How to Pack Your Kitchen for a Move

The kitchen is the room people dread packing — and the room they always underestimate. It's full of fragile, oddly-shaped, and heavy items, and you need to keep coffee and a few plates accessible right up until move day. Here's the process we recommend.

Step 1: Two weeks out — declutter

Open every cabinet and drawer. Be honest: the bread maker you used twice, the chipped mugs, the expired spices from three apartments ago. Donate, recycle, or toss. You're paying (in time and back pain) to move every item you keep.

Step 2: One week out — pack the rarely used

Start with formal dishes, holiday serveware, specialty appliances, and cookbooks. Use a plastic moving tote for anything fragile — the rigid walls protect better than cardboard, and the snap-on lid keeps dust out during transit.

Protecting dishes

• Wrap each plate individually in packing paper or a dish towel.
• Stack plates vertically in the tote, not flat — they're stronger on edge.
• Fill gaps with linens or towels (double duty: padding + packed).
• Glassware goes upside down, separated by paper, with the heaviest at the bottom.

Step 3: Three days out — pack the pantry

Group dry goods, canned goods, and spices into separate totes. Tape bottle caps shut. Use plastic wrap under the lids of anything liquid. Label each tote with the room and a one-line summary ("Kitchen — pantry, canned goods").

Step 4: The day before — pack everyday items

Daily dishes, pots, pans, and utensils. Keep out the bare minimum: one pan, one pot, two plates per person, two cups, basic utensils. Those go in your "first night" tote with paper towels, dish soap, and a sponge.

Step 5: Moving day — load smart

Heaviest totes go on the bottom of the stack and against the truck wall. Lighter, fragile totes go on top. Because totes stack uniformly, you can build solid columns instead of the leaning-tower-of-cardboard most moves end up with.

Supplies you actually need

• Plastic moving totes (20–30 for an average kitchen)
• Packing paper or clean newsprint
• Dish pack inserts for stemware (optional but worth it)
• A roll of stretch wrap for drawers you'd rather not empty
• Permanent marker and labels

Seeger Rentals offers clean totes for pickup and return in McKinney, with optional delivery and pickup at your North Texas address for an additional charge — no flattening, no recycling run. Reserve your kitchen packing supplies today.