Kitchen Packing Game Plan: Mess-Free in an Hour

Here's the sequence our technicians follow on every kitchen, and the shortcuts that turn a full day into about an hour.

You need one clean, wide surface to wrap and stage. That means clearing the countertop completely — appliances, knife blocks, decorative bowls, everything. Work from that single station and keep the floor clear so you're not stepping over boxes.

Pack in categories, not in cabinets. Start with items you never use daily: specialty bakeware, holiday dishes, the blender, serving platters. Then work through glassware, then dishes, then pots and pans, then the pantry, and finally the everyday dishes you use right up until move day.

Pantry items move as a group: open packages go into a single box with taped bags, spices travel upright in a small box, and anything leaking gets thrown out now rather than packed.

Set aside a small box you keep with you: a few plates, a pan, a mug, a knife, dish soap, a towel, and a sponge. That box is the difference between cooking dinner on night one and ordering takeout for a week because every box in the kitchen is sealed.

Heavy appliances you'll replace, half-used cleaning products, and open liquids shouldn't be packed at all. Refrigerators and freezers need time to empty, defrost, and dry out before move day — start that a day earlier than you think you need to.

Knives travel inside a box, blade-down in paper, or in a knife roll. Never loose in a drawer or bag.

Glassware is where kitchen packing goes wrong most often, because glass needs two or three layers of paper, extra padding at the rim, and grouped packing inside the box. Doing it properly takes far longer than people expect, which is exactly why it's the room most homeowners hand off.

Our crews arrive with packing paper, boxes, and void fill, and finish a standard kitchen in about an hour — with every box labeled by destination room.