How to Pack a Kitchen Without Breaking Anything

By In & Out Express · October 21, 2026 · 6 min read

The kitchen is usually the slowest room to pack and the one where most breakage happens. It holds the heaviest boxes (cookware, small appliances) right next to the most fragile things in the house (stemware, plates, ceramic mugs). The good news is that almost all kitchen damage comes from a handful of avoidable mistakes: boxes that are too big, items that can shift, and plates packed flat.

Here is a straightforward method that works whether you are moving a studio apartment or a family home.

Start with the right supplies

You do not need expensive specialty kits, but a few items make a real difference:

• Small and medium boxes. Heavy items go in small boxes so each one stays liftable. Save large boxes for light, bulky things like baking trays or plastic containers.
• Plain packing paper. Newspaper works in a pinch, but the ink rubs off onto dishes and you will end up washing everything twice.
• Dish pack or cell boxes (optional). Double-walled boxes with cardboard dividers are worth buying for stemware and good glasses.
• Good tape and a marker. Tape the bottom of every box with an H pattern (one strip down the centre seam, one across each edge).
• Towels, tea towels and oven mitts. These are free padding you already own.

Pack in the right order

Packing the kitchen in stages means you can still cook until the last day or two.

Use up pantry and freezer food in the weeks before the move so there is less to pack.

Plates: pack them on edge, not flat

This is the single most useful kitchen packing tip. Plates stacked flat take the full force of every bump on the bottom plate. Stood on edge, like records in a crate, they are much stronger.

1. Put a layer of crumpled paper in the bottom of a small or medium box.
2. Wrap each plate individually in a sheet or two of packing paper.
3. Bundle three or four wrapped plates together with another sheet.
4. Stand the bundle on its edge in the box.
5. Fill every gap with crumpled paper or a tea towel so nothing can slide.

Finish with another layer of paper on top. When you gently shake a properly packed box, you should not hear or feel anything move.

Glasses and stemware

• Stuff the inside of each glass with a small ball of paper first. This supports the walls.
• Roll the glass diagonally across a sheet of paper, tucking in the ends as you go.
• For stemware, wrap the stem separately with an extra layer before wrapping the whole glass.
• Pack glasses rim down or upright (never on their side) in a box with dividers if you have one, and keep the heaviest glasses at the bottom.

Mugs pack the same way as glasses. Wrap handles with an extra layer, since that is where they usually break.

Bowls, pots and pans

Bowls can be nested in small stacks with a sheet of paper between each one, then wrapped as a bundle and placed upright or on edge.

Pots and pans are sturdy, so they make good "base layer" items. Nest smaller pots inside larger ones with paper between them, wrap glass lids separately and stand them on edge. Non-stick pans should have paper or a soft cloth between them so the coating does not get scratched.

Knives and sharp utensils

Never leave loose knives in a utensil box. Either use the original knife block (tape a sheet of paper over the slots to keep knives in place) or wrap each knife in several sheets of paper or a tea towel, secure the bundle with tape and label it clearly as sharp. Do the same for graters, mandoline blades and food processor blades.

Small appliances

Original boxes are ideal if you kept them. Otherwise:

• Clean and fully dry appliances first. A coffee maker or kettle packed wet can grow mould in a few days.
• Remove loose parts such as blender jars, glass carafes and microwave turntables, and wrap them separately.
• Coil the cord and tape it to the side of the appliance so it does not scratch anything.

Large appliances like fridges, washers and stoves have their own preparation steps, which we will cover in a separate guide.

Pantry food: what to move and what to skip

Unopened cans and boxed dry goods travel fine. Pack them in small boxes because cans get heavy fast. Opened bags of flour, sugar and rice should be sealed in zip-top bags or containers before they go in a box.

Things that usually are not worth moving:

• Open bottles of oil, vinegar and sauces that could leak onto everything else. If you do pack them, tape the lids, put them in sealed bags and keep the box upright.
• Perishable fridge and freezer food on a long or multi-stop move.
• Glass jars of liquids that are almost finished.

Label boxes so unpacking is easy

Write the room and a short contents list on at least two sides of every box, not just the top, since stacked boxes hide their lids. Mark fragile boxes "FRAGILE" and add an arrow showing which way is up. A quick note like "Kitchen: everyday plates and bowls" saves a lot of searching later.

Pack one clearly marked kitchen essentials box to open first: a pan, a pot, a few plates, cutlery, a knife, a cutting board, dish soap, a sponge, paper towels, coffee or tea, and a kettle or coffee maker.

Quick kitchen packing checklist

• Small boxes for heavy items, H-taped on the bottom
• Plain packing paper, not newspaper
• Plates wrapped individually and packed on edge
• Glasses stuffed, wrapped and packed upright or rim down
• Knives wrapped, taped and labelled as sharp
• Appliances cleaned, dried and cords secured
• Opened liquids sealed in bags, or left behind
• Every box labelled on two sides with room and contents
• A kitchen essentials box packed last and unpacked first

After the move: dealing with the cardboard

A packed kitchen produces a surprising amount of cardboard and paper. In Metro Vancouver, corrugated cardboard and recyclable paper are on the regional disposal ban list, and garbage loads containing them can be surcharged at regional facilities, so flatten boxes and recycle them rather than putting them in the garbage (Metro Vancouver). Expanded polystyrene foam packaging is also on the ban list, so check your municipality's recycling rules or a local depot for that too. Clean boxes in good shape are also easy to pass on to someone else who is moving.

Want help with the heavy lifting?

If you would rather spend your time on the fragile items and leave the furniture and heavy boxes to a crew, In & Out Express offers residential moving across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, including full packing and unpacking, furniture disassembly and reassembly, and careful handling and protection. You can see the details on our services page, read why customers choose us, or request a move and we will get back to you.

Sources: Metro Vancouver, Disposal Ban Program (accessed October 21, 2026).