The Best Moving Boxes for Every Room in Your Home

Looking to speed up the tedious packing process? Then make sure you have the best and most suitable boxes for each individual room in your house. Trust me when I say that your moving supplies can make or break (literally) the entire packing process. Below, we’ve listed the essential moving boxes recommended for safely packing up your home.

Best moving boxes

PS – a little word of advice – you can find these specific boxes, as well as discounts on various moving supplies, by checking out Moving.com’s box center.

Corrugated Boxes for the Kitchen

Anyone who’s packed their pots and pans knows that the kitchen is one of the trickiest rooms in the house to box up. With larger items like the crockpot, panini press and coffee maker to worry about, it’s easy to overlook your more fragile items (i.e. dishes and glassware). But if not properly protected, these important – and often pricey – items could end up as nothing more than glass shards by the time of your arrival. Bubble wrap and foam pouches aren’t always enough to prevent your delicate dishes and glasses from breaking.

If you’re going to pack your dishes the right way, you’re going to need to invest in thicker double-wall corrugated boxes, along with divider sets. You can purchase these dividers as separate kits for both your dishes and glassware. Adding cellular dividers to your boxes will protect and separate all of your fragile plates, saucers, bowls, crystal, glasses and barware. After using dish packing kits for two different moves, I can attest that they really make a difference (I didn’t break a single wine glass or plate while using them). Just make sure to add an extra layer of protection (foam pouches, newspaper and/or bubble-wrap) to each dish and glassware item as well.

Wardrobe Boxes for the Closets

Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about arriving with wrinkled suits and garb. To avoid high dry-cleaning bills and tedious ironing, invest in several wardrobe boxes with hanging bars. The boxes are well-worth the extra minutes of assembly. Each of the hanging bars allows you to leave your clothes on the hanger, just as they were in your closet before the move. The boxes can also hold other random closet and bedroom items like yoga mats, pillows and shoes.

Where to find them: U-Haul , Amazon , ULine and Lowes .

TV Boxes and Telescope Boxes for the Den

Even if your art isn’t exactly a Van Gogh, it’s still important to thoroughly pack all of your artwork carefully and correctly. I recommend purchasing several picture moving boxes large enough to hold your canvas art, mirrors, posters and larger prints. Otherwise, these items may get scratched or broken during the moving process. For extra large artwork, you should purchase telescope boxes. These two-part boxes are large, flat and can be pushed together to form one lengthier box. They are a godsend for those longer art prints and wall mirrors.

When packing your television, I suggest using a heavy-duty, corrugated flat-panel TV box. These are sold in all different sizes to accommodate a wide variety of flat TV screens. You’ll want to make sure that your bubble-wrapped TV fits snugly in the box. If the TV box is too large, your flat screen television could get bumped, scratched and busted before arriving at its destination.

Where to find them: Ecobox , Amazon , U-Haul , and ULine .

Plastic Bins for the Bedrooms

When moving, I highly recommend investing in some durable plastic bins. Not only are they useful for larger belongings such as bulky sweaters, winter coats and bedding, but they can also be reused later as storage bins. This way you can keep items like toys, seasonal clothing, decorations, and tools – all organized after the move. Many plastic bins are stackable as well, making them easy to store and perfect for arranging in a closet or garage after the big move. I recommend purchasing clear plastic bins as opposed to the opaque ones, as you’ll be able to see what’s packed inside more easily.

Small, Medium and Large Moving Boxes for the Living Room

When it comes to the basic no-frills moving boxes, I recommend purchasing more medium moving boxes than larger ones. Small and medium boxes are perfect for books, knick-knacks and heavier objects you’ll find in your living room. Word of advice: while it’s tempting to stuff the larger boxes with heavier and larger items, this will only cause you to end up breaking the box (and your back) if you’re not careful. I recommend packing larger boxes with lots of lighter and bulkier objects like blankets, toys, small rugs, wastebaskets and throw pillows.

Where to find them: Local liquor stores and furniture stores may give you their leftover boxes for free. You can also purchase them on Amazon , U-Haul , Office Depot , and ULine .

Bankers Boxes for the Home Office

Bankers Boxes are sturdy, reliable and portable. However, they also happen to be slightly more complicated to assemble than the average cardboard box. Thankfully, that’s where YouTube tutorials step in, folks. Once you master the Banker Box shuffle, these nifty boxes are a fabulous way to transport books, files, office supplies, picture frames and all paper items.

Where to find them: You can find free pre-assembled bankers boxes in offices around the country. Bankers boxes are used to ship reams of copy and print paper, and are often trashed or recycled after the fact. If you’re unable to find them for free, I recommend looking at the Bankersbox.com , ULine , or Amazon .

How Many Boxes Do You Need?

Now that you know what boxes you need, it’s time to figure out just how many to purchase. To do so, I recommend checking out our own handy Moving.com Packing Calculator . Boxes can be expensive, so make sure to calculate the correct number before breaking the bank. While you’re at it, let us provide you with the best tools to keep your move organized as you start this next chapter. Here’s our list of necessary moving and packing tools . Happy packing!