Back up your data first, then pack each device in its original box if you kept it, or a double-walled box with at least two inches of padding on every side. Photograph cable setups before unplugging, bag and label cords with their device, remove all batteries and ink cartridges, and keep TVs and monitors upright, never flat.
Step zero: back everything up
Before a single cable comes loose, back up every computer and drive to the cloud or an external disk that travels with you. Hardware is replaceable; your files, photos, and, for a business, your operating data are not. On office moves this is non-negotiable: we've watched companies restart work the same afternoon because their data was safe even when a monitor wasn't.
For businesses, schedule the backup the night before packing begins and confirm it actually completed. A backup nobody verified is a hope, not a plan.
The original box is the gold standard
Manufacturers spend real money engineering foam inserts to survive shipping, if you kept the box your TV or computer came in, use it. No original box? Use a double-walled box a few inches bigger than the device, wrap the item in anti-static bubble wrap, and fill every gap so nothing shifts. A packed electronics box should be silent when you shake it gently.
Skip packing peanuts around bare electronics. They shift, they carry static, and they end up inside vents. Paper and bubble wrap hold position better.
The photo trick for cables
Before unplugging anything, photograph the back of each device with everything connected. Then unplug, coil each cable, and bag it labeled with its device, the bag rides in the same box. Color-coded stickers on cord and port take reassembly from an hour of guessing to five minutes of matching.
On office moves, sort by desk or room, not by device type. A box of forty mixed power cables is a puzzle nobody wants on day one in the new space.
TVs and monitors ride upright
Flat-panel screens are built to bear weight on their edges, not across their face. Lay one flat under other cargo and the panel can crack without a mark on the box. Keep screens vertical in a TV box or between padded furniture, and never stack anything against the glass. Our trucks carry TV cartons and furniture pads for exactly this, tell us what you've got and we'll bring the right gear.
Pull batteries and cartridges before loading
Batteries left in remotes and devices can leak, corrode, or overheat in transit, pull them and bag them with their device. Printers get special treatment: remove ink and toner cartridges (they leak under pressure and temperature changes), seal them in a plastic bag, and pack them beside the printer.
Heat is the quiet killer in San Diego
A closed truck parked in the sun runs far hotter than the air outside, and September inland temperatures make it worse. Load electronics last so they're off the truck first, and never leave them in a vehicle overnight mid-move. If your electronics are heading into storage for a gap between homes, that's a climate-controlled situation, sustained heat and humidity swings age circuit boards and screens faster than use ever will.