The kitchen takes longer to pack than any other room, and it’s also where most of the damage happens. According to a survey by Compare My Move, nearly half (48%) of UK adults have had at least one item broken during a house move, with crockery making up 20% of everything that gets damaged. Most of that comes down to poor packing. Get it right and your plates, glasses, and appliances will arrive exactly as you left them.
Start Earlier Than You Think
A family kitchen in a three-bedroom home can take eight to ten hours to pack carefully. Most people don’t account for that and end up rushing on moving day, which is how things get broken. Start packing the kitchen one to two weeks before the van arrives.
The order matters. Pack what you use least, first. Rarely used gadgets, baking tins, serving platters, and seasonal items all go first. Your everyday plates, mugs, and the kettle go last. Set those aside in a separate essentials box (more on that further down).
Match the Box to the Weight
China, tins, and glassware go in small boxes. A box of dinner plates becomes extremely heavy, very quickly. Put them in a large box and you’ll either drop it or the base will give out. Light, bulky items (plastic containers, empty pots, kitchen linens) go in the larger boxes.
For fragile items, use double-wall boxes. Standard removal boxes work fine for most rooms, but the kitchen is different. A 30-centimetre drop can crack a plate if the box isn’t rigid enough to absorb the impact.
Pack Plates on Their Edges, Not Flat
The single most common packing mistake is laying plates flat in a box. Wrap each plate individually in plain packing paper, not newspaper (the ink transfers onto the glaze), then stand them on their edges, just as you would load them into a dishwasher rack. Standing plates on their edges puts the impact onto the strongest part of the plate, not the face.
Mark FRAGILE on all four sides of the box, not just the top. When boxes are stacked in a moving van and only the sides are visible, that’s what keeps the crew careful.
Glasses Need Their Own Box and the Right Packing
Pack glasses upright, never on their sides. The base of a glass is much stronger than the rim. Before placing a glass in the box, stuff the inside with crumpled packing paper , this stops the glass from collapsing inward if the box takes a knock. Cell kit inserts, the cardboard dividers with individual slots, are worth picking up for wine glasses and stemware. They’re inexpensive and completely remove the risk of glasses touching each other in transit.
Appliances: Clean, Dry, and Cords Sorted
Every appliance needs to be clean and dry before it goes in a box. Anything damp can develop mould in transit, especially microwaves, coffee machines, and anything with a water reservoir. Wrap cords neatly around each appliance rather than packing them loose.
For appliances with removable parts: blenders, food processors, the basket from your coffee machine. Remove each part, wrap it individually, and pack everything in the same box. Label the outside clearly so you know what’s inside without opening it.
Two appliances need planning in advance. Your fridge-freezer should be defrosted at least 24 hours before the van arrives. Any residual water will leak into other boxes. Your dishwasher needs to be disconnected and drained the day before: run a short cycle to flush out the water, then disconnect the hose and let everything dry overnight.
The Challenge Nobody Mentions: London Flats and Stairs
If you’re in a flat without a lift, or in a Victorian conversion with a tight staircase and a half-landing turn, this matters more than any packing tip. A box of crockery heading down three flights needs to be manageable. Keep boxes with fragile kitchen items under 15 kilograms. A lighter box is safer to carry and far less likely to be dropped when someone’s arms are burning on the second flight.
Parking is the other issue nobody prepares for. Getting a Luton van close enough to a London flat to make the carry practical takes planning. A proper removals team will sort the parking suspension in advance and know how to position the vehicle so the carry distance stays short. Our moving day guide explains what to expect from a well-run move, and if you’re unsure whether a man and van or a full team makes more sense for your flat, our comparison guide breaks it down clearly.
Plan Your Food Before Moving Week
Perishable food cannot go in a removal van. Your fridge needs to be empty, clean, and defrosted before the van arrives. Use the week before your move to cook down what’s in the freezer and avoid a large food shop. Whatever’s left, offer it to a neighbour or donate it to a local food bank.
Tinned food and sealed dry goods are fine to pack and move. Keep them in small boxes alongside other dense items. Tins are heavy, and a box of them at the bottom of a stack will put a lot of weight on whatever’s below.
Build a Moving-Day Kitchen Essentials Box
Before you seal the last kitchen box, put aside one box or crate that travels with you in the car rather than in the van. Pack the kettle, tea bags, coffee, a couple of mugs, plates for two meals, cutlery, washing-up liquid, and a sponge. Add some snacks. Label it “Open First.”
After a long moving day, searching through twelve kitchen boxes just to find the kettle is the last thing you want. This one box saves you an hour on the other end.
When to Let the Professionals Pack the Kitchen
If you have a large collection of china, a wine rack, antique crockery, or simply not enough time to pack the kitchen carefully yourself, professional packing is worth it. A trained packer brings the right materials, including specialist dish-pack boxes and cell kit inserts you’d struggle to source at short notice, and works considerably faster than most households doing it for the first time.
Just Removals London includes a full packing and unpacking service as part of your move. The crew works through the kitchen methodically, wraps everything with care, and brings all packing materials, so you don’t have to source a thing. If you want to know what materials you’ll need when you pack the rest of the house yourself, our full packing checklist covers every room.
A kitchen packed properly takes time, good materials, and the right boxes. Do it right and everything arrives intact. Do it in a rush and your crockery pays the price. If you’d rather have a team handle it, get a free, no-obligation quote from Just Removals London and we’ll take care of the hard part.