How to pack up your kitchen
Your kitchen can be a unique room to pack. A lot of care and concern are required in as you pack. The reason so much care is required when packing up your kitchen, is because of the amount of glass and china that tend to be found in the kitchen. When packing up your kitchen, you want to make sure that grandma’s old gravy boat or aunt Deloris’s antique tea cup set makes it to your new home. While care is required for fragile items, you also need to take into account the wide variety and number of other items that can be found in your kitchen from canned goods, to spatulas, to oven mitts. Here are some of our tips on how to best pack your kitchen. We will go area by area.
Items that you’ll need
Packing paper, tape, china cartons, 5 cubes, 2 cubes. China cartons are specially made for glass and fragile items. They are double walled (Extra thick) which will better protect your fragile items. 5 cubes are larger boxes that are able to house more, and 2 cubes are small boxes meant for books and smaller miscellaneous items. Looking for boxes? Click here for a list of places to get free boxes
As we continue to mention over and over in our blogs, when packing up your kitchen, make sure that you leave yourself enough time. While professional packers can get many kitchens done in a matter of hours, you will likely need more time. Rushing as you pack up your kitchen, can cause not only stress, but also mistakes and in turn damage.
Before you start to place anything in any carton, make sure that you line the bottom of your carton with paper or “crush”. I don’t mean simply place sheets at the bottom of the carton, rather crumple up a few sheets to create a shock absorption layer at the bottom of the box. Items can shift in the carton during transportation, and this will help ensure that nothing breaks.
When packing up your kitchen, here are some tips for most common items.
Plates and earthenware
Believe it or not, plates are best packed on their ends. Make sure to wrap each plate in a sheet of paper to prevent scratches from rubbing. When packing up your kitchen, line the plates up vertically in the carton. Have them standing next to each other. Do the same for any small saucers or small plates. Once you finish a who layer of plates, fill the carton with more crush and start another layer, until you’re done, or the box is full. The same principle goes for large plates or large bowls.
Glasses
When packing glasses, once again, make sure to wrap each glass in paper. This will prevent any rubbing or chips that can result from shifting around in transport. When packing up your kitchen, stack the glasses in the carton standing up. Glasses on their side are not very strong and can easily crack or break.
Silverware
Silverware often comes in a plastic tray which allows you to keep all the utensils separate. Simply take a few pieces of paper and tape them overtop the tray. This will keep the silverware from spilling out and creating a mess for you to sort through when you get to your destination.
Pots and Pans
These can go in a larger box. Because pots and pans typically aren’t all that heavy, you can put more of them into a larger box. When packing up your kitchen, be sure to wrap each pot individually in paper to avoid any scratches to the pots and pans. The pots can be placed in the box on their bottoms as they are more stable that way. Pans can be placed in the box vertically, the same way you pack your plates.
Plastic containers and Tupperware
These are much easier to pack, and the same principle applies to Tupperware as pots and pans. Due to the fact that they are quite light, you can pack Tupperware in larger boxes if you have a lot of it. In the name of efficiency, you can place containers inside one another and wrap them as a bundle.
Small appliances
For small appliances, they can be placed in a larger box, or in the original box they can in, should you still have it. The reason that they can fit into a larger box, is because you typically cannot fit more than a few into a carton. Each appliance should be wrapped in paper, and also taped to ensure that the paper doesn’t fall off. This will help avoid scratches and rubbing against other items.
Cookbooks
For any books commonly found in the kitchen, pack them into smaller boxes. Boxes of books can easily become quite heavy. When packing up your kitchen, wrap each book in paper, to ensure that they don’t rub or are torn during the transportation of the move.
Canned food
The same goes for this as for cook books. These items should be packed in a smaller box because the overall weight of a group of canned goods can add up quite quickly. When packing up your kitchen, group cans together and wrap them in paper. Any glass containers should be wrapped up individually. For cartons that contain any glass containers, make sure to write that on the box, so that whoever is carrying it knows what is in the carton, and can load the carton accordingly.
Your kitchen will certainly be one of the more time-consuming rooms to pack. Mainly because of all the items that need to be individually packed, due to their fragility, and in order to keep them from chipping or scratching. It is important to note that you can use other miscellaneous items around your kitchen to pack around or fill in your box. For instance, oven mitts, aprons, or dish towels can be great items to fill up cartons, or to tighten the box up. If you run out of those items, paper will also work to tighten up the carton. Make sure to use your discretion when you’re packing. For more tips on how to pack up your basement, click here.
While some people enjoy the challenge, or want to pack their own kitchen, others may not want that. If you are moving, and want some help with your packing, give us a call. Whether you’re looking to have everything packed, or just the breakables, we can help you out. Make sure to give us a call to see how we can help you with your packing needs!