The kitchen takes longer than people think. Dishes are fragile, the pantry is heavy, and you still have to eat until the truck arrives. Use one weekend, not ten stolen evenings.
Saturday morning: purge
Expired spices, the extra mug pile, small appliances you have not plugged in this year. Donate or trash before you buy boxes. Heavy canned goods you will not eat this week can go to a food pantry instead of onto the truck.
Saturday afternoon: dishes and glass
Use dish-pack boxes (double-wall) and packing paper — not newspaper if you care about ink on plates. Wrap each piece. Plates stand on edge, not stacked flat. Fill voids so nothing rattles. That technique is the same one in how to pack fragile items.
Label two sides: Kitchen — dishes — FRAGILE.
Sunday: small appliances and the cook kit
Box the mixer, toaster, and extra pots. Leave out a cook-from kit until moving morning:
- One pan, one pot, spatula, chef’s knife (sheathed)
- Coffee setup
- Dish soap and two towels
- Paper plates if you are done being heroic
Pack that kit last, or put it in your car.
What not to box
Open liquids, leftover cooking oil, and anything that can leak. Cleaners belong with the do-not-load pile unless they are sealed and the crew agrees.
If the kitchen is the room you dread, book packing help for that room only. Quote: /quote/ or (860) 646-3333.