Direct answer
Pack heavy, dense items - books, tins, tools - in small boxes kept to roughly 15-20kg so one person can lift them safely, and save large boxes for light, bulky things like bedding and pillows. Wrap breakables individually in bubble wrap or plain packing paper (not newspaper, which can stain), stack plates on their edge rather than flat, and stand glasses upright. Label every box on the top and at least one side with the destination room and a short contents note, and mark anything fragile clearly. Work through the house one room at a time, starting with rooms you use least and finishing with the kitchen and final-night bedding, and keep passports, documents, jewellery and cash with you rather than packed into a box.
Contents
- Choosing boxes by weight and fragility
- Wrapping and protecting fragile items
- Labelling boxes so they land in the right room
- Documents, valuables and anything irreplaceable
- Packing the kitchen
- Packing bedrooms
- Packing the bathroom
- Packing approach at a glance
- What packing doesn't cover
- Frequently asked questions
Choosing boxes by weight and fragility
Get the box size wrong and everything else gets harder.
The single most common packing mistake is using one box size for everything. A large box looks efficient because it holds more, but fill it with books or tinned food and it quickly becomes too heavy for one person to lift without strain or risk of the bottom giving way. UK removal firms generally treat somewhere around 15-20kg as the comfortable working weight for a box one person carries repeatedly, with small boxes able to take a little more and large boxes needing to stay well under that figure once they're full of anything dense.
The practical rule that follows from this is simple: match the box to the item, not the other way round. Heavy, dense items - books, tinned or jarred food, tools, small electronics - belong in small boxes, even though it feels like you're using more boxes than necessary. Large boxes should be reserved for light, bulky items that take up space without adding much weight: bedding, pillows, duvets, soft toys, lampshades. If you run out of small boxes before you run out of heavy items, it's better to half-fill a medium box and pad the rest with something light than to fill it completely with books.
Within a box, weight distribution matters too. Put the heaviest items at the bottom, lighter items on top, and fill any gaps with soft packing material - towels, packing paper, or clothing you're packing anyway - so nothing shifts and knocks against something else in transit. A box that's full but not overloaded, with nothing able to move inside it, is far less likely to arrive damaged than one that's either half-empty and rattling or overstuffed and straining at the seams.
Wrapping and protecting fragile items
Plates, glasses and ornaments need individual wrapping, not just a padded box.
Fragile items need two layers of protection: the wrapping around each individual piece, and the way they're packed together in the box. For plates and flat ceramics, the rule that matters most is orientation - wrap each plate individually in packing paper or bubble wrap, then stack them on their edge inside the box, not flat. Plates stacked flat concentrate pressure unevenly and are far more likely to crack than plates stood on edge, which is why professional removal crews consistently pack them this way rather than simply flat-stacking with paper between each one.
Glasses, stemware and anything with a narrow neck or stem should be wrapped individually too, then stood upright in a divided box or packed closely enough with padding that nothing can tip over. It's worth avoiding plain newspaper as the direct wrapping layer for glass, ceramics or anything light-coloured - the print can transfer onto the surface. Plain packing paper or bubble wrap avoids that problem and is only marginally more expensive.
Ornaments, picture frames, mirrors and anything else awkward or breakable should get the same individual-wrap treatment, with extra padding at corners and any protruding parts. Mirrors and picture glass benefit from being packed on their edge rather than flat, in a box sized close to their dimensions so they can't shift. For anything unusually valuable or irreplaceable, it's worth asking whether it should travel with you directly rather than in a box at all - covered in more detail below.
Labelling boxes so they land in the right room
A box labelled only on top is unreadable the moment something else is stacked on it.
Label every box on the top and at least one side, not just the top. Boxes get stacked on top of each other during loading and unloading, and a label that's only visible from above becomes useless as soon as another box sits on it. A short, consistent format works best: destination room first, then a brief note of what's inside - for example "Kitchen - pans and baking trays" or "Bedroom 2 - winter clothes" - rather than a vague label like "misc" that tells nobody anything useful on the day.
For anything fragile, add "FRAGILE" clearly to the label, and "THIS WAY UP" if the box needs to stay a particular way round. Some households find it useful to colour-code labels by room using coloured tape or stickers, which makes sorting boxes faster at the new property, though it's an optional add-on rather than a requirement - a clearly written room-and-contents label achieves the same result on its own.
It's also worth keeping a simple written or digital list of what's in each numbered or labelled box, particularly for anything going into storage short-term rather than straight into a room. A two-minute note taken while packing saves far more time later than opening ten boxes to find one item.
Documents, valuables and anything irreplaceable
Some things shouldn't go in a box at all.
Passports, birth certificates, property deeds, insurance paperwork, jewellery and cash are usually better kept with you throughout the move rather than packed into a box that travels separately. These items are small, easy to misplace among dozens of similar-looking boxes, and standard removal valuation cover typically works on weight rather than declared value, which means small, high-value items aren't necessarily protected the way bulkier possessions are.
The practical approach most removal advice converges on is a single bag - kept with you, in your own car if you're driving separately, not handed over with the rest of the load - holding everything in this category: documents, jewellery, cash, phone chargers, medication you need access to, and anything else you'd genuinely struggle to replace. It's a short list to assemble but worth doing deliberately rather than realising halfway through packing that your passport went into a random kitchen box.
Packing the kitchen
Usually the last room packed and the first one needed again.
Kitchens tend to have the highest concentration of fragile items per box, so it's worth starting with things you use least: duplicate items, serving dishes, the slow cooker that comes out twice a year, specialist bakeware. Keep the everyday plates, mugs, kettle and a few basic pans out until near the end, since the kitchen is usually the room a household needs functioning for longest before moving day.
Wrap plates and glasses as described above - plates on edge, glasses upright and individually wrapped - and keep cleaning chemicals in a separate box from food items, sealed and upright, since a leak from one into the other is a genuinely unpleasant problem to discover later. Large appliances - washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and freezers - need disconnecting, and fridges and freezers need defrosting and drying out, in advance of moving day; removal crews generally won't do this preparation work as part of loading, so it needs to happen the day or two before.
Packing bedrooms
Pack by season and frequency of use, and keep one night's essentials out.
Clothes pack reasonably easily - box by season or how often something's worn, with out-of-season and rarely-worn items going first. Hanging clothes are easiest in a wardrobe box, which lets them travel on the hanger rather than being folded and re-ironed at the other end; if a wardrobe box isn't available, a large suitcase works as a reasonable substitute for a smaller number of items.
Bedding is worth packing last in each bedroom, since it's needed right up until the final night and again as soon as you arrive. Keep one full set of bedding and a change of clothes out of the move entirely, in a bag rather than a box, so the first and last nights don't involve digging through sealed boxes to find a pillowcase.
Packing the bathroom
Leaking bottles are the main risk - seal everything properly.
Bathrooms are small but liquid-heavy, which makes leaks the main risk rather than breakage. Pack spare towels, backup toiletries and anything not used daily first, leaving your everyday essentials for last. Seal bottles and tubes with their original lids reinforced with tape, and pack them upright inside a sealed bag, small plastic bin or washbag - pressure from other items in the box is enough to pop a loosely closed lid, and shampoo leaking through a box of towels is a common, avoidable annoyance.
Medication is worth treating the same way as documents and valuables: keep it with you in a clearly labelled bag rather than in a box on the removal vehicle, particularly anything taken regularly or needed at short notice.
Packing approach at a glance
What each room-by-room scenario involves, and what to confirm before you start.
| Option or job scenario | What it includes | Main restriction | What to confirm before booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-packing, small/dense items | Books, tins, tools and similar items boxed in small cartons kept to a liftable weight | Large boxes should not be used for heavy, dense items - they become unsafe to lift | That you have enough small boxes before you start, not just large ones |
| Self-packing, light/bulky items | Bedding, pillows, lampshades and similar items in large boxes | Large boxes should stay light - don't mix in dense items to "fill them up" | Boxes are full enough not to collapse but not packed beyond a safe lift weight |
| Fragile items (plates, glasses, ornaments) | Individual wrapping in bubble wrap or packing paper, plates on edge, glasses upright | Newspaper can transfer print onto glass or ceramic surfaces | Boxes are clearly labelled "FRAGILE" and, where relevant, "THIS WAY UP" |
| Documents, valuables, medication | Kept with you in a dedicated bag, not boxed with general belongings | Standard removal valuation is usually weight-based, not value-based | Everything irreplaceable is identified and set aside before boxing starts |
| Items not being packed for the move | A separate clearance or disposal job for unwanted furniture, appliances or bulk | Not a packing task - needs a licensed carrier rather than boxing up | Whether a clearance carrier can collect on a date that fits your moving timeline |
What packing doesn't cover
Boxing up what's staying with you is a different job from clearing what isn't.
Everything above is about packing belongings that are coming with you to the new property. It's a different job from dealing with things you've decided not to take - an old sofa that won't fit the new layout, a broken appliance, years of accumulated items in a loft or garage that are being left behind rather than moved. Those don't need wrapping and boxing; they need collecting and taking away, which is a clearance job rather than a packing task, and trying to box up disposal items the way you'd pack a kitchen just adds unnecessary work before they're thrown away or recycled anyway.
If you're sorting a property before a move and some of what's coming out needs responsible disposal rather than packing, our responsible disposal guide explains how reusable, recyclable and genuine-waste items should be separated. For items that simply need collecting and taking away - rather than packed, moved and unpacked again - see our rubbish removal and waste collection page for how that side of the job works separately from your actual move.
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most often once boxes start arriving.
How heavy should a moving box be?
Aim to keep any single box light enough that one person can lift it without straining - in practice that means roughly 15-20kg is the comfortable working range, with small boxes able to take a bit more and large boxes needing to stay lighter. The trick is matching box size to what's going in it: heavy, dense items like books belong in small boxes, while large boxes should only hold light, bulky things like bedding or pillows.
What's the best way to pack plates and glasses?
Wrap each plate individually in packing paper or bubble wrap and stack them on their edge, not flat - plates are far more likely to crack under pressure when stacked horizontally. Wrap glasses and stemware individually too, standing them upright in a divided or well-padded box, and avoid wrapping directly in newspaper since the print can transfer onto glass and porous surfaces.
How should I label boxes when packing for a move?
Label every box on the top and at least one side with the destination room and a short note of what's inside, for example "Kitchen - pans and baking trays". For anything fragile, add "FRAGILE" and, if orientation matters, "THIS WAY UP" as well. Labelling on more than one face matters because boxes get stacked, and a label only on top is useless once something else is piled on top of it.
Where should important documents and valuables go on moving day?
Keep passports, certificates, deeds, jewellery and cash with you rather than packed into a box that travels separately. These items are small, easy to misplace among dozens of boxes, and usually fall outside what a standard removal valuation actually covers, so the safest approach is a single bag that stays with you throughout the move rather than on a van or in a clearance load.
Should I pack everything myself or get help?
Packing what you're keeping is usually something a household can do itself with enough time and the right materials, though some removal firms offer a paid packing service if you'd rather hand that part over. What a packing job doesn't cover is anything you've decided not to take with you - old furniture, broken appliances or general unwanted bulk is a separate clearance job, not something to box up for the move.
What should I do with items I'm not taking to the new property?
Anything you're not packing for the move - unwanted furniture, broken appliances, general household bulk - needs a separate disposal or clearance route rather than being boxed alongside what's staying with you. houseclearance.co connects you with licensed clearance carriers who quote on exactly that kind of job, so you can keep packing focused on what's actually moving with you.
Pack what you're keeping, clear what you're not
Once the boxes are sorted, post your job for licensed carriers to quote on collecting anything that isn't coming with you.
Request clearance quotes