The kitchen holds hundreds of small items with odd shapes, from glasses to blenders to a drawer of mystery lids. Packing it in the wrong order means you eat takeout for a week with nothing to put it on. Packing it in the right order means the last box is the coffee maker.
Pass one: the things you rarely use
Start with the top shelves and the back of the cupboards. Holiday platters, a roasting pan, the fondue set and the party glasses can go into cartons weeks ahead, since you will not miss them.
Use small heavy-duty cartons for cookware and cookbooks, and dish-pack cartons for glass and china. The 10 free heavy-duty boxes that come with an O'Brien's in-home estimate are a good start.
Pass two: small appliances and pantry shelves
Wrap each small appliance, such as a toaster or a mixer, in paper and pack it in a medium carton with the cord taped to the base. Take out glass carafes, trays and blades first and pack them separately.
Empty the pantry as you go; what to do with food and the pantry covers perishables, opened food and spices.
Pass three: dishes, glass and cookware
These are the pieces that break, so they get the most paper. Stack plates on edge, wrap each glass in its own sheet, and nest cookware with paper between. Detailed methods are in how to pack dishes, how to pack glasses and how to pack pots and pans.
Fill every gap with paper so nothing shifts when you shake the carton.
Pass four: the daily essentials
Set aside a box for the final day. It holds two plates, two bowls, cups, a pan, a knife, a can opener, a roll of paper towels and the coffee maker.
Everything else in the drawers can be packed in the last hour, sorted by type.
- Cutlery goes into a tray or wrapped in a towel.
- Knives are wrapped in cardboard and taped, blade edge protected.
- Cleaning supplies go in a separate box, upright, with lids taped.
Labeling and unpacking
Label each carton with kitchen and the contents on the top and the side. Mark the box of daily essentials open first.
At the new house, set up the sink area and the refrigerator, then unpack plates and glasses before the other boxes. If the fridge is moving too, see how to move a refrigerator for the prep.