Tips For Packing Up The Kitchen

Packing up the kitchen is one of the most time consuming and stressful tasks when moving home. It’s the hardest room to pack up, so it is usually the best room to start with.

Take a systematic approach; decide what is coming with you to your new home and what can be gotten rid of. Then move to items that you don’t use that often, these should be the items you pack away first.  As you will see with all our moving tips, when you start packing, we recommend starting by creating your essentials box first and foremost.

Here are some practical tips for packing the items you are taking with you.

First off, have your moving essentials at the ready:

• Small Boxes and Large Boxes – quantity will depend on the size of your kitchen.
• Butcher Paper.
• See through sandwich bags, for small items.
• Heavy Duty Sellotape and sharpie.

Appliances

If you still have the original boxes for your kitchen appliances, use them. Your appliances will fit best and travel safely in their original boxes. If not, you will need boxes, butcher paper and small see-through bags. Take appliances apart where possible, paying attention to items with small parts. Put small parts into a small see-through bag and pack them into the same box as the appliance. Wrap the appliance with butcher paper or towels to protect it. Place in the moving box and fill the moving box and edges with butcher paper, ensuring there are no gaps.

• Remember to turn off your fridge and freezer 24 hours before they are being moved.

Kitchenware – cutlery, dishes, cups and glasses.

Let’s talk about knives first. Packing your sharp knives safely is imperative. You are aiming to wrap the knives up into a roll. Layout 3 pieces of butcher paper. Place the knives (the amount you wrap up in a roll should depend on how big the knives are) on your butcher paper, leaving a small bit of space between each knife. Start from one end and roll the paper around the first knife.  You should have a roll of knives securely packed up in the paper. Aim to have the bulk of paper at the sharp end to give extra protection. Add extra layers as you see fit and secure with Sellotape. If you need more help or advise on packing sharp items, please contact our prepack team for assistance.

The rest of your cutlery can be packed away as above. Place a group on a flat piece of butcher paper and create a roll of your cutlery until they are tight and secure. Layer up with more butcher paper if needed.

Dishes – wrap each dish individually with butcher paper. Stack into your packing boxes. Be sure not to fill too much as this box will get heavy. Pack towels, or items with less weight into the top of the box. Mark this box clearly as fragile.

Cups and glasses – Fill cups and glasses with butcher paper so there are no gaps. Wrap them up individually with your butcher paper. Place carefully into your packing box, do not overfill the box. Place towels on the top of the box to ensure there are no gaps, leaving no room for any items to move around in the box. Mark this box as fragile as clear as possible.

Wine glasses – wrap the stem with butcher paper until the stem is as thick as the neck of the glass. Fill the glass with butcher paper. Wrap into a roll and strategically place the wine glass into boxes with the ear packed upright. Do not overfill! Do not put anything else on top of this box. Be sure to mark this box as fragile.

Perishables and the pantry

Start out with the spices and then work your way to larger items. Some of the heavier items may not be worth moving, you may decide to leave these behind. It not, start packing your pantry box with the heavier items. Discard any items that are already open and that may cause spillage.

Discard any oils that are open, or if you really want to take them with you, seal them and pack them in a separate box and make sure to take them with you in your own car when you move – the removalist cannot take open items.

There sure is a lot to plan when you are moving to a new house! At Adlam Transport, our prepack team has over 10 years’ experience helping clients to pack up their kitchen and their homes safely and efficiently in preparation for moving day. If you need any help to take the stress away from moving day, contact our prepack team today for a quote.