How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move Home?

The most time-consuming and arduous task of moving home is the packing, and your impending packing for your home move will undoubtedly throw many puzzles your way:

• How do I pack fragile items for moving home?

• How do I pack books when moving home?

• What is the best way to pack clothes when moving home?  

So many questions, in fact, that it can feel like the quarterfinals of Mastermind, and the subject is How to pack for a Home Move? ‘Pass’ would most likely be your answer to nearly every question.

But ‘how do I?’ is only a part of the packing equation. You also need to know:

• What type of boxes are best for moving home?
• What packing materials do I need when moving home?
• What are common packing mistakes and how do you avoid them?

Also, crucially, you need to know how to estimate how many boxes you need to move home.

However, there are so many variables, every supplier will offer you the average box size, and nearly every ‘average’ will be different from the next ‘average’, then, of course, the contents of every home are unique too.

Estimating the number of boxes you need for moving home is a conundrum.

Countdown eat your heart out!

You may also like to read: How to Pack Fragile Items for a Home Move. Packing fragile items to ensure their safety during your relocation is an essential skill to master if you are packing things yourself. This guide tells you all you need to know.

How Do I Calculate How Many Boxes I Need to Move Home?

Before rushing out and sourcing your home moving boxes based on the figures below, please take the time to read to the end of this article.

There is some information that there will give you some food for thought and may change your mind about a couple of aspects of your home move.

So to help you figure out how many boxes you will need to move home, we will use the UK Removal Trade Industry of average box sizes, the ones professional packers use, and base the number of items to be packed upon the minimum average home contents.

You may also like to know: How to A Kitchen When Moving Home. The Ultimate Guide. The kitchen is arguably one of the most difficult and time-consuming rooms in the home to pack. In this guide, we offer not only packing tips but ways to save money and time.

How Many Boxes do I Need to Move a 1 Bedroom home?

Based on the needs of a couple in a 1 bedroom property, you will need, on average:

• 10 x Small Moving Box (318 x 268 x 318mm)
• 5 x Medium moving Box (457 x 330 x 330mm)
• 3 x Large Moving Box (457 x 457 x 499mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £55

You may also like to read: What is the Average Cost of Moving a 1 or 2-Bedroom Home? In this guide, we look at the different ways you could move out of your 1 or 2-bedroom home and how much each option would cost you on average.

How Many Boxes do I Need to Move a 2-3 Bedroom home?

A family of 3-4 people with an average amount of possessions you will need:

• 10 x Small Moving Box (318 x 268 x 318mm)
• 10 x Medium moving Box (457 x 330 x 330mm)
• 5 x Large Moving Box (457 x 457 x 499mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £70

You may also like to read: What is the Average Cost of Moving Out of a 3-Bedroom Home? In this guide. we look at the average cost of moving a 3-bedroom home, how much packers cost, how much it costs to move yourself, and how you can save money on your relocation.

How Many Boxes do I Need to Move a 3-4 Bedroom home?

With a family of 4, moving the average number of items, you will require:

• 15 x Small Box (318 x 268 x 318mm)
• 10 x Medium Box (457 x 330 x 330mm)
• 10 x Large moving Box (457 x 457 x 499mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £90

Bear in mind that this is the average number of boxes you will need to move home, if you are a hoarder then you could easily triple the number of boxes required.

Carry on reading to find out how you can reduce the number of items that you need to pack, and consequently the number of boxes you will need.

You may also like to read: How to Choose the Right Boxes for Your Home Move. In this guide, we look at what the best boxes are for the type of things you are likely to be packing. Also included in this guide is some trivia about cardboard boxes that can help make packing more fun.

Packing Supplies Calculator

Always overestimate the amount of packing tape you will need too.

It is better safe than sorry, so plan on two 166m rolls of tape for every 15 boxes.

The amount of bubble wrap you need depends on how many fragile items you have to pack obviously, but plan on 5 meters for the average home move.

If you collect glassware or figurines, for example, you will need to plan on at least 10m depending upon the size of your collection.

You can use bedding, towels, and clothing to protect and pad your boxes to save money on bubble wrap if you need to.

You may also like to read: How to Label Moving Boxes – An Easy and Foolproof Method. Labeling your moving boxes is essential so that you know what boxes go into which room. We take labeling a step further and show you how to mark your boxes so that you also know the unpacking order.

What to Pack in What Size Moving Boxes

Generally, you should use the smaller boxes for heavy items such as books, medium size boxes for most items such as kitchen equipment and toys, and larger boxes for lighter items such as bedding and linens.

However, you may find it easier to use the smaller boxes for the majority of your items as they are easier to handle.

The downside is the more boxes you use, the more packing tape you will need, and the longer it will take to construct and pack the boxes.

However, heavy items should always be packed in small boxes.

Try to not exceed 20kg per box, the safe limit that the boxes can hold and that is safe to lift too.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Living Room for Moving. The Ultimate Guide. Your living room may contain a vast number of different shaped and sized items that need packing. In this guide, we offer packing tips for each and every item you are likely to find in the average living room.

How to Save on Packing Costs when Moving Home

The best way to save money on your packing and moving costs is to reduce the number of items that you will move from your old to your new home.

You can do this by donating or selling any items that you no longer need or want in your life.

The more ruthless you are with this process the cheaper your moving costs will be.

Don’t forget that many items found around the home, such as suitcases and backpacks can be used to move things to your new home. Bedding, linens, and clothing can be used as packing materials to protect your goods whilst in transit.

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering for a Home Move. Decluttering is the one guaranteed way to save money on your moving costs, but it is no easy task, physically or mentally. In this guide, we offer tips on how to declutter every room in the home and also how to deal with the emotional side of letting possessions go.

How to Pack for Moving Home

There are many great guides to packing your home ready for moving day in our library, from how to pack a garage, to how to pack electronics and everything you can think of in between.

In fact, packing for a home move is such a vast subject that we have created an entire range of guides on this very subject.

Be sure to read: How to Pack For a Home Move. There are guides to help you pack your home efficiently, quickly, and cheaply in this library of packing guides.

One of the most important boxes to pack when moving home is your open first box.

This box will have everything you need to get you through moving day and settled into your new home. From drinks and snacks to vital medication, this box is an essential part of your planning to get you through moving day as stress-free as possible.

You may also like to read: How to Prepare An Open First Box. This guide offers suggestions for things that may want to include in your essential moving day box.

How Many Plastic Crates Do I Need to Move Home?

The modern alternative to the cardboard packing box is the plastic crate or tote.

Strong and eco-friendly, you can even rent plastic crates, so they offer a great alternative to cardboard boxes.

They are also quicker to pack as you do not need to spend time constructing them as you would a cardboard box.

There are none of the problems of what to do with packing boxes after you have moved home either, just empty the crate and the hire company will come and collect them from you.

This service is available nationwide now so is a real alternative to traditional packing boxes.

You may also like to read: Alternative Packing Materials for Moving Home. In this guide, we look at not only using plastic crates for moving home but also what commonly found items around the home could be used for packing to save you some money.

How Many Plastic Totes Do I Need to Move a 1-Bedroom Home?

Based on the needs of a couple in a 1 bedroom property, you will need, on average:

• 20 x Plastic totes (710 x 460 x 375mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £17 per week rental

How Many Plastic Totes Do I Need to Move a 2-3 Bedroom Home?

A family of 3-4 people with an average amount of possessions will need:

• 40 x Plastic totes (710 x 460 x 375mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £34 per week rental

How Many Plastic Totes do I Need to Move a 3-4 Bedroom home?

With a family of 4, moving the average number of items, you will require:

• 50 x Plastic totes (710 x 460 x 375mm)
• The average cost for this number of boxes is £42 per week rental

Get a Home Removal Costs Estimate

To save all the hassle of calculating how many boxes you need to move home, and then having to source all the packing materials for your home move, why not just hire a full-service removal company to do all the hard work for you?

They will be able to supply all the materials needed and pack your home contents in far less time than it would take you.

They will have the skills to pack your delicate and precious items so that they do not get damaged during your home move, and will know the best packing materials to use.

Without a doubt packing is the worst part of moving home, leave it to the professionals if you want a stress-free home move.

You may also like to read: Are Home Packing Services Worth the Money? Hiring professional packers is obviously yet another expense so is it really worth spending the extra to get your things packed by the removal company? Here we look at whether it is worth the cost and whether it will make your home move any easier.

Good luck with your home move.