Saran wrap

Today I'm thankful for ...

... big-ass rolls of stretchy plastic wrap. I wrapped up just about everything big with some bubble wrap and then put stretchy plastic wrap around them. The roll is just a really oversized version of food plastic wrap that has an elongated spindle so you can grasp the roll with two hands and literally run around the object you want to wrap.

I got the idea from people back on the job who had to move server equipment between labs. Rather than unbolt and pack equipment people would leave server racks completely assembled. The trouble is that cords get tangled, they fall off the rack unsecured, there's other little things that bounce and roll around. So, if you wrap the entire rack in plastic wrap then everything stays put and all you have to do is unwrap the rack when you arrive at your destination.

So, I shielded all of my big furniture with bubble wrap or furniture pads to provide some crash protection, and then I used the plastic wrap to hold them in place. It turns out this is really quick to do and works insanely well. The plastic gives you a grip surface and it's also somewhat water resistant. Plus lets you secure just about anything in place, and with non-rectangular objects.