The guide
How to Pack a Kitchen for Moving: The Room That Takes Longest in full
Why the kitchen is the room that runs over
The kitchen holds the heaviest items, the most fragile items and the most cupboards, and it is the room people leave until the last evening. That combination is why moves overrun.
It is also the room with the highest damage rate on self-packed moves, and the one where insurers most often decline a claim because the packing method cannot be evidenced.
The order packers actually work in
Work from the least-used cupboard to the most-used, so the kitchen stays usable for as long as possible.
- Display shelves, serving dishes and anything decorative
- Baking kit, spare crockery, second-tier appliances
- Dry food, tins and jars — smalls only, they are heavy
- Pans, everyday plates and bowls
- Glassware and stemware, always in cell-divided cartons
- Cutlery, knives and the kettle-and-mugs set, last
Plates, glasses and knives, done properly
Plates go on their edge, not stacked flat: on edge they behave like a wall and resist a knock, stacked they crack from the middle out. Two sheets of paper each, then bundles of four to six, then the box packed tight so nothing shifts.
Glasses are wrapped individually and slotted into cell dividers, stem side up, and the box marked fragile on all four sides plus the top. Knives are wrapped blade-first in paper, taped closed, and labelled so nobody unpacks a blade with their fingertips.
Food, liquids and the things we cannot move
Removal insurance does not cover open liquids, and most firms will not load fuel, aerosols under pressure or corrosive cleaners. Plan the last supermarket shop around the move date and run down the freezer rather than trying to transport it.
- Fine — sealed dry goods, tins, unopened bottles, sealed oils
- Double-bag — opened oils, vinegars, sauces, cleaning liquids
- Do not load — fuel, gas canisters, paint thinners, corrosive drain cleaners
- Freezer — defrost 24 hours ahead and dry it, or it will smell by unpacking day
Appliances and white goods
Washing machines need their transit bolts back in, and if you no longer have them the drum has to be braced or it will damage itself in the van. Fridges and freezers stand upright and should rest for a few hours before being switched on at the other end.
Disconnection and reconnection of gas and water is a job for the relevant qualified trade, not the removal crew — we will move the appliance, but the last metre of pipework is not ours to touch.
