Room-by-Room Packing Checklist

Supplies to have on hand

• Small boxes for books and heavy items, medium boxes for most things, large boxes for light items like bedding and pillows
• Packing paper and bubble wrap for dishes and fragile items
• Good packing tape and a tape gun
• Thick markers for labeling
• Zip-top bags for screws and hardware from furniture you take apart

Four weeks out

• Start with rooms and items you don’t use: guest rooms, holiday decorations, off-season clothes, books.
• Sort as you go. Anything you won’t take, donate or sell now so you don’t pay to move it.
• Label every box on the side (not just the top) with the room it goes to and a few words about what’s inside.

Two weeks out

• Pack decor, art, extra linens and most of the closets.
• Pack the garage and shed. Drain gas and oil from mowers and tools. Movers can’t carry flammable liquids, propane tanks or paint thinner.
• Use up frozen and pantry food.

Room by room

• Kitchen: wrap each dish in paper, stand plates on edge, and fill gaps so nothing shifts. Keep heavy boxes small.
• Bedrooms: pack drawers into boxes. Wardrobe boxes make closets easy.
• Living room: photograph the TV and electronics wiring before unplugging.
• Bathrooms: seal liquids in zip-top bags. Keep daily toiletries for the open-first box.
• Garage: group tools in small sturdy boxes or bins, and tape cords to the item they belong to.

The day before

• Pack an “open first” box for each person: phone chargers, medications, toiletries, a change of clothes, bedding and a few dishes.
• Keep valuables, documents, jewelry and medications with you, not on the truck.
• Empty, defrost and dry the refrigerator if it’s moving.
• Clear a path through the house and outside to the driveway.

Want help with some of it?

Many customers pack the easy rooms themselves and have us pack the kitchen and fragile items. See our packing services.