Guide
How to pack a kitchen
Pack a kitchen from the back of the cupboards forward, over about a week. Use small boxes for tins and appliances, mediums for everything else, and stand plates on their edges rather than stacking them flat. Leave the kettle, two mugs and a pot until last.
Last checked 16 September 2026
Why does packing a kitchen take so long?
The kitchen is dense, fragile and almost none of it stacks, so a three-bedroom kitchen commonly fills ten to fifteen boxes on its own — a quarter of the whole house. It is also the room you need right up until the last morning, so it cannot be packed first and forgotten.
It is the room that defeats most moving schedules, and it is the room you need again on the first night at the other end.
Which box size should you use for each cupboard?
Weight is the whole game: the denser the contents, the smaller the box. Tinned food and small appliances go in small boxes, plates and glassware in small or medium, pots and pans in medium, and plastic containers and tea towels in large, where bulk costs nothing.
| What | Box | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tinned and jarred food | Small | A medium box of tins is too heavy to lift safely |
| Plates, bowls, glassware | Small or medium | Stand plates on edge, never stacked flat |
| Pots, pans, baking trays | Medium | Awkward shapes, moderate weight |
| Small appliances | Small | Pack each one with its cord taped to it |
| Plastic containers, lunchboxes | Large | Bulky and light, which is exactly what a large box is for |
| Tea towels, oven mitts | Large | Useful as padding around everything else |
How do you wrap plates so they do not break?
Stand plates on their edges, like records in a crate, rather than stacking them flat. Stacked, the weight lands on the one at the bottom; on edge they support each other. Pad the base of the box, wrap each plate individually, then fill every gap so nothing moves.
- Put a folded tea towel or crumpled paper in the base of the box first.
- Wrap each plate in paper individually, then wrap pairs together.
- Stand them on edge in a row, not in a stack.
- Fill every gap with paper until nothing moves when you tilt the box.
- Write FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP on the sides, not just the top. Nobody reads the top.
What should you leave until the last box?
Leave one box unsealed until the morning you go: the kettle, mugs, teaspoons, a knife, a chopping board, one pot, and whatever your household cannot start a day without. Label it clearly and load it last, so it is the first thing off the truck at the other end.
It is the difference between a first night with a cup of tea and a first night going through forty identical boxes with a torch.