Are you shipping household goods overseas in shipping containers? If you are moving overseas, you are probably going to want to ship a range of personal items to your new location. When you hire a dependable overseas mover, you can typically have the overseas moving company arrange packing services for you, but if you prefer to save money, or if you prefer to pack your own things, you can also opt to the packing yourself.

If you are packing your household goods for overseas moving, it is important to follow some simple cargo packing advice to organize and safely secure your items for sea shipping. Consider these 7 tips before you get started packing your boxes for international shipping.

1. Don’t over pack boxes. Remember that one person should be able to pick up, carry and load each box. Typically 50 lbs. is a good maximum weight.

2. Nest items. In order to save space, and to secure packing for minimal breakage, ship items inside one another whenever possible.

3. Pack tightly. One of the keys to great packing is tight packing. If your cargo moves around a lot during international shipping, damage is more likely.

4. Cushion breakables generously. Get creative and use crumpled paper, towels, foam, and other materials to pad the bottom, top, and sides of boxes carrying fragile items.

5. Pack by weight. Heavy Items should be placed on the bottom of boxes. Lighter, and more fragile items, should be placed closer to the top.

6. Pack similar items together. Once you get to your final overseas destination, it’ll be much easier to organize and unpack your boxes when you pack items that belong together (i.e., kitchen items, or children’s toys) in the same box.

7. Label boxes. Use labels to specify item type, and whether fragile items are in the box. If a carton belongs in a certain position, use a permanent marker to draw arrows on each side of the box noting which end is upright.