Types of Moving Boxes

The sizes below are approximate. Common carton sizes are not standardized, so the exact dimensions and capacity vary by manufacturer and by supplier. Check the printed size on the carton before you buy in bulk.

Specialty cartons exist for most awkward items: mattress cartons and zipped mattress bags for beds, corrugated dividers for stemware, telescoping cartons for long thin items, and heavy duty double walled cartons for tools and workshop contents. Buy them for the few items that need them rather than for the whole house.

There is no reliable universal number, because two homes of the same size can hold very different amounts. The practical approach is to count what you own by category, books, kitchen, clothes, then buy in that shape: mostly small and medium cartons, a handful of large ones, dish packs for the kitchen and one wardrobe carton per two feet of hanging rail. Buy roughly ten per cent more than your count and return or keep the spares flat.

Three sizes cover most of a house. Add dish packs, one or two wardrobe cartons and a mirror carton only where you actually have crockery, hanging clothes or framed art. Using fewer sizes makes the truck stack better, because cartons of matching footprint build square columns instead of a wobbling pile.

A carton fails at the base long before the cardboard tears, and a box you cannot lift safely is a back injury and a dropped load. Dense contents, books, tinned food, tools, tiles, records, go in small cartons. Light bulky contents, duvets, pillows, cushions, soft toys, go in the large ones. That single habit prevents most packing damage.

• Dish packs: double walled with cell dividers. Plates travel on edge, wrapped individually, with paper crumpled above and below so nothing can settle.
• Wardrobe cartons: clothes go across straight from the rail on their hangers. Keep the base light, because the carton is tall and tips easily when it is bottom loaded with shoes.
• Electronics and televisions: a TV carton with corner blocks, screen travelling upright. Photograph the cable layout before you unplug anything.
• Books: small book cartons, spines down or flat, never on their fore edge, which bends the pages permanently.
• Mirrors and artwork: mirror cartons, glass taped across the face on a mirror only, and the carton always stored on edge, never lying flat under other boxes.

• Books in a large carton. It will be too heavy to lift and the bottom will fail.
• Half filled cartons. Empty space lets contents move and lets the box crush.
• Plates stacked flat. Pack them on edge, like records in a rack.
• Single strip of tape on the base. Use the H pattern: seam plus both edges.
• Unlabelled boxes. Write the room and the contents on the side, not the top.
• Reusing tired supermarket boxes for anything heavy or fragile.
• Leaving liquids unsealed and unbagged in with fabrics.

Cartons are only half of it. Seal them with the right tape for moving boxes, pair them with the right rope and straps for the truck, use the moving checklist to work room by room instead of all at once, and check what the whole job is likely to cost with the moving cost calculator.

What size box is best for books?

A small book carton of roughly 1.5 cubic feet. Book cartons use heavier board and stay light enough to lift when full.

What is a dish pack box?

A double walled carton, usually around 5.2 cubic feet, designed for crockery and glassware. Cell dividers keep each piece separated.

How heavy should a moving box be?

Keep cartons under about fifty pounds as a working rule, and lower if you are carrying them down stairs on your own.

Do I need a special box for a flat screen television?

A TV carton with corner protection is the safest option, and flat screens should travel upright rather than flat. Original packaging is just as good if you kept it.