spot near your new neighborhood. If you have landed in Waukesha, Greenfield, or New Berlin, there are plenty of options within a short drive. Let yourself relax. You earned it.

Your Milwaukee Move, Handled Right

Schroeder Moving has been helping Wisconsin families through moving day for over 75 years. From packing to unloading, our residential moving team takes the chaos out of the equation. Get a free quote and let us handle the heavy lifting.

Relocating a business is nothing like moving a house. There’s no packing-up-the-kitchen phase—there’s a full-blown logistics operation involving equipment, technology, inventory, employee coordination, and a hard deadline that your clients are counting on. For Appleton and Fox Valley businesses, a commercial move done right means zero lost revenue and minimal disruption. Here’s how to make that happen.

Map Your Move Like a Supply Chain

The best commercial moves borrow directly from supply chain management. Start by cataloging every asset that needs to move: furniture, servers, inventory, machinery, and sensitive documents. Assign each category a priority level and a destination within the new space. Build a timeline that works backward from your go-live date, just like you’d plan a product launch. This inventory-first approach prevents the chaos of discovering on moving day that nobody planned for the 800-pound CNC machine in the back shop.

Pro Tip: Create a simple spreadsheet with columns for item, current location, destination, priority, and special handling notes. Share it with your mover at least three weeks out so they can plan crew size and equipment.

Minimize Downtime With Phased Relocation

Most Fox Valley businesses can’t afford to shut down completely for a move. A phased relocation splits the job into stages—non-essential items and archived files go first, followed by workstations, and finally critical systems like servers and phone infrastructure. This keeps your team productive during the transition. Appleton businesses serving clients across northeast Wisconsin can maintain service continuity by staggering the move over a weekend or scheduling critical transfers during off-peak hours.

Protect Your Technology and Data

IT equipment is the most vulnerable part of any commercial move. Hard drives, servers, monitors, and networking gear need anti-static packaging and climate-controlled transport. Back up everything to the cloud or an off-site location before the move—no exceptions. Label every cable, photograph your server rack configuration, and coordinate with your IT team so reconnection at the new site goes smoothly. Schroeder Moving’s commercial moving crews include technicians experienced with electronics and server installations, so your tech arrives ready to plug in.

Leverage Warehousing for Inventory Staging

If your new Appleton space isn’t ready on time—or you’re downsizing and need to phase out old inventory—short-term warehousing keeps things from piling up in your parking lot. Schroeder operates over 200,000 square feet of secure, temperature-controlled warehouse space with hubs in both Milwaukee and Appleton. That means your inventory, fixtures, or overflow equipment stays protected and accessible until you’re ready for delivery. Their distribution services can even handle receiving and forwarding shipments during the transition, keeping your supply chain moving while your office catches up.

Pro Tip: Ask your mover about final mile delivery for specialty items like medical equipment, restaurant fixtures, or fitness gear. Schroeder’s special products team handles these with dedicated care so nothing arrives damaged.

Communicate Early and Often

Internal communication is where business moves fall apart. Notify employees at least six weeks before the move with a clear timeline, packing responsibilities, and a point of contact for questions. Send updates to clients and vendors so they are aware of any temporary service disruptions or changes to your address. For Appleton businesses with foot traffic on College Avenue or in the Fox River Mall area, update your Google Business Profile and website as soon as the move is confirmed.

Your Appleton Business Deserves a Logistics Partner, Not Just a Mover

A commercial relocation is a logistics project, and it deserves a partner who thinks that way. Schroeder Moving has been coordinating commercial moves across Wisconsin since 1947—backed by the UniGroup network for moves that extend beyond state lines. From warehousing to final mile delivery, they handle the supply chain so you can focus on running your business. Get a free quote and start planning a move that keeps your operations on track.

Packing the kitchen for a household move can feel like a big task, but with a little planning, it doesn’t have to be stressful! Kitchens tend to be stuffed with oddly shaped gadgets, fragile glassware, and that cast-iron skillet that weighs as much as a toddler. But here’s the good news: with a solid plan, you can pack your Wisconsin kitchen in a single weekend—without breaking Grandma’s pie dish. Whether you’re relocating across New Berlin or heading up to Appleton, this playbook will keep you organized from the junk drawer to the last coffee mug.

Start With a Clean Sweep

Start by pulling everything out of your cabinets and taking stock. Chances are you’ll find expired spices from 2019, duplicate spatulas, and a quesadilla maker you used exactly once. Donate what you don’t need to a local Goodwill or community pantry—there are plenty across Waukesha County and the Fox Valley that welcome kitchen items. Less stuff means fewer boxes, lower moving costs, and a fresh start in your new home.

Pro Tip: Snap a quick photo of how your dishes and glasses are arranged in the cabinets before packing. It makes unpacking and putting everything back together faster.

The Fragile Stuff: Dishes, Glasses, and Ceramics

This is where most kitchen damage happens, so slow down here. Use dish-pack boxes (the ones with double walls) for your best china and stemware. Wrap each plate individually in packing paper—newspaper works in a pinch, but can leave ink stains. Stand plates vertically like vinyl records; they’re far less likely to crack that way. For wine glasses and mugs, stuff paper inside the cup first, then wrap the outside and nestle them upright in cell dividers.

Appliances and Gadgets

Your stand mixer, blender, Instant Pot, and air fryer all need their own boxes with plenty of padding. If you kept the original packaging, use it. If not, wrap each appliance in a bath towel and pack it snugly so nothing shifts during the drive. Detach blades, lids, and cords—bag them separately and tape the bag to the appliance so nothing goes missing. For larger items like that beloved KitchenAid, Schroeder’s household moving team has handled thousands of kitchen moves and knows how to protect the heavy hitters.

Pantry and Perishables

Here’s a common Wisconsin moving mistake: packing a full pantry and freezer. If you’re moving locally within the Milwaukee metro or between New Berlin and Appleton, sealed dry goods travel fine—think canned vegetables, pasta, and cereal. But open containers, refrigerated items, and anything in glass jars deserve extra attention. Use small boxes for canned goods (they get heavy fast) and transport open condiments in a cooler on moving day. Plan meals around your freezer inventory in the two weeks before the move so you’re not hauling frozen brats and cheese curds across the state.

Pro Tip: Pack a “first night” kitchen box with paper plates, a few utensils, dish soap, a sponge, coffee, and your favorite mug. You’ll want coffee before you unpack a single cabinet.

Knives, Utensils, and the Junk Drawer

Knives belong in blade guards or wrapped individually in towels—never loose in a box. Wrap the utensil trays in plastic wrap as is and place them directly in a box, keeping everything sorted. As for the junk drawer, resist the urge to dump it all into a bag. Sort through it, toss what you don’t need, and pack the keepers in a small labeled container.

Label Like You Mean It

Mark every box with the room, a brief contents list, and “FRAGILE” where it counts. Color-coded tape works great if you’re moving into a larger home. Your movers will place boxes in the right rooms, so you can unpack faster and avoid that maddening hunt for the can opener at dinnertime.

Let Schroeder Moving Handle the Heavy Lifting

You’ve packed smart—now let professionals take it from here. Schroeder Moving has been helping Wisconsin families with residential moves since 1947, serving communities from New Berlin to Appleton and everywhere in between. Ready to get started? Request your free quote and cross “stressful kitchen move” off your list for good.

Fragile items are the ones that make moving feel like the highest stakes. A cracked mirror, broken wine glasses, or a damaged piece of artwork isn’t just a financial loss — some of these things can’t be replaced at any price. The good news is that most breakage during a move is preventable. It comes down to two things: the right materials and not rushing the process.

Start with the Right Supplies

Packing fragile items with inexpensive, inadequate materials is a false economy. You’ll need small to medium-sized boxes for most breakables — larger boxes get too heavy and too difficult to handle safely. Stock up on plain packing paper (not newspaper, which transfers ink onto surfaces), bubble wrap, foam sheets or foam pouches, packing tape, and something to fill empty space — packing peanuts, crumpled paper, or small towels all work. The goal for any fragile box is that nothing moves once it’s sealed. If you can hear or feel the box shifting when you gently shake it, it needs more cushioning before it goes on the truck.

Dishes and Glassware: More Care Than You’d Think

Dishes should be packed vertically, standing on their edges like records in a crate — never flat. Stacking them flat places all the weight on the bottom pieces, and that’s where most dish breakage happens. Wrap each plate individually in packing paper, and place a sheet of bubble wrap or additional paper between each one. 

For glasses and stemware, stuff the inside of each glass with crumpled paper first, then wrap the outside and give extra attention to stems, which are the most vulnerable part. Use boxes with cell dividers when packing wine glasses or other stemware — they keep pieces separated and prevent contact during transit.

Artwork and Mirrors: Stand Them Up, Always

Framed artwork and mirrors should always travel upright, never flat. Lay them flat, and they’re far more susceptible to pressure cracks from weight stacked on top. Use painter’s tape to create an X across the glass surface before packing — this doesn’t make the glass unbreakable, but if it does get hit, the tape holds the shards together rather than letting them scatter. Wrap the piece in bubble wrap secured with tape (tape on the wrap, not directly on the frame), then place it in a specialty picture or mirror box. Fill any remaining space in the box with packing paper so nothing shifts.

Ceramics, Collectibles, and Heirlooms

Irregularly shaped items require more patience than standard household goods. Wrap every piece individually and completely, paying extra attention to protruding parts — a ceramic figurine’s arm, the spout on a teapot, the corner of a decorative tile. For items with significant sentimental or monetary value, consider double-boxing: pack the item in a well-cushioned smaller box, then place that box inside a larger box with additional padding on all sides. Mark these boxes “Fragile” on every face, and load them last so they ride on top of heavier items on the truck.

Know When to Ask for Help

For a large collection of fragile items, or for individual pieces that are genuinely irreplaceable — fine art, antiques, family heirlooms — a professional packing service is worth the investment. Professional packers have access to custom crating materials and regularly handle high-value, delicate pieces. They know which items require specialty boxes, which need custom foam inserts, and how to pack a truck so that the fragile items stay safe through every turn and stop between New Berlin and the destination. Our residential moving team includes packing services specifically designed for households with fragile or high-value items.

Loading Matters as Much as Packing

Items in a well-packed box can still get broken if the box is placed under heavy items or allowed to shift during a sharp turn. Fragile boxes should be loaded last and positioned on top of heavier, more stable boxes. Keep them upright with the “this side up” orientation respected. If you’re overseeing a move with a mix of professional movers and personal loads, make sure everyone on site knows which boxes are fragile and where they belong in the truck.

Move It Safely. Move It Right.

Schroeder Moving provides professional packing and household moving services for Wisconsin families throughout Appleton, New Berlin, Milwaukee, and the surrounding area. Whether you need help packing your most delicate items or want a full-service move from start to finish, we have the experience to protect what matters. Request your free estimate today.

Technology is the backbone of how most Wisconsin businesses operate today. Phones, computers, servers, network hardware — when these things go down, everything stops. That’s what makes the IT component of an office relocation fundamentally different from moving furniture or filing cabinets. The stakes are higher, the variables are more complex, and the cost of getting it wrong shows up on day one at the new location. With the right plan in place, a tech-heavy move doesn’t have to mean downtime.

Start with a Complete IT Inventory

Before anything gets disconnected, document everything. Create a detailed list of every piece of technology in the building: workstations, monitors, printers, phone systems, network switches, firewalls, servers, and any specialty equipment. For each item, note the model, serial number, and exactly where and how it’s currently connected. This inventory isn’t just an administrative step — it’s the foundation of your reconnection plan. Without it, the setup at the new location becomes a guessing game.

Back Up Everything Before You Touch a Single Cable

Data loss during a move is rare when handled properly, but the consequences are severe enough that there’s no reason to leave it to chance. Back up all critical systems — servers, shared drives, databases — before any equipment is moved. Test those backups to confirm they’re complete and recoverable. Store backup copies separately from the equipment being moved, whether on an offsite server or a secure cloud environment. For regulated industries such as healthcare, legal, or financial services operating in the Milwaukee or Fox Valley areas, this step also intersects with compliance obligations and should involve your IT or legal team.

Label Every Cable and Component

Complex cable runs, server racks, and multi-device workstations can look completely unfamiliar once they’ve been disconnected from their context. Before disassembly begins, photograph every setup — server back panels, workstation cable connections, phone system wiring. Label each cable with a tag that identifies both what it connects to and where it goes. Bag and label all peripheral accessories together with their corresponding device. This documentation turns what could be a half-day of troubleshooting at the new location into a straightforward reconnection process.

Prepare the New Location Before Moving Day

One of the most common mistakes in commercial IT moves is arriving at the new space before it’s ready for technology. Confirm well in advance that the internet service is active and fully provisioned. Check that electrical capacity is adequate for the equipment load — particularly in server rooms or data closets. Verify that cooling is sufficient for heat-generating equipment. Walk the floor plan with your IT team and pre-identify where each workstation, printer, and network device will be positioned. When every piece has a designated spot before the truck arrives, setup on the other end moves significantly faster.

Minimize Downtime with a Phased Approach

For businesses that can’t afford a full weekend shutdown, a phased migration is worth the additional planning effort. Moving one department at a time — or moving non-essential systems first while keeping core operations running at the old location — allows the business to maintain function during the transition. Critical systems like phone lines and internet should be the last things disconnected at the old site and the first things confirmed at the new one. Your moving partner and IT team should coordinate these priorities well before move day.

Work with Movers Experienced in Commercial Technology

Standard moving equipment and standard handling aren’t appropriate for servers, rack-mounted systems, or precision electronics. Anti-static materials, padded crating, and careful loading protocols matter for this type of equipment. The right commercial moving partner in Wisconsin will have experience with technology-heavy office moves, coordinate directly with your IT team, and know how to handle the physical side of the relocation without creating the very problems you’ve worked to prevent. Our team has been managing commercial moves — including technology-intensive ones — for businesses across New Berlin, Appleton, Milwaukee, and throughout the state for decades.

Wisconsin’s Commercial Mover for Complex Moves

When your office technology needs to be down for the minimum possible time, experience matters. Schroeder Moving offers commercial relocation services designed around business continuity — with project managers, IT-aware move coordination, and the capability to handle even the most technology-intensive office moves. Request a free commercial moving quote today.