Moving Supplies: What to Buy and How Much

What you actually need

Six things cover 90% of a household move: boxes in three sizes, unprinted packing paper, bubble wrap, tape, a marker, and wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes. Everything else is optional.

Boxes: which size for what

Box size is not about volume, it is about weight. Heavy things go in small boxes so the bottom does not fail and the box stays liftable.

Paper, wrap, and padding

Tape, and why the cheap kind costs more

Use 2-inch acrylic or hot-melt packing tape with a dispenser. Not masking tape, not duct tape, not office tape.

• Tape the bottom seamThen cross it with two more strips perpendicular to the seam. Bottoms are where boxes fail.
• Fill the box completelyEmpty space is what lets contents move and break. Paper on top, paper below.
• Tape the top the same wayOne strip along the seam, two across.
• Label two sides and the topRoom, contents, and any handling note. Never only the top — boxes get stacked.

Where to get materials

Free. Liquor stores have small, strong boxes with dividers. Bookshops and office supply stores break down deliveries daily. Buy-nothing groups and neighbours who moved recently often have a stack in the garage. Check that everything is dry, clean, and rigid — a used produce box is often damp.

Bought. New boxes are uniform, which matters more than it sounds: uniform boxes stack squarely on a truck, and a squarely stacked load does not shift. For a whole house, buying is usually worth it.

From your mover. Our crews bring materials to the job, and three reusable wardrobe boxes are part of the standard full-service package with no requirement to return them. See packing supplies for what we carry, and packing services if you would rather not do it at all.

What you can skip

• Specialty kits sold by room. Convenient, and priced well above the same boxes bought separately.
• Packing peanuts. They migrate, they cling, and paper does the job better.
• Vacuum bags for anything structured — suits, down, wool. Fine for bedding and casual cotton only.
• Plastic bins for a one-time move. They cost more than cardboard and get heavier than they look. Worth it only if you will keep using them.
• Coloured tape for every room if you already have a marker and a system. Useful at scale, unnecessary for a studio.

Materials checklist

• Small, medium, and large boxes in roughly a 2:2:1 ratio.
• Dish barrels or double-wall boxes for the kitchen.
• Wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes.
• One bundle of unprinted packing paper per 15 boxes.
• A roll of bubble wrap; foam pouches if you own stemware.
• Four rolls of packing tape and a dispenser.
• Two permanent markers.
• Mattress bags, one per bed.
• Stretch film for drawers and upholstery.
• Furniture blankets, or confirmation that the crew brings them.
• A box cutter and a small toolkit for disassembly.
• Labels or coloured tape if you want a room-coded system.

Related guides

The method for each room is covered separately: how to pack for a move for the schedule and the room-by-room order, dishes and glassware, books, clothes, shoes, and televisions.

If a box is damaged in transit, what the mover owes depends on the valuation option in your documents rather than on the packaging. The FMCSA sets out the two interstate choices in its liability and valuation guidance; for moves inside California see the Bureau of Household Goods and Services. Note that boxes you packed yourself are often treated differently from crew-packed boxes on a claim — more in moving insurance and valuation.