Removal box sizes
What size boxes a house move needs, double wall versus single, and how many.
Removal box sizes →Packing · materials
Packing materials: what to buy, and what to avoid
We pack houses every week, so we know which materials earn their place and which are a waste of your money. Here is the honest version, with quantities, whether you are moving with us or not.
Since 1977packed by hand
Start with the quantities
Before buying anything, put your rooms into the packing calculator. It gives you a box count and a materials list in about thirty seconds, and it will almost certainly tell you that your kitchen needs more than you had planned for. Everybody underestimates the kitchen.
Then work down this page. Each material has its own guide with the detail, the quantities and the specification we buy ourselves, so you can recognise the right thing whether you order it from the links here or pick it up locally.
What we supply, and what is yours to buy
If you are packing yourself and moving with us, a full house removal includes some free boxes, the quantity worked out when we quote, plus some tape. That is genuinely it. Packing paper, bubble wrap and wardrobe cartons are yours to buy, and if the free boxes are not enough you can buy more from us or top up online.
If you book our packing service, full or partial, none of this applies. The crew arrives on packing day with everything the job needs, packs the house and takes the spares back on the van. You buy nothing at all.
We would rather set that out plainly than let you find out on the day. It is also why we are happy to point you at materials we do not sell: if you are packing yourself, you need the right stuff more than we need the margin.
The four things that matter
Guides by material
The shopping list
Everything below is the specification we use on real moves. No prices, because they change and a stale figure helps nobody.
Ad. The product links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not change what we recommend.
Boxes
Double wall, and three sizes only: small for books and anything dense, standard for two thirds of the house, large for bedding and other bulky light things. Full guide to box sizes.
10 strong removal boxes with handles
47cm x 31.5cm x 25cm, printed room list and carry handles
The standard removal carton, and the size most of a house goes into. Hand holds make a real difference on a staircase, and the printed room list on the side means people actually label them, which is half the battle on moving day.
View on Amazon →10 large removal boxes, UK made
18in x 11in x 11in internal, carry handles and room list
A slightly deeper box built for removals rather than storage. Good for bedding, cushions, coats and lampshades, the bulky light things that waste a medium box. Do not put books in these: you will not lift it.
View on Amazon →15 double wall packing cartons
457mm x 305mm x 254mm, double wall, flat packed
Double wall means two layers of fluting rather than one, so the box holds its shape when it is stacked five high in the back of a van. Fifteen is the better value break point if you already know you are short. This is the specification we use ourselves.
View on Amazon →Packing tape
48mm brown polypropylene. Not vinyl, which lets go in a cold van, and not paper tape. One roll per fifteen boxes and never fewer than three. Full guide to packing tape.
Brown parcel tape, 3 rolls
48mm x 60m per roll, low noise, polypropylene
The right starting quantity for a one or two bedroom move, or as a top up if the tape that came with your boxes has run out. Low noise tape is worth having if you are packing in the evening with other people in the house.
View on Amazon →Brown parcel tape, 6 rolls
48mm x 66m per roll, heavy duty polypropylene
Six rolls at 66m is the sensible buy for a three bedroom house and up. Work on roughly one roll per fifteen boxes and never fewer than three, then add one for the odd jobs nobody plans for, like taping drawers shut and bundling curtain poles.
View on Amazon →Packing paper
Plain unprinted newsprint in large sheets. One ream of 200 does an average kitchen. Full guide to packing paper.
White newsprint packing paper, 200 large sheets
200 sheets, 20in x 30in (about 51cm x 76cm), clean unprinted newsprint
Big sheets, no ink, and enough of them to do a kitchen and a dining room without rationing. The sheet size matters more than people expect: a small sheet will not go round a dinner plate with enough overlap to crumple at the edges, so you end up using two and it costs you more.
View on Amazon →Bubble wrap
Small bubble for flat fragile things, large bubble for filling space around awkward shapes. Buy less than you think. Full guide to bubble wrap.
Small bubble wrap, clear, 100m roll
500mm wide x 100m, small bubble
This is the one to buy if you are only buying one. Small bubble sits flat against a surface, so it protects picture glass, mirrors, screens and glazed ceramics properly. At 500mm wide you can fold it over most things in a single pass instead of wrapping four times.
View on Amazon →Large bubble wrap, 20m roll
300mm wide x 20m, larger bubbles
Large bubble is mostly air, which makes it the wrong choice for flat fragile things and the right choice for filling the dead space around an awkward object: a lamp base, a vase, a kettle. A short roll is plenty, because you will use far less of it than you think.
View on Amazon →The rest of the list
Marker pens. Two minimum, because one always vanishes. Label the side of the box, never the top: once boxes are stacked three high you cannot see a single top, and the crew will be asking you which room each one goes in. Write the room first and the contents second.
Mattress covers. One per bed. A mattress goes through two doorways, down a staircase, across a pavement and into a van, and it picks up whatever it touches. Get the right size, because an undersized cover splits at the first corner.
Wardrobe cartons. Worth having for a wardrobe of anything decent, since hanging clothes go straight across on the rail and come out ready to hang. We do not supply these on a self-pack move.
Things we would not bother with
Foam peanuts. They migrate to the bottom of the box under vibration and leave whatever they were supporting sitting on the cardboard. They also go everywhere when you unpack, and stay in your carpet for months.
Specialist dish and glass kits. Cell dividers cost several times what paper does and are no better than a properly packed box with plates stood on their edge rather than stacked flat. Plates survive on edge because the force goes through the strongest axis.
Vacuum bags, on a move. They work well enough under a bed, where nothing touches them for six months. On a move they get lifted, turned and stacked, and the seal goes. Once the vacuum is lost the bag is no longer a firm block, so everything slides into one corner and you are left carrying a lumpy sack that will not stack and does not fit anywhere on the van.
Coloured tape for room coding. A marker pen and the side of the box does the same job for a fraction of the cost, and it is more legible from across a landing.
Nine-size box bundles. Usually short on the standard size and long on sizes you will use twice. Buy the three sizes separately, in the quantities the calculator gives you.
How many boxes?
Room by room, in about thirty seconds, with a materials list at the end you can print.
Packing calculator →Boxes and tape from us
Double walled boxes and some tape. An agreed quantity comes with every full house move, and extras can be bought.
Buy removal boxes →Rather not pack at all?
Full or part packing by our own crew, all materials included, wrapped properly and labelled by room.
Packing service →Packing materials · good to know
Packing materials: your questions
What packing materials do I actually need to move house?
Boxes, tape, packing paper and a marker will cover most of a house. Bubble wrap for the specific fragile items, and a cover for each mattress. Everything beyond that is optional. Our packing calculator turns your rooms into a quantity list in about thirty seconds.
Is newspaper alright for wrapping?
No. The ink transfers onto china, glass and anything light coloured. Plain packing paper is the same material without the ink and costs very little. See our packing paper guide.
What is wrong with tissue paper?
It has no bulk, so it neither cushions an item nor fills the gaps in a box. Most of the protection in a well packed box comes from crumpled paper filling the voids, and tissue cannot do that.
What sort of tape should I use?
Polypropylene packing tape, 48mm wide. The cheaper vinyl sort loses its grip in the cold, and a box that opens as it is lifted is how things get broken. More on the packing tape page.
How much packing paper will I need?
Around 200 large sheets for an average kitchen, plus another 100 or so if you have a dining room with china and glassware. Our packing calculator works it out from your rooms.
What do you supply, and what do I buy?
If you are packing yourself: some free boxes with every full house removal, the quantity worked out when we quote, plus some tape. Paper, bubble wrap and wardrobe cartons you buy. Extra boxes can be bought from us or ordered online. If you book the packing service, all materials are included and you buy nothing.
Do I have to buy from the links on this page?
Not at all. These are the specifications we use ourselves, listed so you can recognise the right thing on any shelf. Buy wherever you like. If you do use our links we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
About these links. These are the sorts of materials we buy and use on real moves. Links to items we do not supply ourselves are Amazon affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you buy through them. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. You pay the same price either way.
We do not list prices here, because they change and a stale figure helps nobody. Nothing on this page is sold by us, and any order, delivery or return is between you and Amazon.
Packing yourself, or would you rather we did?
Either way, tell us what is moving and we will come back with a clear price, usually the same day.