Packing is where the real cost-saving happens on a move — pack yourself well, save £200-£600 in packing service fees. Pack yourself badly and you'll be picking shards of wine glass out of bubble wrap at the new place. This is the room-by-room order Cornwall removal crews recommend, with the right materials, the right order, and the labelling system that means you actually find the kettle on moving night.

The packing kit you need

For a 3-bedroom house, budget around £80-£200 on materials. The cheap version uses supermarket boxes for non-fragile and bought boxes for fragile; the proper version uses bought boxes for everything.

  • Double-walled boxes: 40-70 for a 3-bed. Small (book-sized), medium (most things), large (bedding, soft toys). Don't use big boxes for heavy items — they collapse and they're back-breaking to lift.
  • Packing paper: 2-3 reams. Newsprint-style paper, the standard removers' kit. Don't use newspaper — the ink transfers to china.
  • Bubble wrap: 1-2 large rolls for genuinely fragile items.
  • Parcel tape: 4-6 rolls. Brown is cheaper than clear and works fine.
  • Tape gun: £15-£30. Pays for itself in 50 boxes — without one your wrists will hate you.
  • Marker pens: 3-4 thick black, 1-2 red for FRAGILE.
  • Stickers or coloured labels: Optional but useful — colour-code by room.
  • Mattress covers: One per bed.
  • Sofa covers: One per sofa for transit protection.
  • Wardrobe boxes: Hanging-rail boxes are brilliant for clothes — pricey but a huge time-saver. £10-£15 each, you need 2-4 per bedroom.
  • Bin bags: For clear-out as you pack.

Removers will sell you a packing kit (around £80-£150 for a 3-bed kit) or you can source online — Boxshop, Davpack, U-Pack all deliver to Cornwall. See also our packing services page if you'd rather hand it off entirely.

The order of attack

Don't pack everything at once. Pack in this order to avoid disrupting daily life until the last minute:

  1. 4 weeks out: Loft, garage, garden shed
  2. 3 weeks out: Books, DVDs, music, art and decoration items
  3. 2 weeks out: Spare bedrooms, dining room, formal lounge if separate
  4. 1 week out: Living room (keep TV until last 2 days)
  5. 3-4 days out: Bedrooms (keep one outfit, pyjamas, basics)
  6. 2 days out: Bathroom (keep essentials), kitchen non-essentials
  7. Day before: Final kitchen, last clothes
  8. Moving morning: First-night box, bedding off the beds, fridge contents

Labelling system

A good labelling system is worth more than expensive boxes. The basics:

  • Room name on at least two sides + top of every box
  • Brief contents (BOOKS, GLASSWARE, BEDDING)
  • Number sequentially (KITCHEN 1, KITCHEN 2…) — lets you spot a missing box at the other end
  • FRAGILE in red on anything breakable
  • OPEN FIRST on the first-night essentials
  • DO NOT LOAD on the box that has phone chargers, passports, snacks — for items going in your car

Colour-coding with stickers or labels (one colour per room) lets the unloading crew place boxes correctly without reading every label — saves 30 seconds per box × 70 boxes = a lot of saved time.

Kitchen

The hardest room. Fragile, heavy, full of awkward shapes, and the room you need until the last 24 hours.

Order within the kitchen

  1. Cupboards you rarely use (occasion china, baking trays)
  2. Cookbooks and decorative items
  3. Small appliances you don't use daily (food processor, slow cooker, blender)
  4. Most china and glassware (keep a basic dining set out)
  5. Pots and pans (keep one frying pan, one saucepan out)
  6. Cutlery (keep one set per person)
  7. Fridge and freezer contents (last 24-48 hours)
  8. The kettle, mugs, tea (into the first-night box on moving morning)

Glassware and china

  • Glasses: Wrap each in 2 sheets of paper, pack upside-down in 2 layers maximum. Crumple paper between.
  • Plates: Wrap individually, pack vertically (on edge) like vinyl records. Stacking them flat is the most common breakage cause.
  • Bowls: Wrap individually, nest 3-4 inside each other with paper between.
  • Wine glasses and crystal: Bubble wrap each, then paper, pack with extra crumpled paper around them. Don't combine with heavy items.

Pots and pans

  • Stuff each pot with crumpled paper for cushioning
  • Nest smaller pots inside larger ones
  • Lids packed separately, wrapped, in the same box
  • Heavy frying pans and cast iron at the bottom of the box

Small appliances

  • Empty all water (kettle, coffee machine, slow cooker)
  • Wrap cord around appliance, secure with tape
  • Wrap in paper, place in box with crumpled paper packing
  • Original boxes are ideal if you kept them

Fridge and freezer

  • Defrost the freezer 48 hours before move day. Wet freezers don't travel.
  • Eat or donate frozen contents in the week before.
  • Empty fridge on move morning, transport perishables in a cool bag.
  • Unplug fridge 6 hours before move so it drains.
  • After arrival, leave the new fridge upright for 4-6 hours before plugging in.

Bedrooms

Order within the bedroom

  1. Off-season clothes and shoes
  2. Books and bedside table contents
  3. Spare bedding and towels
  4. Most clothes (keep a few changes out)
  5. Day before: shoes, accessories, jewellery
  6. Move morning: bedding off the bed, last clothes

Clothes

  • Hanging clothes: Wardrobe boxes (hanging-rail boxes) are brilliant — move clothes still on hangers, hang straight up at the other end. £10-£15 per box, you need 2-4 per bedroom.
  • Folded clothes: Suitcases and large duffel bags are free packing — fill them.
  • Off-season: Vacuum bags compress duvets and winter coats to a fraction of their size.
  • Shoes: Wrap each pair in paper or stuff them with paper to hold shape. Pack in a medium box.

Beds

  • Strip the bed, wash the bedding the day before, dry it.
  • Mattress goes in a mattress cover for transit.
  • Bed frame dismantled (most removers will do this — £40-£80 typical, or DIY with an Allen key).
  • Bag and tape the screws to the frame headboard so they don't go missing.

Jewellery and valuables

Do not put these in the van. Take them in your car. Wallet, passports, jewellery, watches, prescription meds, cash, important documents.

Living room

Order

  1. Books, DVDs, vinyl, board games
  2. Art, photos, decorative items
  3. Lamps (remove bulbs, wrap shades separately)
  4. TV and electronics (last 2 days)

TV and electronics

  • Original boxes are gold for TVs, sound systems, PCs. Keep them if you possibly can.
  • Without original boxes: bubble wrap the TV screen, then wrap in a blanket or duvet, then secure with tape (NOT directly on the screen).
  • Photograph cable setups before disconnecting — saves hours at the other end.
  • Bag and label cables by device (TV cables, soundbar cables, router cables).

Art and pictures

  • Wrap each in bubble wrap, then paper.
  • Pack flat in a mirror/picture box, or stand on edge between sofa cushions.
  • Valuable original art should be moved in your car, not the van, ideally.

Sofas and large furniture

  • Removers cover with sofa covers / blankets for transit.
  • Detachable cushions and feet go in labelled bags.
  • Modular sofas: photograph the configuration before disassembly.

Bathroom

Order

  1. Cleaning products (in a separate, sealed box — never mix bleach and ammonia)
  2. Toiletries you don't use daily
  3. Bathroom textiles (spare towels, bath mats)
  4. Last: daily essentials, into a labelled "open first" box

Liquids and toiletries

  • Anything that could leak — bin liners or sealable plastic bags inside the box.
  • Tape the lids of anything semi-open (toothpaste, hand soap).
  • Bin half-used cleaning products you'll never use again — don't pay to move them.

Garage, garden and shed

The forgotten rooms. Start here 4 weeks before the move because there's always more stuff than you remember, and removers can't take some of it.

What removers WON'T transport

  • Petrol in mowers, strimmers, generators — drain before pack day.
  • BBQ gas canisters — empty, exchange or gift to a neighbour.
  • Loose fuel cans — empty and rinse.
  • Paints and solvents in many cases — check with the remover; some allow small quantities, others won't.
  • Compressed gas cylinders (welding, scuba) — won't carry.
  • Live plants in some cases — check.

Tools and garden equipment

  • Mowers: drain petrol, clean off grass clippings.
  • Hand tools: into the toolbox, lid taped.
  • Power tools: original cases ideal, otherwise wrap and pack in medium boxes.
  • Ladders, long-handled tools: bundle, tape together.
  • Pots and garden ornaments: wrap, pack as fragile.

The first-night box

The most important single box in the move. Pack on moving morning, label clearly, put it in your car so it doesn't get loaded into the van.

  • Kettle, 2 mugs, tea, coffee, milk (cool bag)
  • Phone chargers, laptop charger
  • Bedding (one full set per bed)
  • Towels (one per person)
  • Toiletries: soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, loo roll
  • Cleaning kit: bin bags, basic surface cleaner, kitchen roll
  • Prescription meds for at least a week
  • Kids' favourite toys/blankets
  • Pet food and bowls
  • Snacks for the day
  • Scissors, parcel knife, marker pen
  • Passport, important documents

Pro tips from Cornwall crews

  • Heavy in small, light in large. Books in small boxes, bedding in big boxes. Never mix.
  • Don't exceed 18kg per box. Anything heavier is unliftable and the box collapses.
  • Tape the bottom in a cross-pattern, not just along the seam — adds load capacity.
  • Pack the same room into the same boxes. Don't mix kitchen and bathroom in one box — the unloading crew puts boxes in the kitchen, you're carrying half of them to the bathroom later.
  • Photograph anything complex before dismantling. Cable setups, modular furniture, garden offices.
  • Keep an empty room available for staging packed boxes. The dining room is usually the cleanest in the week before a move.

Need a packing service rather than DIY? Get quotes from Cornwall removers — full packing for a 3-bed runs £250-£600. See also our 2026 pricing guide, 8-week checklist, and dedicated packing services page.