Match the Container to What You Are Packing
Most of what ends up in a house move is not fragile, not valuable, and not complicated to pack — the challenge is deciding what goes in what, and getting through the volume of it without slowing the move down. A three-bedroom house typically requires 40–60 boxes plus a handful of laundry bags. That is a lot of decisions if you are making each one from scratch. The approach below covers the main categories of household items and the right way to pack each, so you can work through the property without pausing over every drawer and cupboard.
Books and Heavy Items
Books are the single most common packing mistake in a house move. They are dense — a full medium-sized box of books can weigh 20–25kg, which is too heavy to carry safely and will split the base of a standard box. The rule is simple:
- Use small boxes for books, never medium or large
- Tape the base with two or three strips, not one
- Lay books flat rather than on their edge — flat stacking distributes weight across the bottom of the box
- Leave a small gap at the top and fill it with crumpled paper so the contents do not shift
The same principle applies to anything dense — tools, records, tins, bottles, paperwork, ceramics. Dense items go in small boxes. Light items go in big boxes. Mixing the two in one box is usually a mistake.
Kitchen Items (Non-Fragile)
Pots, pans, utensils, chopping boards, baking trays, Tupperware, and anything plastic or metal can be packed together into medium boxes without much thought. Stack heavier items like pans at the bottom and lighter items on top. Nest pans inside each other where possible to save space. Utensils can go into a single layer or into a plastic pouch that then sits in a box. There is no need to wrap any of this.
Small appliances — kettle, toaster, microwave, air fryer — should be packed into boxes individually or in pairs, ideally in their original packaging if you still have it. If not, wrap the cables around the unit and pack with soft material around the sides so the appliance cannot move inside the box.
Bedding, Towels, and Soft Items
Duvets, pillows, towels, blankets, and soft furnishings are the items large laundry bags were designed for. They are light, bulky, and compressible. A full laundry bag of bedding takes up roughly the same floor space as a medium box but can be pushed and shaped to fill gaps between rigid items in the van, which makes it particularly useful.
Use these soft items as padding where you can. A folded duvet laid flat across the top of a layer of boxes protects what is above and below it. Towels wrapped around awkward items in a box reduce the need for bubble wrap. Treat bedding and towels as packing material as well as contents — they are doing double duty either way.
Clothes
Clothes fold into laundry bags or medium boxes. Fill them full and seal them. Wardrobe boxes (tall cardboard boxes with a hanging rail built in) are worth using only for suits, formal dresses, and anything that genuinely creases badly — everything else folds without any practical consequence. Vacuum bags are useful for bulky winter coats and heavy knitwear that take up disproportionate space relative to their weight.
Take clothes off hanging rails before move day. A loaded rail cannot be stacked, takes up floor space that would otherwise hold several boxes, and drops garments throughout the journey.
Electronics
Televisions, monitors, computers, and gaming consoles are the highest-value fragile items in most properties and should be handled with more care than crockery. Before packing:
- Take photos of any cable setup you need to reproduce at the other end — the back of a TV, a desktop PC, a home sound system
- Unplug cables and bag them together with a label indicating what they connect
- Use the original box if you still have it — nothing protects an electronic item better than the box it was designed to ship in
- Without the original box, wrap in bubble wrap with extra protection on corners and use a box that is only slightly larger than the item, filled with soft packing material
TVs should travel standing upright against the van wall, not lying flat. A TV laid horizontally is under stress the screen was not designed for, and the risk of damage from anything placed on top is substantial.
If you are moving a full house and want to see what van size fits your load, you can get an instant quote online to compare pricing across Medium, Large, and Extra-Large vans.
Bathroom Items and Toiletries
Shampoo, shower gel, cleaning sprays, and anything that can leak need extra attention. A single bottle that opens during a journey can damage far more than its replacement cost — wet cardboard collapses, soap residue is difficult to remove, and the liquid soaks into anything soft nearby.
- Seal any part-used bottle in a plastic bag before packing
- Put liquids at the top of the box, not under heavier items that will compress the caps
- Pack cleaning products separately from anything food-related
- Throw out anything you are unlikely to use — half-empty bottles of things you have not touched in a year are not worth transporting
Food
Only transport sealed, non-perishable food. Dry goods (pasta, rice, tinned items, jars, cereal) pack into a medium box without issue. Anything open, anything in the fridge, and anything frozen is better used up, given away, or discarded before the move rather than transported. Fridge and freezer contents are rarely worth the effort of cool bags and time pressure on moving day.
If you are moving locally and have a genuine reason to transport perishable items — a full freezer that cannot be cleared — cool bags with ice packs work for a few hours. Beyond that, the contents should be assumed to have defrosted.
Kids’ Toys and Games
Toys are mostly light and non-fragile, which makes them easy to pack into medium or large boxes. Sort by type as you go — LEGO and small parts in one box, soft toys in another, board games stacked together — because it speeds up unpacking at the other end. Board games and puzzles should be taped shut before boxing to stop pieces escaping.
For anything a child uses every day, pack it last and keep one or two familiar items accessible during the move itself. A favourite toy or bedtime book that is easily findable on the first evening at the new property saves a disproportionate amount of hassle.
Tools, Garage and Shed
Hand tools and dense items from a garage or shed should go in small boxes for the same reason as books — weight adds up fast. Power tools are better packed in their original cases where possible; otherwise wrap them in a towel and box them individually. Drain any fluids from petrol tools (lawnmowers, strimmers) before the move — fuel should never travel in a van, and most removal insurance policies specifically exclude it.
Garden equipment with long handles (rakes, spades, brooms) can be bundled together with tape or cable ties and loaded alongside furniture rather than boxed.
Drawers: Empty Them or Leave Them In?
Whether to empty a chest of drawers before moving depends on weight:
- Heavy solid wood furniture — empty the drawers. A loaded chest of drawers is significantly heavier than an empty one and puts stress on the carcass during carrying
- Lightweight flat-pack furniture — drawers can usually stay in place if the contents are soft and light. Remove any drawer that does not lock in position, or it will slide out during loading
- Never leave heavy items in drawers — books, tools, or anything dense should come out regardless of the furniture
If drawers do stay in, tape them shut with removable masking tape so they cannot open during transit.
Lamps, Mirrors, and Awkward Items
Not everything will fit into a standard box. Floor lamps, standard lamps, framed artwork, large mirrors, potted plants, exercise equipment — these travel as themselves, wrapped and handled individually:
- Lamps — remove the shade and bulb, wrap each separately. Shades crush easily and should not have any weight placed on them.
- Mirrors and framed pictures — apply a cross of masking tape across the glass (this contains fragments if it breaks), wrap in bubble wrap, and load vertically against the van wall
- Plants — only worth moving if you genuinely value them. Box pots individually and keep plants upright. Moving plants long distances in a dark van is stressful on the plant and rarely worth the effort for anything ordinary.
- Exercise equipment — dismantle where possible. Treadmills and rowing machines take up far less space folded than assembled.
What to Keep Out for Move Day
Everything in a property can be packed in advance except for what you will actively need on the day itself. Set aside:
- Kettle, two mugs, teabags, and a small carton of milk
- Phone chargers and a power bank
- A change of clothes and basic toiletries
- Toilet roll
- Any medication
- Keys and any documents needed for the day (tenancy agreement, completion paperwork)
Pack these into one bag or box that travels with you in the car or cab of the van, not in the main load. This is the box that gets frantically searched for at the end of a long moving day if it has not been prepared deliberately.
Moving a full house and want to confirm the right van size? Get an instant quote online to compare pricing before your move date.
More Packing Guides
Part of a series covering the practical side of packing for a move. If you found this useful, the other guides cover related ground:
- How to Pack for a Move: What Actually Works (and What Slows Everything Down) — the pillar guide covering containers, principles, and what not to do
- How to Pack Plates, Glasses and Fragile Items for Moving Day — wrapping and boxing crockery, glassware, mirrors, and ornaments
- How to Tape and Seal Boxes Properly for Your Next House Move — the H-tape method, double-taping, and which tape actually works
- Moving Checklist: What to Pack, When, and in What Order — a timeline from four weeks out to the first evening at the new property
