How to pack a parcel so it arrives intact

Most short-run parcels travel in a rider's box or on their back. That means the forces are different from a long-haul shipment: less crushing weight from above, far more vibration, and the occasional hard brake. Padding that stops something rattling matters more than a thick outer carton.

The test is simple — shake it gently. If you can hear the contents move, add filling until you cannot.

A plain envelope is enough for the trip, but not for the weather. Kerala rain arrives without much notice, so put the envelope inside a sealed plastic sleeve or a courier bag before handing it over.

For anything signed, stamped or single-copy — deeds, tender bids, certificates — use a rigid document folder so it cannot be folded in a bag.

Cakes travel in the box they were made in, taped closed, and should be marked fragile so they stay upright and nothing is stacked on them. A cake in a carry bag will arrive as an idea of a cake.

Anything with sauce or liquid needs a sealed container inside a second bag. Heat is the other constraint: for anything that can melt or spoil, book a morning window rather than the middle of the afternoon.

A rigid box, not a soft sleeve, with the device wrapped so it does not shift. A phone in a padded envelope survives most trips; a phone loose in a cloth bag is relying on luck.

Loose or swollen lithium batteries are not carried at all — a battery installed in the device it belongs to is fine.

Bottles upright, each one wrapped separately so glass never touches glass, in a box with enough filling that nothing can move. Bubble wrap on the outside of a bottle does nothing if the bottle can still slide.

The recipient's name and phone number on the parcel itself, even though the app carries them. If a parcel is ever set down among others, that label is what stops it being picked up by the wrong hand.

Do not write what is inside on the outside if it is worth stealing. 'Fragile' is useful; 'iPhone 17' is an advertisement.