Packing Tips From Real Removals Crews (UK Edition)

Buy proper boxes, not supermarket ones

Supermarket boxes are free, but they're inconsistent sizes, often weakened by damp produce, and almost never stack safely in a van. Real double-walled removals boxes cost £1.50–£2.50 each and pay for themselves in not having your kitchen on the M40 hard shoulder.

Pack by weight, not by volume

Heavy items (books, plates, tinned goods) go in SMALL boxes. Light items (bedding, clothing, soft toys) go in LARGE boxes. A large box full of books will hurt someone's back, break its own bottom, or both.

• Books and crockery: small boxes, ideally book boxes
• Clothes (folded): medium boxes
• Hanging clothes: wardrobe boxes (worth every penny)
• Bedding, pillows, soft toys: large boxes

Wrap plates standing up, not flat

Plates packed flat in a stack act like a single brick — any vertical shock cracks the whole pile. Wrap each plate individually in packing paper and stack them on edge, like records in a sleeve. Survival rate is vastly higher.

Label by room, not by contents

Your removals crew doesn't need to know there are 14 mugs in box 23. They need to know it goes in the kitchen. Big marker, top + one side, in this order: ROOM (kitchen / master bed / loft), then a 1–10 fragility number.

The 'first night' box

Pack one box per person plus one for the household. Put it in your car, not the van. It contains: phone charger, toothbrush, kettle, mugs, tea, toilet roll, fresh sheets for the bed you'll fall into. You will thank past-you at 11pm on move day.

When to use a professional packer

Full packing makes sense for: anyone short on time, anyone moving more than 50 miles, anyone with valuable fragile collections, and anyone moving with children under 5. The cost is a fraction of what one accidentally broken antique costs to replace.