Quick Tips For
Packing Your Kitchen .

If you’re planning a move, then packing up your kitchen can be one of the biggest challenges you face. This is because a lot of the items found in the kitchen are not only delicate and can be easily broken if packed improperly, but are of all different shapes and sizes, which presents a challenge in itself. The following are a few tips to help you pack up your kitchen:

• Use strong boxes – Whether you buy boxes or reuse older boxes, make sure that they are sturdy and won’t fall apart. Reinforce the bottom with several layers of tape.
• Pack a necessity box – Start with a box that you fill with kitchen necessities that you know you’ll need the first week in your new home. This way you don’t have to search through all your boxes to find what you need.
• Protect your plates – Add a layer of packing paper or bubblewrap to the bottom of the box before putting your plates inside. Then, wrap each plate individually in packing paper or bubblewrap before packing it in the box. Add another layer of wadded up paper or bubblewrap over the top and along the sides. You should pack everything tightly enough so that they don’t shift when you move the box. You can also use towels or linens instead of packing paper or bubble wrap.
• Pack pots and pans in stacks – Stack your pots and pans in groups of threes with smaller pots and pans inside the larger ones. You should wrap and pack any lids separately. You can pack things like cleaning cloths, sponges, towels and other such items in the empty spaces around the pots and pans.

As is the case with the whole moving process, a bit of planning goes a long way and this is certainly the case when it comes to packing your kitchen for a move. The better you plan, the easier your kitchen packing is going to go.

Of all the different rooms that will be packed during a moving process, packing your kitchen is will most likely be the most difficult. Overall, this is why most people dread packing a kitchen for a move. Of course, there is a usually a whole lot of stuff to consider, but the stuff is generally fragile, odd shapes and sizes. This is a combination that can test even the most organized of people. This makes the kitchen pack not only difficult but time consuming as well. A rushed job is a mistake. A mistake that can lead to broken and chipped dishes and shattered stemware when you eventually open your kitchen boxes at your new place.

More Detail On Packing Your Kitchen For A Move

As with every other room in the house… but even more importantly… get yourself organized and setup to pack your kitchen. Go through and pull out or otherwise set aside and kitchen items that you have decided aren’t going to make the trip. Decluttering on a room by room basis is always a great way to get started in a positive direction. This can sometimes be difficult because many times there are more than a few items in your kitchen that you received as gifts from someone such as your parents or kids. But seriously, if haven’t ever really used that terrific fondu set perhaps now is a good time to say goodbye. And kitchen items that are in good shape can be donated to friends and charity.

When you pack your kitchen for a move, start by setting aside an essential box or two where you’ll put the functional items you’ll need right up until the day of the move. Along with a few plates, bowls, and some flatware, be sure to set aside some dish soap, a sponge and dishtowels. The sponge you toss on moving day. And don’t forget any appliance you may want such as a coffee maker. Then when moving day arrives your kitchen packing will be complete and all you need to do is label and tape up your essentials box.

Get Started Packing Your Kitchen: Start Anywhere

Every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen will present its own unique packing challenges and quirkiness. So, clear of nice sized work area to spread out your packing gear and just get to work.

Packing Pots & Pans

Are usually pretty accommodating when it comes to packing them. With a little bit of organizational effort you minimized the boxes you actually need for your pots and pans.

Packing the pots and pans is just like so many children’s toys that teach size and order. Just put your smaller pots inside the next largest size and repeat. Make sure that you separate the individual pieces with wrapping or padding and don’t forget to put a layer of padding in the bottom of the box first. And make sure to provide support around pots and pans within the box using packing paper or dish towels. The goal is to achieve no movement or rattling around when you shake the box. Nicely stacked, but poorly supported items, will still have them bouncing around while on the road in the moving truck. If any of your lids to your pots and pans are breakable, then simply pack them as you would your dishes. This can also be a good place to add some dry pantry items to top off the box, just make sure you can properly close and tape the lid

Glasses Dinnerware Stemware

When you pack your kitchen glasses, dinnerware and stemware it’s best to use specialty boxes specifically designed for this task. A least, get the standard dividers that will fit down into the same standard sized box.

You’ll want to start by placing two layers of bubble wrap at the bottom of each box. Even though your expensive glassware is better protected by using the dividers in the box, that’s still not good enough. You will still want to wrap each of your glasses in packing paper. Even if you end up with extra room at the top of the box, it’s not recommended to add any additional weight on top of your glassware, particularly stemware.

When packing your dinnerware, get that extra padding in the bottom of the boxes before you start. Wrap each piece of your dinnerware individually and when you put them into the box place them vertically, not flat. Placing you plates vertically will give them much strength rather than flat where the bottom dishes are essentially holding the entire weight of the stack.

When it comes to securing the pack of you dinnerware and glassware, this is good time call on the use of any old t-shirts, towels, etc. to create a nice solid surround for your dishes. Remember when you shake to box, you don’t want to hear anything.

Other Plates & Bowls

Plates and bowls that aren’t as fragile or expensive you can generally stack and pack with packing paper in between the layers and use the gaps in the box to fill in with pantry items of other odd shaped non-breakable items. You could can even add stability by wrapping the grouping with plastic wrap

Packing Knives

Knives are sharp and can do bodily damage either by getting sliced by the blade or poked by the tip. Either way is no fun. So, with that said, we don’t want to mix in other items with the knives. Wrap the knives in towels. Put three or four knives on a towel all facing the same direction. Then roll the knives up leaving a cushion of towel between each roll and blade. The fold over the towel to protect the tips and your hands. Then secure each roll with rubber bands or at least packing tape and packed flat. Never pointing up. Again, the box should be clearly labeled as knives.

Those Miscellaneous Items

For all the odds and ends that end up coming into play when packing your kitchen, be as creative as you can and use them to fill in gaps in any of the other boxes to help them fill out and become more stable. Just be careful to not make any one box too heavy.

Use these quick kitchen packing tips to save time and frustration, whether you’re moving across town or across state lines. Need help moving to or from Phoenix? Contact Muscular Moving Men to schedule a move today.