Kitchens are the most difficult room in the house to pack. This is due to a couple main reasons. One, you need a lot of the stuff in your kitchen up till the week you move. After all, you still need to cook and eat. Second, there is a wide range of items in the kitchen that each require different packing methods. You have small and large appliances, offset by small kitchen gadgets and junk drawers that have to be emptied. Then there’s the pantry and all the food to consider.
It’s no wonder everyone dreads packing up the kitchen. For help, check out this handy packing guide to ensure the whole room is packed up and ready to go when the movers arrive.
Prep for Packing
First you have to sort through all the items. Face it, there’s a lot you can get rid of in this room. You may have doubles of small appliances or gadgets. You don’t need both, so toss that extra apple corer. Next, get rid of anything that no longer serves you. That means you can toss that dull set of knives you got a decade ago. As you go through the kitchen, think about what you want to bring with you and what can be sold, donated or simply thrown out. If you have extra appliances or unopened dry food goods, you could donate them to shelters and food banks in the Dallas area.
Next, pack an essentials box. This will contain the items you will need immediately once in the new house. In this box, you can place soap, dishtowels, wipes, coffee maker, toaster, plastic ware, paper plates and more. Now you won’t have to tear apart all the boxes to get your coffee fix the next morning.
Now it’s time to pick up all the packing supplies and materials you will need. The average-sized kitchen will need 10 medium boxes, five large boxes, and five heavy-duty boxes. Pick up boxes with dividers if you have fancy stemware, wine, or liquor to pack. You will also need packing paper, tape, bubble wrap, markers and labels.
Packing Infrequently-Used Items First
Pack the things you don’t use on a regular basis. These can include kitchen gadgets, specialty appliances such as panini makers, decorations, artwork, fancy holiday dishes, special utensils such as ladles and tongs, cookbooks, vases, and extra oven mitts and dish towels. You should also include extra cookie sheets, mixing bowls, wine glasses, and food storage containers. Pack cook books flat so their spines are not damaged.
Pack Up Your Drawers
Packing drawers can be daunting due to the sheer volume of small things you have crammed in there. Start with the messiest drawer and start tossing the stuff you don’t need.
Pack Liquor and Wine
If you have a collection of wine or hard alcohol, pack these in boxes with dividers. In separate boxes, pack your wine and beer glasses, as well as cooking liquids in glass bottles, such as fine vinegar or cooking oil. If these food items are opened, toss them and buy new ones in the new place. You don’t want to risk spillage.
Pack Dishes
Packing glasses and other stemware will require cell boxes, which are those divider boxes we have been talking about. Put pieces of packing paper in between every plate and bowl. Carefully wrap and nestle cups and mugs. Follow that up with a box or two of your pots and pans. Just be sure to keep an all-purpose pan or pot in your essentials box in case you want to make dinner on the nights leading up to moving day. You never know when the kids will have a mac n’ cheese craving!
Empty the Pantry
Decide what will be worth moving and what won’t. Open dry food containers should be taped and properly secured for transport. Anything perishable, such as open containers of pickles, lunch meat, and eggs from the fridge should be consumed before moving day or thrown out. Many movers won’t transport perishables for you.
Contact Around the Block Moving Company
If you need help packing your kitchen or any other room in the house, our team of movers can help. To get your free quote, call us in Dallas at 214-433-6747. We also welcome you to check out our reviews and testimonials to see why so many people love us.
