Room by Room Guide: Tips for Efficiently Packing Up Your Kitchen

For those who love to cook – the kitchen, dining room and bar area usually end up being the last rooms in the house to get packed up. After all, it’s hard to live in a house without dinner plates, water glasses and cookware. Not to mention, most kitchenware items also happen to be fragile and breakable (yikes), making bubble wrap and other special packing supplies a priority. From your fine china and casual dinnerware to your fancy barware and kitchen gadgets, here are a few tips for packing up all of the items in your kitchen before the big move.

China, barware and glassware

From crystal wine glasses and fine china plates to champagne flutes and beer mugs, these delicate pieces of china and glassware should be boxed up properly to avoid breaking them. Remember to use quality corrugated boxes. The last thing you want is the bottom falling out – and your pricey glasses shattering all over the floor! Once you’ve found the right boxes, a dd cellular dividers to the boxes. Once inserted inside the box, these partitions will provide a great way to separate and protect all of your fragile barware.

Use both foam pouch inserts and bubble wrap to properly pack your fine china, such as porcelain plates, bowls and teacups. Then, w rap and secure all barware and glasses (think: highball glasses, glass mugs and coupes) with bubble wrap before packing. It’s also not a bad idea to stuff the inside of the glasses with some packing paper as well.

Cookware, bakeware, pots, pans, and kitchen tools

Generally speaking, these items are easier to pack than fine china and fragile dinnerware. Most larger cookware and bakeware pieces, such as cast iron skillets, casserole dishes, dutch ovens, cookie sheets, frying pans and stainless steel pots, need to be properly protected with packing paper and/or a layer of bubble wrap. As long as they are packed tightly and securely, they should be just fine. In addition to bubble wrap and packing paper, I recommend using blankets and other soft items to buffer the cookware inside each moving box.

Whatever you do – avoid stuffing your kitchenware items into one huge box. Not only will this weigh down your move, it will also cause your items to scratch or break more easily. By using more small and medium size boxes, your cookware won’t knock around as much, and will be properly secured inside the box.

Kitchen gadgets and appliances

When purchasing kitchen appliances, avoid trashing the boxes! By keeping the original packaging for kitchen gadgets and appliances, you can pack up your toaster, panini maker and food processor in boxes specifically designed for those items. If you can’t find the original boxes that the appliances were purchased in, just make sure you use sturdy corrugated boxes. Otherwise, the heavier items – such as crock pots and food processors – may be too much for a low quality cardboard box to handle.

Allied Van Lines also suggests making sure all electrical cords are wrapped in packing paper and/or covered with a towel. If you’re expecting rain or snow on moving day, you should also consider putting your smaller appliance boxes inside of a waterproof, plastic bin.

Casual dinnerware

Since you’ll most likely be using your plates and mugs up until the date of your move, I suggest packing these kitchen items last. Casual dinnerware includes everyday dinner and salad plates, coffee mugs, saucers, cereal bowls and other items found in your kitchen cabinets. While your casual dinnerware may be replaceable, it’s still a good idea to reinforce all items with bubble wrap, foam pouches or some sort of cushioning before packing them inside. Remember to use corrugated boxes and dish divider inserts, if possible. While these dividers may be slightly tricky to put together, they will save you money and headaches in the long run by properly protecting your plates, bowls and mugs.

When packing dinnerware, insert each piece of item inside of an appropriately sized foam pouch and/or layer with bubble wrap. Tape to seal. Wrap each item in newspaper or packing paper to add additional protective layers.

Stack mugs, bowls and other casual dinnerware items on top of one another in each divider section of the box. This way you’ll get the most use out of every box. Just make sure the individual pieces are protected with bubble wrap to act as a bumper between any fragile items. Line the bottom and top of the box with packing paper as well. Depending on how fragile your casual dinnerware happens to be, this should help protect your items from getting knocked around.

Pantry

Depending on how far you’re moving, you may or may not be able to take your pantry goods with you. If you’re moving nearby and wish to bring cereals, canned goods and unopened snacks, it’s a good idea to make sure everything is properly sealed up. Avoid leaks and punctures by wrapping canned goods, as well as bags of sugar and flour, inside either plastic bags or plastic wrap.

I also recommend bubble wrapping fragile jars to avoid having them break and leak all over your other belongings. If you’re unable to take your pantry items with you, I suggest donating all non-perishables to your local food bank – and, if you hire a Move for Hunger partner moving company, the movers will even do it for you! The non-profit organization partners with relocation companies to delivery pantry donations (from those who are moving) to local food banks.

Final tips:

For each box, make sure you label them as both “Kitchen” and “Fragile” to let the movers know they should handle with care. It’s also a good idea to draw an arrow pointing upwards and labeled “THIS SIDE UP,” so that your fragile items don’t get tossed upside down.

To find out how many boxes and moving supply items you will need for your move, check out Moving.com’s handy packing calculator tool. You can also find great deals on boxes and moving supplies in Moving.com’s box center today!