Moving to a new home is exciting, but packing to move is a lot of work and can even end up costing you money if you don’t take time to carefully pack breakable and expensive items. One of the toughest rooms to pack is your kitchen. With all the cabinets, shelves, drawers, pantry space, and appliances in a typical kitchen, you need a game plan to pack your kitchen goods to keep them safe and organized.
Here are nine kitchen packing hacks from our Bay Area movers that you can use to help you get ready to move to your next home sweet home.
1. Packing Dinner Plates
Don’t waste time wrapping each piece of china or dinnerware in newspaper or packing paper. Instead, use disposable foam plates and stack them between your dishes, then pack the dishes horizontally, not vertically, in a moving box and add crumpled paper or bubble packers around the dishes to protect them. Don’t forget to mark the box as FRAGILE.
2. Packing Glasses and Mugs
Again, skip the packing paper and instead stuff socks into your glasses and mugs, then place the glasses and mugs into a special packing box for glassware – one that has a cardboard divider to create sections for each glass or mug is best.
3. Packing Knives
Use your potholders as knife holders to both protect your knives during the move and protect any other items from being damaged by loose knives.
4. Packing Silverware
If you use a silverware basket in one of your kitchen drawers, lift the full basket out of the drawer and then wrap it with plastic cling wrap before packing it in a moving box.
5. Packing Large Appliances
If you’re moving refrigerators, ranges, microwaves, or dishwashers, make sure the appliance is unplugged then take a moment to unscrew any interior bulbs within the appliance and pack those separately. If you have the original owners manuals, you can place those inside the appliances.
6. Packing Pots and Pans
If your pots and pans are stackable, stack them and place them in one box, then rubber band dish towels around the lids and pack them in a separate box. If you have pots and pans that don’t stack, don’t fret! Pack small kitchen items like spices, kitchen tools, utensils, and dishtowels inside your pots, then rubber band the lid on top of the pot before packing it in a box.
7. Packing Food from the Pantry
Play the mystery dinner game with the food items in your pantry and refrigerator in the weeks before moving to try to use up as much food as you can. If you are moving a long distance and have an abundance of non-perishable food left, donate it to your local food pantry or give it to a neighbor that might use it. If you are moving locally and moving food, use tape to secure boxes and zipper storage bags to hold any opened items.
8. Packing Cleaning Supplies
Try to use up as much of your supplies in the weeks before moving. Many long distance movers will not allow you to move open containers of cleaning products, so be sure to find those items a home with a friend or neighbor. If you are moving locally, keep lids secure by taping them shut or use zipper storage bags to contain any potential spills.
9. Packing Day in the Kitchen
Leave cabinets and drawers open as you pack the items within them. Be sure to have plenty of packing tape, newspaper or bubble wrap, and permanent markers. Colored dot stickers are a great way to organize boxes by room with a color for each room, making for easy distribution in your new home.
