The Truckin' Movers Packing Guide
When to start, what you'll need, what it costs, and how our crews actually do it.
Packing Guide
Pack like you've done it 10,000 times.
We've been packing and moving homes around Durham since 1976. Our crews handle hundreds of kitchens, closets, and garages a year. The techniques aren't complicated, but they're specific, and they're the difference between your grandmother's china arriving in one piece or in pieces.
This is the same playbook our packers use. Follow it and you can do a solid job yourself. Or hand the worst of it to us. Either way, here's everything that matters. If you'd rather we handle it, see our packing services, and for the deep room-by-room detail, read our packing tips from pro movers.
When to start packing
Start earlier than you think. A 3-bedroom home takes most families a few weeks of evenings, not a frantic weekend. Pack in phases, worst-used rooms first, and the last week stays calm.
6 to 8 weeks out
Declutter first. Sort what's going, what's getting donated, what's trash. Every box you don't pack is money you don't spend moving it. Start gathering boxes and supplies.
4 to 6 weeks out
Pack the stuff you won't miss. Off-season clothes, books, holiday decorations, the good china you only use twice a year. One room or one category at a time.
2 to 3 weeks out
Work through the rooms you use less. Guest rooms, the home office, the garage. Label as you go. Keep a running list of what's in the boxes you've sealed.
The final week
Kitchen, bathrooms, and daily-use items come last. Pack an essentials box you keep with you (more on that below). Leave out what you need for the last few nights.
What you'll need
Right materials, no shortcuts. The grocery-store boxes are fine for books and shoes, but kitchens and fragile items need real packing supplies.
Supplies checklist
- Boxes in small, medium, and large, plus wardrobe boxes
- Dish-pack boxes (double-walled) for the kitchen
- Packing paper (unprinted newsprint) by the bundle
- Bubble wrap for the truly fragile
- Packing tape and a tape gun, not masking tape
- Permanent markers and color-coded tape for labeling
- Stretch wrap for furniture and dresser drawers
- Mattress bags and mirror cartons
How many boxes, by home size
- Studio or 1 bedroom15 to 25 boxes
- 2 to 3 bedrooms40 to 60 boxes
- 4+ bedrooms60 to 100 boxes
Kitchens use more than people expect. Get a few extra and return what you don't open. If we're packing, all of this comes on the truck with the crew at cost. No markup.
What professional packing costs
Packing cost comes down to how much you have and how fragile it is. A kitchen full of stemware, a wall of framed art, and a packed garage take longer than a sparse apartment. The ranges below cover most Triangle homes, materials included. We bill by the hour, so you only pay for the time it takes.
| Home size | Partial packing | Full packing |
|---|---|---|
| Small (studio to 1 bedroom) | $150 – $350+ | $350 – $700+ |
| Medium (2 to 3 bedrooms) | $250 – $600+ | $600 – $1,200+ |
| Large (4+ bedrooms) | $450 – $900+ | $1,200 – $2,400+ |
Partial packing means you do the easy rooms and we take the kitchen, the artwork, and the fragile stuff. Full packing means we handle every room, closet, and cabinet. Either way, your exact number comes after a quick walkthrough. Good packing protects what matters and takes the worst of the job off your plate.
How pros pack any room
Five rules carry the whole job. Get these right and the rest is just repetition.
Right-size the box
Heavy things in small boxes, light things in big ones. Books in a large box hit 70 pounds and the bottom blows out. Pillows in a small box waste a trip.
Leave no empty space
A half-full box crushes under whatever gets stacked on it. Fill every gap with crumpled paper, towels, or clothes so nothing shifts in the truck.
Keep it under 50 pounds
If you can't lift it without a grunt, it's too heavy and it'll break or hurt someone. Split it into two boxes.
Label two sides
Write the room and a few contents on two sides of every box. In a stacked truck you can't always see the top. Color-coded tape by room speeds up the unload.
Tape it like you mean it
Run an H-pattern on the bottom. One strip down the center seam, one across each end. Skip the masking tape. It lets go.
Room by room
The short version of what our crews do in each room. For the full breakdown, with the specifics on glassware, electronics, and odd-shaped items, read our room-by-room packing tips.
Kitchen
The slowest room. Wrap plates individually and stand them on edge like records, never stacked flat. Glasses get paper stuffed inside and out. Pots nest with paper between them.
Bedrooms
Wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes. Leave folded clothes in the dresser and stretch-wrap the drawers shut. Keep jewelry and valuables with you, not on the truck.
Living room
Books in small boxes. Mirrors and framed art wrapped and packed on edge, never flat. Lampshades off and boxed separately. Bag and label furniture hardware.
Bathrooms
Liquids go in zip-lock bags before they go in a box. Medicine rides with you. Towels make great padding for everything else.
Home office
Back up your data first. Photograph the cable setup before you unplug anything. Move hard drives with you. Files stay in the cabinet, drawers taped shut.
High-value and tricky items
Flat-screen TVs travel upright, never flat, wrapped in a blanket and bubble wrap. Electronics do best in their original boxes if you kept them.
Original artwork, antiques, and anything worth real money shouldn't ride in bubble wrap alone. They get corner protection, mirror cartons, or a custom-built crate.
Pianos, marble tops, grandfather clocks, and fine art are their own kind of job. That's what our specialty moving service is for. We've crated museum pieces and moved hundreds of pianos. When something's irreplaceable, let the crew that does it daily handle it.
Pack an essentials box
The one box you don't load on the truck. Keep it in your car so your first night in the new place isn't a scavenger hunt through 50 boxes.
- Medications and a basic first-aid kit
- Toiletries and a towel for each person
- A change of clothes and phone chargers
- Toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap
- Snacks, water, and a few utensils
- Box cutter, basic tools, trash bags
- Important documents and valuables
- Anything the kids or pets need
When to call in the crew
If you're short on time, short on hands, or staring down a kitchen full of fragile things, packing is the part worth handing off. Our crew brings the materials and packs a typical home in a day. Everything we pack is covered under our valuation policy. Call (919) 682-2300 or grab a packing estimate.
Packing Questions
Want us to handle the packing?
We bring the boxes, the paper, and 49 years of doing this. Get a free estimate today.