Packing and Moving a Kitchen – All Tips in One List

By Pamela Smith

When moving to another house or apartment one of the most boring things to do is packing. In this respect an important room to observe additionally is the kitchen – it contains a lot of small and fragile items that you need to take with you to your new place. All the pans, pots, cutlery, utensils, dishes, appliances, chairs, table etc. have to to be carefully dealt with when packing a kitchen. This makes moving a kitchen more time consuming compared to the other rooms in your house so the kitchen may require your special attention.

What can you do and where can you start packing a kitchen? Here below follows an easy to use checklist. It will give you some tips and guidelines on packing and moving a kitchen. Examining this guide will provide you with easy to follow peaces of advice. We have summed up for you the most important precise tips on this topic starting with what materials you will need to provide yourself with to how proceed exactly during the packing process.

Packing a kitchen

Moving to a new home is a good opportunity to dispose of old, worn out or unwanted items. Once you leave behind everything you don’t need, check what not to pack when moving. After this you are ready to start preparing your kitchen to be moved. First of all in order to pack and relocate your kitchen you need to decide in advance on the things you may need to supply yourself with:

Bubble wrap – to pack the fragile items

Moving blankets

Towels – for packing appliances

Small and medium-sized moving boxes

Packing paper or alternatively, old newspapers

Dark-coloured markers to label your kitchen boxes

Packing tape

If you want to have a list of all the packing supplies you’ll need for your home when moving read more here.

Packing the large items in your kitchen

The kitchen table

Use bubble wrap for the kitchen table as this is one of the heavy items to move. If the kitchen table is dismountable taking it apart in pieces will make moving a kitchen easier for you. This is probably the biggest object in the room so once you start packing your kitchen with it after it you will have more space when you start putting in boxes the smaller items from the cupboards and the appliances. This is one of the ways in which you can make your packing and moving even more efficient.

Packing a kitchen – the chairs

Use bubble wrap again. As the legs are easy to break you should take special care of them while relocating your kitchen.

Carefully dissemble and wrap the kitchen appliances in order to preserve them from damage while moving your kitchen.

Moving the appliances

Turn the power off of all of them. Dissemble the mounted items as stated in the user manuals and put them back to their original boxes. This will preserve the entirety of the appliances when moving a kitchen. If you don’t keep the original boxes, use the once that you have supplied yourself with specifically for the relocation of your kitchen. Empty the fridge of all the food inside and clean all the ice. Tape the doors well and wrap the fridge with the blankets to prevent scratches or other damages while moving a kitchen. You can use towels to secure the safe transportation of the smaller appliances. In addition, you may also wish to read more on how to pack and move electronics. These precautions will ensure that all electronics is going to be transferred safely when moving a kitchen. For the heavy items, we recommend contacting professional moving companies and movers with experience.

Packing small items in your kitchen

Preparing the boxes

Start by taping the boxes outside to strengthen them. Remember you are going to be putting some heavy items inside like pots, pans and dishes so you need to make sure that your utensils are going to be safe when you start moving your kitchen.

Start with heavy items

Place heaviest items at the bottom. Packing pots and pans should be your initial step. Put the biggest one in first. Pack them together with their lids to avoid losing time finding each match of each pot once you have moved to your new kitchen and you start unloading. Tape the paper to the item that is wrapped with it. This is the optimum way to wrap heavy stuff once you start packing a kitchen.

Take special care of breakable objects

All breakable items in your kitchen will be safe during moving if you wrap them well.

Put the breakable items like cups and dishes at the top in the boxes to prevent them from being smashed. When packing you kitchen, wrap separately each cup and dish with packing paper or old newspapers. Again, tape the paper to the items you are wrapping. After this fill in the empty space left inside the boxes with crumpled paper – this will cushion all breakable items while they are being carried. Another option when packing your kitchen is to put bubble wrap inside the corners of the boxes for the same purpose.

Describe the content of your boxes

When moving a kitchen, mark each box with a dark-coloured marker. Write what it contains on the top of the box and on the sides. In this way once you have packed and moved your kitchen you will easily recognize what the content of each box is. Put a “NB” mark on each box that has breakable items like coffee cups and glass plates. This sign will show you that you have to be careful while moving the box that has it on and will remind you to be careful when moving a kitchen.

Special and/ or expensive items

If you have in your kitchen valuable items you are going to move like expensive art – pictures, paintings, small statuettes or other, you need to pay special attention to them. After you have packed the rest of your kitchen, put around each of these objects very carefully bubble wrap. You may decide to inform yourself on the common moving insurance options as well. Do not hesitate to take special precautions for your valuables once you start packing a kitchen.

10 things you didn’t know about…packing your kitchen to move

I’ve moved three times in five years, two of those cross-country. It’s not like I’m one of those people addicted to change; I actually like staying put. That’s just the way things worked out. But each time I’ve moved, there comes a point (many points, actually) when I look around at the seemingly random, haphazard jumble of everything I own piling up around me, and I tell myself, “Never again.” Because moving sucks, plain and simple. And frankly, nothing sucks more than packing up the kitchen, with its baffling array of oddly shaped and/or breakable items (punctuated — but hopefully not literally — with sharp things like knives).

Like anything we approach with dread, moving tends to be accompanied by a fair degree of denial, and as anyone who grew up watching Oprah after school knows, denial is not good. Time can either be your enemy or your friend — wait to the last minute, and you’re liable to start tossing things in boxes willy-nilly, scrambling for more packing supplies and making desperate decisions. So embrace the change (you’re ostensibly moving for a good reason, right?). With a little bit of planning, and a few good tips, moving doesn’t … I was going to say, “doesn’t have to suck,” but who am I kidding? It will. It just doesn’t have to suck quite as bad. 

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Everyone thinks of the kitchen as one of the last rooms to pack, but it’s also the most time-consuming. And in reality, there’s a lot in your kitchen that can be packed days or even weeks before you move (you probably don’t need your Christmas cookie cutters in, say, June, or your roasting pan, etc.). So go through your kitchen with an eye toward things you don’t need until after you move, and start by packing those (it’s also a great time to weed out things tucked in the back of cabinets that you haven’t used in years). Packing three or four boxes a day beats packing everything at once. 

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You can buy specially designed boxes for moving your plates and glasses, called variously “dish pack boxes” or “dish barrels.” Some even come with fancy dividers for things like glasses. Even if you’re scrounging for boxes for everything else in the house, these can be a good investment, especially if you’re moving a long distance. 

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But if you don’t want to fork over the cash for a fancy box, then when it comes to your plates and glasses, think lots of smaller boxes as opposed to several big boxes. You don’t want to pack fragile items more than two layers deep, and because you’ll want these boxes stacked up top on the moving truck, they can’t be too heavy. 

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Think creatively. You likely have stuff on hand that would work perfect as moving containers, you just don’t think of those things as moving containers. For example, your clothes aren’t going to break, but your glasses will. So those heavy plastic storage bins with lids that you’re using to store your winter sweaters — transfer the sweaters to boxes, and use the bins for dishware. We used our large cooler to pack our wine glasses. 

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This works for smaller stuff, too. Heavy-duty Tupperware? You can use it to pack things like dessert plates, glass ramekins, etc. (All individually wrapped, of course. Sigh. Everything breakable has to be individually wrapped. Everything.) 

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Plastic bubble wrap is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about wrapping your breakables, but it can be expensive (and, really, nothing seems as flagrantly wasteful as trashing a pile of only-used-once bubble wrap on the other end of the move). Two or three layers of newspaper works just as well — I’m not shy about taking a stack of alternative weeklies from the rack. (They’re free, after all.) Whatever you use, get a lot of it, more than you possibly think you need. Because if you start to run out at the last minute, you’re liable to skimp on the wrapping, and that just means it’s more likely when you get to your new house, you’re going to hear the dreaded sound of broken glass grinding away in some box.

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You want to wrap each plate in a layer or two of whatever wrapping material you’re using. Wrap the next plate the same way, then set it on top of the first. Do this a couple more times, then wrap the whole nested set of four plates in yet another (!!) layer of wrapping and tape the whole thing together. Always stack your plates on end; don’t pack them flat. For glasses, stuff the insides with packing material, then wrap them individually and pack them upright, using plenty of cushioning between layers.

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You also want a layer of cushioning on the bottom of your box and a layer on top. You can always use some of that newspaper, wadded up. Other cheap alternatives? Plastic shopping bags; start hoarding them as soon as you know you’ll be moving (they can be handy in wrapping smaller breakables, too). If you have a shredder in your home office that you use to shred bank statements and the like, then start saving all that shredded paper. In fact, start shredding every piece of junk mail you get. Clean out your filing cabinet, too, and shred all that paper. We ended up with three full garbage bags of shredded paper, which we used to cushion every kitchen box.

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Line cookware with a layer of wrapping, then nest smaller pots and pans in larger ones. If your stuff is going to sit in storage for an extended period of time, don’t pack anything that will have absorbed cooking oil, like cast-iron skillets (or even oil-treated cutting boards). They’ll go rancid.

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As much as you want to get packing over with, think about yourself on the other end of the move (again, exhausted, cranky). Be kind to that post-move you. A bunch of boxes just labeled “Kitchen” aren’t particularly helpful as you start to organize your new kitchen, so be specific enough in how you label and make sure to mark boxes containing cooking essentials (e.g., “frying pan” or “knives”) so you’ll know where to begin as you start the whole business of … unpacking.

Kitchen Packing Tips

Packing up your kitchen and laundry room for a move can seem a little overwhelming, but there are ways to complete the task in an organized and effective way. From packing up your appliances to all of your laundry supplies, our tips are designed to help make your packing experience easier.

We will guide you through the process of how to protect your items, as well as offer you tips that will allow you to maximize the benefits of the moving resources we provide.  

The Best Tips for Packing the Kitchen

Food Items

Prior to your moving date, use or dispose of any food items that are perishable. Give away or throw out cleaning products and any chemicals that are not suitable for transport inside of the moving truck. Pack canned goods, paper products and boxed food in small boxes. If you have any open food packages, discard them before your move, as well as glass jars to avoid breakage during transport. For a more detailed list of what we cannot ship, please review our Items That Cannot Be Shipped list.

China & Glassware

Fine china and crystal glassware are precious keepsakes and it is important to pack them carefully for transport during a move. Original packaging is ideal for packing your china and glassware, but if that option is not available, following these simple tips will help you to protect your delicate items during your move.

• Wrap each piece of china individually. For optimum protection, add a piece of bubble wrap or foam over your china, then follow with a piece of clean paper or packing paper. Start at the corner of the paper and wrap each piece diagonally, tucking overlapping edges until covered. Finish with two pieces of newspaper for an additional protective layer.
• Pre-sectioned boxes work great for glassware, adding durability and protection against movement. Follow the same wrapping method listed above for your glassware. If you use regular, non-sectioned boxes, be sure to avoid stacking glasses on top of each other unless you have a solid layer separating each row. Apply padded cushioning at the bottom of your box and in between glasses for extra protection.
• For organized inventory, label your box as Dining Room, and indicate FRAGILE-TOP SIDE UP

Flat China & Flat Glassware

When packing your flat china and glassware, cartons work great. Wrap each piece of china and glassware individually. Add a piece of bubble wrap or foam to separate each item, then follow with a piece of clean paper or packing paper. Start at the corner of the paper and wrap each piece diagonally, tucking overlapping edges until covered. Finish with two pieces of newspaper for an additional protective layer.

• Add a layer of cushioning to the bottom of your carton, and pack according to weight and size. Place your largest and heaviest pieces of china and glassware, such as platters and plates on the bottom of your carton. Add lighter items towards the top.
• A good tip is to bundle three pieces of wrapped china or glassware together, and cover with a double layer of newspaper. Place each bundled group in your carton, separating your stacks by cardboard divided rows.
• Place a generous amount of padded cushioning and crushed packing paper throughout the carton to protect against movement and shifting during transit.

Bowls and Odd-shaped Items

• Mixing bowls can be nested together according to size and wrapped in clean paper or packing paper.
• Wrap serving bowls and soup bowls individually with clean paper, adding two layers of newspaper for added protection.
• Gravy bowls, pitchers and sauce containers should all be wrapped individually and covered with an outer layer of newspaper.
• Pack items that are shaped oddly in individual boxes to avoid damage to other dishes. Follow the same packing and wrapping guidelines to prevent damage during your move.

Pots & Pans

• Wrap pans individually with clean packing paper to avoid potential scratches. If stacking according to size, be sure to place a paper towel, sheet of foam paper or bubble wrap in between each pot or pan to avoid any scratches.
• Add crushed paper to fill any voided space in your box.

Cups

• Pre-sectioned boxes work great for cups. Wrap each cup individually with two layers of clean paper or packing paper, followed with a protective layer of newspaper. With handles facing the same direction, place each cup upside down into your sectioned, cup divider box, then complete with a layer of cushioning at the top.

Silver & Flatware

• To prevent tarnish and rust, cover your silver and flatware with plastic wrap, then add a protective layer of newspaper and seal with tape. Items can be wrapped individually or in sets.
• If your silver and flatware will remain in a chest, add protective cushioning to ensure that wrapped items will not move during transport. Place a large bath towel over the chest to protect the finish.
• Wrap silver bowls, serving dishes and tea sets individually with clean paper. Add newspaper to the outer layer and place carefully in box.

Figurines and Other Delicate Items

• Wrap each delicate item individually in soft tissue, tissue paper or a paper towel.
• Add an outer layer of newspaper to mirrors, frames and plaques.
• Towels work great for extra protection for glass figurines and other delicate items.
• Place all items flat in your carton and secure with ample cushioning and padding.

Small Appliances

• For small appliances such as food processors and blenders, remove all sharp blades. Tie all cords and wrap appliances in packing paper or cover with a towel. Use cardboard or knife shields to cover sharp blades. Apply the same method to packing sharp cutlery, covering all sharp edges.
• Place in durable boxes or cartons and add crushed paper to cushion. 

Cookbooks

• Group similar sized cookbooks in the same box.
• Avoid overloading cartons with too many cookbooks so carton is not too heavy to lift.
• Protect delicate cookbooks and family recipes with protective plastic and wrap.

Pack the Kitchen in 10 Steps

By Diane Schmidt

The kitchen is probably the hardest room you'll  have to pack, with all its small items, and drawers and cupboards, there's just so much stuff to sort through. So I suggest using this guide and taking each task, step by step, to make sure you get everything sorted, packed and ready for when the movers arrive.

1: Sort, Select and Simplify

Before you move, select those items you're taking with you and remove the items you're leaving behind. Make sure you have "homes" for the things you won't be taking and check that you're not moving items that shouldn't be packed. Go through each cupboard and drawer and be very selective. Donate items to shelters, food banks, have a garage sale or give useable items to friends. See Preparing Your Kitchen for more information.

2: Prepare an Essentials Box

Put aside the things you'll need for your last two days in your current home and for the first two days in your new home, including dishes, cutlery, food items, appliances (coffee maker/toaster), dishtowel, dishcloth, cleaner, soap, etc...

3: Collect Packing Materials:

For a family-sized kitchen, you'll need the following:

• 5 Large Boxes (18 x 18 x 24): For lightweight and hard to pack items such as plastic kitchenware, dish racks, small appliances, baking tins.
• 10 Medium Boxes (18 x 18 x 16): For heavier items such as small appliances, pantry items, pots and pans, silverware, contents of drawers, cookbooks.
• 5 Heavy Duty Boxes (18 x 18 x 28): These have thick, double-walls, perfect for packing fragiles, such as plates, glasses, stemware, wine and canisters.
• Unprinted Newswrap: To pack fragiles, including food items, small appliances. Purchase a 4-5 lbs bundle.
• Bubblewrap: Purchase a 36 ft roll or if it saves money, purchase additional amounts. You'll need it to pack other rooms.
• 5-10 Cell Kits (18 x 18): Cell kits are extremely useful for packing glasses, stemware, wine and liquor bottles. I've also used them to pack figurines, vases and canisters. Check the sizes of your cell kits to ensure they'll fit into the boxes you have.
• 5 Packing/Sealing Tape: Purchase in bulk as you'll need it for packing all your rooms.
• Marker, labels: Again purchase enough so you can pack your entire house.

4: Pack Items Not Frequently Used

Start by packing those items in your cupboards and drawers that you don't use on a daily basis. This could include:

• Vases, crystal
• Food storage containers
• Wine glasses,
• Mixing bowls
• Cookie sheets, pie pans
• Small appliances, such as mixers, blenders, etc...
• Cookbooks
• Extra dishtowels, dish cloths and oven mitts
• Special utensils, such as barbecue tongs, meat mallets, ladles and spatulas.
• Special-event dishes, such as serving plates, condiment dishes, cream and sugar containers, etc...
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5: Pack Wine, Liquor or Other Unopened Bottles

Wine and alcohol can be packed early on in the process. Select the bottles you plan on opening between now and the move, and pack the rest. Other items you may want to pack now are food items that are in glass bottles, but are still sealed, such as cooking oils, specialty oils and fine vinegars. Remember, ask yourself if the weight of each item is worth the cost of moving it. For items such as aged olive oils, balsamic vinegars or truffle oil, it's worth the cost of moving.

6: Pack Drawers and Shelves

Start with the messiest drawer. Get rid of extra items or items you no longer use. Rule of thumb: if you haven't used it in the last 6 months, don't move it.

Pack the cutlery drawer, keeping only one set per family member. These sets will be kept in your essentials box.

If you still need to pack your cookbooks, do it now. Remember to pack books flat to prevent bending the spines. Place the books in the box according to preference; keep the books most used on top. If there's a book you'd like to include in your Essentials Box, keep it out. Just make sure you only set aside one. Your Essentials Box should be only for the most critical items.

7: Pack Dishes

Put together the cell boxes for glasses and stemware. Take your time with this step, ensuring items are packed well. This is also the time to pack plates and bowls and any odds and ends.

8: Pack Pots and Pans

Keep at least one all-purpose pot for your essentials box. Pack the rest, including lids and crockery.

9: Pack the Pantry

The pantry should've been sorted by now, keeping only those items you want to move. Start with the spices then work your way to the larger items. Canned goods aren't worth moving unless you're moving yourself. Again, check the weight of each item and measure the cost to move it. Tape up any opened food packages and get rid of all perishables, including freezer items unless you're moving close-by.

10: Prepare Appliances

Make sure you properly prepare large appliances for your move. This should be done at least 24 hours in advance. Improper preparation can lead to gas leaks, broken parts and appliances that won't work. Read the manuals, and if you're unsure of how to prepare them, call a professional.