How Professional Packers Tackle a Kitchen

The kitchen isn't the hardest room to pack. It just has the most pieces. The difference is knowing where to start.

How to Pack a Kitchen — Simply Home Collin County

First — purge what you never use. Every kitchen has them — the fondue set from 2009, the bread maker that hasn't been touched in three years, the eleven coffee mugs you kept out of obligation. Before you pack a single box decide what is actually coming with you. Moving is the best opportunity you will ever have to stop hauling things you don't use from one home to the next.

Pack in categories starting with the largest items. Pack in categories, not cabinets. Baking supplies together, entertaining pieces together, small appliances together. Then within each category pack largest to smallest — the big pieces anchor the box and the smaller items fill in around them naturally.

Stand plates vertically in groups. Place a piece of packing paper between each plate, then wrap the excess paper around the entire group of four or five securing them together. Stand the groups vertically in the box like records — they are significantly less likely to break this way than when stacked flat. This is one of the most common packing mistakes we see and one of the easiest to fix.

Cushion above and below.  Use packing paper to create a fluffy layer of cushioning above and below your wrapped items as well. No gaps. Nothing shifting. Nothing moving around in transit is what keeps things arriving in one piece.

Even your pots need a single sheet of paper. It only takes a moment and it prevents the kind of surface scratching and damage that shows up on the things you use every single day. A little extra paper now can prevent years of wear on your everyday cookware. It is always worth it.

Use your dish towels and oven mitts strategically. Tuck them around fragile items, use them as padding between lamps, or wrap them around oddly shaped pieces. They have to move anyway — put them to work.

Set aside what you need before you start. A full set of dishes if you are eating at home, or at minimum a coffee cup, spoon, and pet feeding supplies. Paper plates and disposable utensils work fine for a few days. Don't forget paper towels, rags, and cleaning supplies — especially if you plan to clean before you hand over the keys. Set everything in a pile on the counter and if a packing crew is coming, let them know these items stay.If you'd rather not think about it at all, that's what we're here for. Visit us at www.PackAndOrganize.com to see how we work.