Expert tips for safely packing and storing electronics during your next move

Moving soon? Follow these packing, storage, and transport tips to protect your electronic devices and keep them working perfectly when you reach your new home.

Photo: Artem Podrez/PEXELS

SNS - Moving electronics requires careful attention. As a matter of fact, your devices are probably the most valuable items you own. If you plan to store electronics during a relocation, the right approach can save time and money.

Most devices are sensitive to bumps, moisture, and sudden temperature changes. This makes preparation even more important. A small mistake can lead to permanent damage. With this in mind, this guide covers packing, transport, storage, and recovery tips. Each step helps protect your devices so they work perfectly in your new space.

Preparing Electronics Before Packing: Steps That Save Time and Stress

Before you box up electronics, prepare them properly. Back up your data on an external drive or cloud storage. In contrast, skipping this step can mean losing files forever.

Remove batteries from remotes, cameras, and other devices. Batteries can leak acid that damages circuits. Cables should be detached and bagged separately to prevent tangles. With this in mind, label each bag so reassembly is faster.

Careful preparation ensures your electronics arrive in perfect working order.

Dust can build up in fans and vents. Clean devices before storage to prevent overheating later. Another key point is to take photos of connections before disconnecting. This ensures you can plug everything back correctly. Keep in mind that this process can be stressful, so remember to be calm and manage your worries.

Pack Your Electronics Properly

Packing electronics requires precision and patience. Rushing often leads to mistakes that cause damage. With this in mind, mastering the art of packing is essential if you want to do it like a pro. Always pack devices in their original boxes if available, as these are built to fit and protect.

If you don’t have them, create similar protection using sturdy boxes, foam inserts, and anti-static wraps. Another key point is to keep each device separate. Mixing items in one box increases the chance of scratches and pressure damage.

For example, place heavier items at the bottom of the box and lighter ones on top. Similarly, fill any gaps with packing peanuts or foam sheets to prevent movement during transport.

Finally, label every box clearly. Write “Fragile Electronics” and list the main device inside. Also, mark arrows for upright positioning so movers know how to handle the box properly. Careful preparation ensures your electronics arrive in perfect working order.

How to Protect Screens, Cords, and Sensitive Parts

Screens are often the most vulnerable part of electronics. Wrap TVs and monitors with microfiber cloths, then add cardboard covers. This prevents scratches and cracks during handling.

Cords should be coiled gently and secured with Velcro straps. Tape can leave sticky residue and damage insulation. Besides, cord organization makes setup easier later.

Use protective caps for HDMI, USB, and power connectors. These prevent dust and debris from entering ports. As a matter of fact, even a small particle can cause poor connections. Remotes, headphones, and smaller parts should be wrapped in padded pouches.

Ideal Conditions to Store Electronics During a Relocation

When you need to store electronics during a relocation, conditions matter more than you think. Standard storage units expose devices to moisture and heat. Climate-controlled storage is safer for computers, cameras, and sound systems.

storing boxes in a room that is temperature controlled

Photo: Brett Jordan/Unsplash

Store boxes right. Use sturdy boxes to protect valuable electronic equipment. Keep items in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment to prevent corrosion.

Humidity is the main enemy. Moisture can corrode internal parts and destroy screens. In contrast, a controlled environment maintains stable temperature and humidity. Boxes should also be kept off the floor with pallets or shelving. This avoids water damage from leaks.

Airflow is another key point—stack boxes with space around them for circulation. Check if your storage provider offers insurance for electronics. Always ask about coverage before signing a contract.

Transportation Tips: Keeping Devices Safe on the Move

Transport is risky for electronics. Devices should be loaded last and unloaded first. This reduces the time they spend under pressure. Never stack heavy boxes on top of electronics. Weight can crush screens or bend casings.

Moving blankets are useful for large TVs and computer monitors. Similarly, padding prevents vibration damage to stereo equipment. Upright transport is essential for desktop computers and refrigerators with electronics.

If you are driving your own car, keep small devices in the back seat. They are safer there compared to the trunk. Another key point is to secure them with seat belts or padding.

Common Mistakes People Make When Moving Electronics

Many people damage devices by skipping simple steps. Forgetting to back up data can lead to permanent loss. Using newspapers or towels instead of protective wraps causes scratches and poor shock absorption.

Another common mistake is storing devices in basements or garages. These spaces expose electronics to moisture and heat. Besides, many skip static protection. As an illustration, packing a computer without an anti-static bag can kill the motherboard. Also, remember that maintenance is really important for your systems, especially the bigger ones like HVAC.

Finally, failing to label boxes makes movers unaware of fragile contents. In short, these errors are easy to avoid with planning. Quick Recovery Steps if Electronics Suffer Damage

Even with care, accidents happen. Inspect your devices as soon as you unpack. Do not power them on immediately. Give them time to adjust to the room temperature.

If moisture is present, use silica packs or rice to absorb it. Another key point is to dry them in a cool, dry space. Document any visible damage right away for insurance claims.

Photo: by RDNE Stock/PEXELS

Planning your logistics before you move can take the stress out of all the heavy lifting.

Small cracks or dents may not stop the function, but need repair. Nevertheless, never try complex fixes yourself without experience. Professional technicians can assess damage and prevent further issues. Recovering damaged electronics after renovation can be a lot of work, and staying productive during the whole process is hard, as you will get tired from all of the workload. That’s why professionals can be of help.

Safe Storage Equals Long-Lasting Electronics

Electronics are both valuable and fragile. By preparing properly, packing securely, and using the right storage, you reduce risk. Besides, following these steps makes the setup smoother in your new home.

Remember, when you store electronics during a relocation, you protect your investment and peace of mind. With this in mind, careful handling ensures your devices last longer and perform well. In short, planning now prevents stress later.

TAGGED: how to move electronics safely, packing electronics for moving, safe storage for electronics during relocation, protecting electronics from damage, climate controlled storage for electronics

New white nationalist ‘Active Clubs’ are sprouting up in Wisconsin

Pavel Danilyuk

Active Clubs stalk martial arts clubs and workout facilities to recruit new members into their white nationalist organization. Domestic terrorism has a new face - one that wears workout clothes instead of a uniform.

by Judith Ruiz-Branch
Public News Service

CHICAGO - Experts said they are seeing a rise in white nationalist movements in Wisconsin and across the country that are disguising themselves as fitness groups.

They are called "Active Clubs" and present themselves as sporting clubs or fighting clubs focused on brotherhood.

Art Jipson, associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Dayton, said they recruit both online and in-person, targeting young, white men using shared interests as tools to gradually introduce and normalize racist ideologies.

"You add to that the willingness to engage in violence against people of color, LGBTQ people… there's a clear potential for violence here," Jipson cautioned.

Members said they are dedicated to "self-improvement and brotherhood" seeing themselves as "a noble resistance"...

Jipson pointed out Active Clubs often meet in Christian churches and gyms with recent activity showing multistate coordination, like a Wisconsin Active Club regularly meeting with an Illinois Active Club for "family days." They use distinctive symbols like the Celtic cross -- a well-known neo-Nazi symbol -- and share content across social media platforms to maintain connections between chapters and other white supremacist groups.

Active Clubs are growing internationally as well, with the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism reporting a 25% increase since 2023. Jipson noted the groups are a huge shift in organizing for white supremacists and white nationalists, following what he calls a decentralized, leaderless resistance.

"Their decentralized structure makes them difficult to track but it also allows them to spread pretty quickly," Jipson observed. "They're embedding white supremacist and white nationalist ideology in everyday spaces rather than only the political rally."

Jipson emphasized new chapters of Active Clubs are frequently being created and linking with one another. Members said they are dedicated to "self-improvement and brotherhood" seeing themselves as "a noble resistance" in the cause of preserving the white race.

"They are mobilizing around really powerful images and ideology that at the end of the day, gives people something to believe in," Jipson added. "That's really difficult to combat."

Commentary |
Active Clubs are white supremacy’s new, dangerous frontier

Photo: Maciej Karoń/Unsplash

by Art Jipson
Ohio Capital Journal

Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups merging a new and harder-to-detect form of white supremacist ideology with fitness and combat sports culture.

Small local organizations called Active Clubs have spread widely across the U.S. and internationally, using fitness as a cover for a much more alarming mission. These groups are a new and harder-to-detect form of white supremacist organizing that merges extremist ideology with fitness and combat sports culture.

Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize and prepare members for racist violence. The clubs commonly use encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram, Wire and Matrix to coordinate internally.

For broader propaganda and outreach they rely on alternative social media platforms such as Gab, Odysee, VK and sometimes BitChute. They also selectively use mainstream sites such as Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, until those sites ban the clubs.

Active Club members have been implicated in orchestrating and distributing neo-Nazi recruitment videos and manifestos. In late 2023, for instance, two Ontario men, Kristoffer Nippak and Matthew Althorpe, were arrested and charged with distributing materials for the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division and the transnational terrorist group Terrorgram.

The clubs reportedly operate in at least 25 U.S. states, and potentially as many as 34.

Following their arrests, Active Club Canada’s public network went dark, Telegram pages were deleted or rebranded, and the club went virtually silent. Nippak was granted bail under strict conditions, while Althorpe remains in custody.

As a sociologist studying extremism and white supremacy since 1993, I have watched the movement shift from formal organizations to small, decentralized cells – a change embodied most clearly by Active Clubs.

White nationalism 3.0

According to private analysts who track far-right extremist activities, the Active Club network has a core membership of 400 to 1,200 white men globally, plus sympathizers, online supporters and passive members. The clubs mainly target young white men in their late teens and twenties.

Since 2020, Active Clubs have expanded rapidly across the United States, Canada and Europe, including the U.K., France, Sweden and Finland. Precise numbers are hard to verify, but the clubs appear to be spreading, according to The Counter Extremism Project, the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center and my own research.

The clubs reportedly operate in at least 25 U.S. states, and potentially as many as 34. Active U.S. chapters reportedly increased from 49 in 2023 to 78 in 2025.

The clubs’ rise reflects a broader shift in white supremacist strategy, away from formal organizations and social movements. In 2020, American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo introduced the concept of “White Nationalism 3.0” – a decentralized, branded and fitness-based approach to extremist organizing.

Rundo previously founded the Rise Above Movement, which was a violent, far-right extremist group in the U.S. known for promoting white nationalist ideology, organizing street fights and coordinating through social media. The organization carried out attacks at protests and rallies from 2016 through 2018.

Active Clubs embed their ideology within apolitical activities such as martial arts and weightlifting. This model allows them to blend in with mainstream fitness communities. However, their deeper purpose is to prepare members for racial conflict.

‘You need to learn how to fight’

Active Club messaging glorifies discipline, masculinity and strength – a “warrior identity” designed to attract young men.

These cells are deliberately small – often under a dozen members – and self-contained, which gives them greater operational security and flexibility.

“The active club is not so much a structural organization as it is a lifestyle for those willing to work, risk and sweat to embody our ideals for themselves and to promote them to others,” Rundo explained via his Telegram channel.

“They never were like, ‘You need to learn how to fight so you can beat up people of color.’ It was like, ‘You need to learn how to fight because people want to kill you in the future,’” a former Active Club member told Vice News in 2023.

These cells are deliberately small – often under a dozen members – and self-contained, which gives them greater operational security and flexibility. Each club operates semi-autonomously while remaining connected to the broader ideology and digital network.

Expanding globally and deepening ties

Active Clubs maintain strategic and ideological connections with formal white supremacist groups, including Patriot Front, a white nationalist and neofascist group founded in 2017 by Thomas Rousseau after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Active Clubs share extremist beliefs with these organizations, including racial hierarchy and the “Great Replacement” theory, which claims white populations are being deliberately replaced by nonwhite immigrants. While publicly presenting as fitness groups, they may collaborate with white supremacist groups on recruitment, training, propaganda or public events.

Figures connected to accelerationist groups – organizations that seek to create social chaos and societal collapse that they believe will lead to a race war and the destruction of liberal democracy – played a role in founding the Active Club network. Along with the Rise Above Movement, they include Atomwaffen Division and another neo-Nazi group, The Base – organizations that repackage violent fascism to appeal to disaffected young white men in the U.S.

Brotherhood as a cover

By downplaying explicit hate symbols and emphasizing strength and preparedness, Active Clubs appeal to a new generation of recruits who may not initially identify with overt racism but are drawn to a culture of hypermasculinity and self-improvement.

Club members engage in activities such as combat sports training, propaganda dissemination and ideological conditioning.

Anyone can start a local Active Club chapter with minimal oversight. This autonomy makes it hard for law enforcement agencies to monitor the groups and helps the network grow rapidly.

Shared branding and digital propaganda maintain ideological consistency. Through this approach, Active Clubs have built a transnational network of echo chambers, recruitment pipelines and paramilitary-style training in parks and gyms.

Club members engage in activities such as combat sports training, propaganda dissemination and ideological conditioning. Fight sessions are often recorded and shared online as recruitment tools.

Members distribute flyers, stickers and online content to spread white supremacist messages. Active Clubs embed themselves in local communities by hosting events, promoting physical fitness, staging public actions and sharing propaganda.

Potential members first see propaganda on encrypted apps such as Telegram or on social media. The clubs recruit in person at gyms, protests and local events, vetting new members to ensure they share the group’s beliefs and can be trusted to maintain secrecy.

From fringe to functioning network

Based on current information from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, there are 187 active chapters within the Active Club Network across 27 countries – a 25% increase from late 2023. The Crowd Counting Consortium documented 27 protest events involving Active Clubs in 2022-2023.

However, precise membership numbers remain difficult to ascertain. Some groups call themselves “youth clubs” but share similar ideas and aesthetics and engage in similar activities.

Active Club members view themselves as defenders of Western civilization and masculine virtue. From their perspective, their activities represent noble resistance rather than hate. Members are encouraged to stay secretive, prepare for societal collapse and build a network of committed, fit men ready to act through infiltration, activism or violence.

Hiding in plain sight

Law enforcement agencies, researchers and civil society now face a new kind of domestic threat that wears workout clothes instead of uniforms.

Active Clubs work across international borders, bound by shared ideas and tactics and a common purpose. This is the new white nationalism: decentralized, modernized, more agile and disguised as self-improvement. What appears to be a harmless workout group may be a gateway to violent extremism, one pushup at a time.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.

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Expert tips for safely packing and storing electronics during your next move