How to Pack Lamps, Lampshades and Ceiling Fans for a Move

12 November 2026

Short answer: switch the lamp off at the wall and let it cool, take the shade and bulb off first, and pack each shade in its own carton with nothing on top. Wrap the base and any glass in paper or PE foam, tape the cord up, and keep the harp and fittings in a labelled bag. For a ceiling fan or hard-wired light, photograph the wiring and let an electrician disconnect it with the power off at the main switch. Check with the landlord or buyer first, because many fixtures belong to the house.

Lighting is the part of a move people leave to the last hour. Then a pleated shade goes in with the saucepans, a glass base gets a tea towel round it, and the new house is dark and dented on the first night. Lamps are light, awkward and breakable, and the shapes do not fit a standard carton. This guide takes them in order: what to leave behind, what to wrap, and what to ask an electrician to do.

First decide what you are actually taking

Not everything on the ceiling is yours. In a rented home the ceiling fans, downlights and fixed fittings are often provided with the unit. In a sold house they may be listed in the sale agreement. Check before you remove anything, because a fan unscrewed from the ceiling cannot be put back by tomorrow.

Make three piles:

Plug-in lamps (table lamps, floor lamps, desk lamps, bedside lamps). These are yours, and this guide covers them.
Fixtures you own and want to take (a ceiling fan you bought, a feature pendant, a chandelier). These need an electrician, planning and a long breakable-parts list.
Fixtures that stay. Leave the fitting, and take the bulbs only if the agreement allows it.

If a fixture is staying, a photo of it on the day you hand over the keys is the cheapest record you will ever make.

Plug-in lamps, step by step

1. Switch off, unplug, let it cool. A halogen or incandescent bulb stays hot long enough to burn a hand and to scorch the paper you wrap it in. Wait a few minutes.

2. Take the bulb out. Pack bulbs separately in a small carton, each in a sheet of paper. Never leave a bulb in a lamp that is going into a box, because the weight of the base pushes on the socket and the glass is the first thing to crack.

3. Remove the shade and the harp. The shade lifts off. A harp (the wire frame that holds it) usually unscrews or squeezes out. Put the screw-on finial, the harp and any small parts in a zip bag, label it with the lamp’s room, and tape it to the base where tape will not lift the finish.

4. Tie the cord up. Wind the flex and hold it with a rubber band or a strip of tape. A cord left hanging catches on a lift door and drags the lamp off the trolley.

5. Wrap the base. Use paper first, then PE foam or bubble wrap over any glass, ceramic or thin metal. Bubble wrap with the bubbles facing in is fine for a ceramic base, as long as nothing hot is wrapped. Use stretch film only to hold padding in place, not straight onto a painted or lacquered base.

6. Put it in a carton that is the right size. A base should fit with a few centimetres of padding on every side and no room to slide. A once-used Grade A carton is ideal because the load is light and the box does a short, gentle job. Check it is clean and dry inside, and fill every gap with crumpled paper so the lamp cannot rock.

Lampshades: the part that gets crushed

A shade weighs almost nothing and is the item most often squashed, because someone stacks a box of books on it. Three rules cover nearly all of it.

One shade, one carton, or nest them only in a box big enough that no shade touches the side. A large, light carton for the shades is a better use of a box than filling the corners of a heavy one.
Wrap loosely in clean white paper. Not newspaper, because the print can mark a pale fabric shade. Do not tape to the shade itself.
Mark the carton FRAGILE, THIS WAY UP and DO NOT STACK, and load it on top of the pile or in the car with you. The labelling guide explains how to make a mark that survives a hot lorry.

A rigid shade (glass, metal or ceramic) is packed like the base, with padding inside it as well as around it. A paper lantern or rattan shade needs a carton that is simply too big for it, with soft filling at the corners.

Floor lamps and tall lamps

A tall lamp is mostly pole and the risk is the long lever, not the weight.

Take the shade and bulb off. If the pole comes apart in sections, separate them and bag the screws.
Wrap the pole and the base together with a blanket or stretch film over padding, and tape the cord up.
In the lorry, lay it flat along a wall, or wedge it upright between two heavy pieces such as a wardrobe and a mattress. A tall lamp left loose on the deck will fall at the first corner.
A floor lamp with a glass diffuser or an arched arm is worth its own big carton. The furniture wrapping guide shows how to pad a long object so the padding stays on.

Ceiling fans, chandeliers and pendant lights

These are the jobs where doing it yourself goes wrong, so keep the tone cautious.

Power first, and a person who knows what they are doing. Switch off at the main switch, not only the wall switch, before anything is disconnected. Fixed wiring in a Malaysian home is a job for a competent electrician, and so is capping the wires you leave behind. This is not an area for improvising on a stool.

Photograph before you remove. One photo of the fitting in place, one of the wiring at the junction, one of how the canopy and blades attach. Reassembly in the new house goes faster with a photo, and a landlord will want to see you left the ceiling safe.

Take it apart into pieces you can pack.

Ceiling fan: blades off and stacked together flat, wrapped in a blanket or corrugated cardboard and film. The motor housing wrapped in paper and padding, in its own carton. Screws, brackets and the downrod in a labelled bag taped to the carton. Keep the remote or wall control with the bag.
Chandelier or glass pendant: crystals, arms, shades and bulbs off, every glass piece wrapped on its own, the frame wrapped separately, and layers of padding between each layer in a strong carton. Label it with the room and FRAGILE.
Spotlight or track lights: these are usually part of the house. If you own them, bag the fittings by room.

For an expensive or antique fitting, ask the electrician or a specialist mover whether they will take it down and move it. The cost of a crate or a professional is less than the fitting.

Glass and bulbs: what not to do

Do not pack bulbs inside lamp bases or in the same box as heavy items.
Do not wrap a hot bulb or lamp in paper or plastic.
Do not store lamps lying in a carton with the cord trailing under other boxes. A crushed cord is a fire risk when you plug it in.
Do not overfill a box of lamps. Light things in big boxes is the right idea here, as our guide on how heavy a moving box should be explains, but fragile things still need space round them.

Lighting checklist

Unpacking: light first

Put one lamp and one working bulb where you will unpack first. The unpacking order guide puts the bedroom and kitchen first; the first-night box should have a lamp in it, so the first evening is not spent working by phone torch. Fit shades last, once the bases are standing where they will stay, and check every cord for crush marks before plugging in.

FAQ

How do I pack a lampshade so it does not get crushed? Give each shade its own carton, or nest them only if the box is large enough that nothing touches the sides. Wrap a pleated or fabric shade loosely in clean white paper, never newspaper because the print can rub off, and keep the carton light enough that nothing else is stacked on top. Mark it FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP, and fill empty space with crumpled paper so the shade cannot shift.

Can I take the ceiling fan and light fittings when I move out? Check your tenancy agreement or sale agreement first. Fans and fixed light fittings are often treated as part of the house, so ask the landlord or buyer before you remove them. If they are yours to take, have a competent electrician disconnect them with the power off at the main switch, and ask the same person to cap the wires you leave behind.

Should I wrap light bulbs separately? Take bulbs out of lamps and pack them in their own small carton. LED bulbs are sturdier than old filament bulbs, but any bulb that rolls loose in a drawer or a carton ends up chipped or cracked. A bulb wrapped in a sheet of paper and stood in a small box is safe, and costs nothing to do.

What is the safest way to move a chandelier or a glass pendant light? Take photos of the wiring, switch off the power at the main switch, and have a second person hold the fitting while you unscrew it. Wrap every crystal, arm and glass piece separately in paper, lay them in a strong carton with padding between layers, and label the box. For an expensive or antique fitting, ask an electrician or a specialist mover rather than doing it yourself.

How should I pack floor lamps and tall standing lamps? Take the shade and bulb off, fold or unscrew the pole if it comes apart, and wrap the pole and base in a blanket or stretch film. Tie the cord up with tape so it does not trail. A long pole travels best lying flat along the side of the lorry, or wedged upright between two heavy items, never left loose on the deck.

Boxes, wrap and padding for your move

Quinocycle supplies once-used Grade A cartons from RM1.10 and new cartons, with PE foam, bubble wrap and packing tape for the lamp bases and shades. Delivery is free on orders of RM300 and above across KL and Selangor.

Questions about your move? WhatsApp +60 16-891 6381 or contact us. We are open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm and Saturday 8.30am to 1pm, and closed on Sundays and public holidays.