How to Package and Ship Honey in the Mail

There are specific ways that various food items should be packaged before shipment to ensure they’re protected from damage and that they stay fresh. Honey is no exception.

To ship honey, ensure each jar of honey is secure inside the package to prevent the glass from breaking during shipment. This can be achieved by covering each jar of honey in layers of bubble wrap. Fill the extra space with packing peanuts or other packaging materials to hold the jars in place.

If you shake the package and feel or hear something moving around inside means that you did not package it well.

Before mailing a package with a jar or more of honey, it is important to learn the best method of packing it. Shipping something fragile, like a jar of honey, can be stressful. I have shipped just about everything, including jams, jellies, honey, you name it, and will pass that information on to you.

Why Correctly Packaging Honey Important

When mailing anything fragile, it is essential to make sure that it is adequately packaged. If it isn’t, there is a chance that the fragile item could be broken before it reaches the individual it’s intended for.

Individuals who are receiving a jar of honey through the mail may fear that the jars will break, leaving nothing more than a sticky mess inside the package. In cases where jars of honey are included in a package with other items, it can create worry that other items in the package will be ruined by the honey.

When mailing a package that includes honey, it is crucial to package the items to ensure nothing breaks. This not only allows the honey to remain intact but also ensures that other items being mailed aren’t at risk of being ruined or potentially unusable.

Using Bubble Wrap

Anyone who has mailed honey before will probably tell you they have learned that the more bubble wrap you use, the better when it comes to protecting your jar and providing you peace of mind. Wasting a bit of extra bubble wrap is better than your recipient receiving a jar of honey that is no longer in one place.

It is essential to completely cover each jar of honey individually. This ensures that each individual jar will not have anything to knock against. Most suggest using a thickness of about three inches of bubble wrap. This thickness only continues to reduce the chance of a jar of honey breaking throughout the mailing process, even as the jars are jostled around inside the box.

Reasons to Fill Extra Space in a Package

When mailing a package, it is important to make sure that there isn’t any empty space in the box. This means when a package is being filled using either packing peanuts or something similar to fill this empty space. Limiting the amount of space reduces the space in which items in a package can move around when being shipped.

If you shake the package and feel or hear something moving around inside means that you did not package it well.

If a package has little to zero empty space, it is less likely that the items inside will knock against the box and risk getting broken by getting shuffled around during the mailing process. There are a few items that can be used in order to keep these items from moving around in the box during shipment.

When filling the extra space within a package, it is important to consider the extra weight this can add. Depending on the weight of your package, you may be charged extra for shipping heavier-weighted packages. This means that if something heavy is used to fill the empty space, it can make shipping the package cost more, so you’ll want to use something lightweight like packing peanuts or newspaper to fill that extra space.

Related How to Mail Jars of Jam or Jelly (To Avoid Damage).

What to Fill Extra Space in a Package With

Packaging peanuts is the most common way to fill the extra space in a package before shipping it. Not only can these be used to limit the amount of extra space within a box, but it also allows for a package to have more cushion.

The use of packing peanuts can help ensure that fragile items placed within a package are less likely to be broken throughout the shipping process.

Where to Purchase Bubble Wrap

Some individuals save the bubble wrap that protects their various fragile items that have been ordered. However, you may not be one of those people who hold onto bubble wrap and might find yourself needing to purchase some before mailing out a package. There are a few different locations you can purchase the needed supplies to successfully mail packages, including the perfectly sized box and plenty of bubble wrap to ship your honey.

One place you can always count on having bubble wrap is the post office. To ship anything, you can typically find everything you need at the post office to ensure that all the items survive the mailing process. However, purchasing bubble wrap at the post office can tend to be more expensive than purchasing bubble wrap at another location, like a grocery store.

Any office supply store will typically carry bubble wrap. These types of stores tend to have any needed supplies for shipping packages, which tend to be sold at a lower price. This allows you to get more for your money than you would if you were to purchase bubble wrap at the post office before mailing a package.

Some supermarkets, such as Walmart, offer their customers the option of purchasing bubble wrap without needing to go out of their way to do so. This makes for purchasing packing materials very convenient because you can simply add a roll of bubble wrap and other materials to your cart while going about your weekly grocery shopping.

In addition to the post office, supply stores, and supermarkets, you can purchase bubble wrap at your local dollar store in some areas. This allows you to purchase the supplies to successfully mail packages without spending too much money.

Some people find it beneficial to call the stores in their local area before heading out to purchase bubble wrap. This can help them avoid making a trip when the stores do not have any bubble wrap in stock.

Substitutions for Bubble Wrap

While there are a few locations where a person is able to purchase bubble wrap, there are some instances where a substitution for bubble wrap is needed. The most important thing to keep in mind when finding a substitute for bubble wrap is to make sure that it is something that can entirely cover a fragile item.

A very inexpensive option is shredded paper. This method requires a fragile item, in this case, a jar of honey, to be placed inside a zip-locked bag that is filled with shredded paper. Using this method allows an individual to have the items they’re shipping to be completely covered and protected, especially after filling the empty space inside the box with extra shredded paper or other packing materials. Make sure other packing materials are densely packed into the box to prevent the jar from shifting around during shipment. When this method is used, it can add extra weight to a package, so I would suggest it if you are already using a flat-rate box.

If you are mailing honey to a loved one, using an old blanket or towel to wrap the jars before being placed into the box can work in place of bubble wrap. While this is an effective method, it isn’t a method that appears professional, which is why it is only recommended to be used when mailing to family members or close friends. Keep in mind that this will add weight to the box, leading to a bit more expensive shipping.

Where to Purchase Packing Peanuts

Similarly to bubble wrap, there are a few locations an individual can go to purchase packing peanuts or other mailing material in order to fill the empty space in a box, including the post office.

The cheapest place to purchase various packing materials is a dollar store. While items in this type of store aren’t necessarily a dollar, they do tend to be cheaper than purchasing the same material at a different location.

In addition to a dollar store, packing peanuts or something similar can be purchased at an office supply store or the post office. This allows you to be able to go whichever location is most convenient for you, and you’ll easily be able to purchase everything else you need to pack and ship honey.

Before heading to a location to pick up packing peanuts, many find it beneficial to call the store ahead of time to ensure that the store has packing peanuts in stock or even carries packing peanuts.

Substitutions for Packing Peanuts

Packing peanuts are not the only items that can be used in order to fill extra space within a box. You can also use things like newspaper, tissue paper, foam, and any lightweight material. As long as the package is mostly filled and the packing material used to fill those gaps is lightweight, it really doesn’t matter what you use.

Shredded paper can easily be used to fill the excess space in a package after the items have been placed. This is a great substitution for those wanting to recycle some of the junk mail that is piling up around the house. Rather than tossing out unwanted mail, an individual can shred it and use it to secure the items within the boxes they are mailing.

A substitution that has a similar feel to packing peanuts is pieces of a foam pool noodle or recycling the foam from a package you already received.

Rather than needing to run to the store to purchase packing peanuts, you can cut a pool noodle into small pieces to act as packing peanuts and add them to a package to ensure that there is not a lot of extra space left inside the box. This method adds extra cushioning to protect the items that are being shipped and will be sufficient enough protection for mailing honey.

Related How to Store Empty Canning Jars | The Best Way.

Another Way to Package Honey

Some decide using a plastic container rather than a glass jar is safer when it comes to mailing honey. This way, you can worry less about the risk of the honey container breaking or cracking during shipment. While it is possible for plastic containers to break in the mail, there is far less of a possibility than if you were to preserve the honey in a plastic container before packing it up for shipment.

Some people choose to reuse plastic honey jars that can be purchased at any local grocery store. These bottles or jars allow individuals to easily ship honey while also making it easy for the person receiving the honey to use it. Reusing these bottles or jars also allows an individual to recycle what would have typically just been thrown away. You can also purchase honey bottles that are already empty for filling with your own honey at many online retailers such as Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to package and ship certain types of food in the mail can be challenging. Much like when mailing similar items, there are a few things to remember when shipping honey.

The first thing to keep in mind is that for most types of packages, the price is based on the weight of the contents in the package. For some people, this means that most individuals shipping honey prefer a flat rate box. This allows you to fill the box as full as needed without having to worry about the price of the box going up with each jar of honey added.

Another thing to remember is whether using a box or a packing envelope is a better fit. Smaller plastic containers of honey will fit nicely inside a packing envelope. If the honey is being mailed in a plastic container, it could be cheaper to mail it in a packing envelope rather than a box. However, if the honey is being stored in a glass container, using a box has a greater chance of actually getting the honey to its intended recipient in one piece, without creating a big sticky mess.

Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Jelly Grandma