LIOO Moving · Packing Guides
The Complete Packing Supplies Checklist
Half of packing stress is supply runs. This is the complete list — print it, buy once, and every later guide (dishes, TVs, art) assumes you have these on hand.
Key Takeaways
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LIOO’s packing-material packages hold 18 boxes for one bedroom, 41 for two, 70 for three and 94 for four, wardrobe boxes included.
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Published counts differ: for two bedrooms this guide says 40 to 60 boxes and Public Storage says 50 to 70.
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Paper and tape amounts are rules of thumb, not standards, so buy a little extra.
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Check free boxes for tears, dents and pests before you pack them.
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A LIOO crew brings its own furniture pads and wrap, so you can leave those off your list.
Packing boxes The right mix
A packed home needs three standard box sizes and three specialty boxes.
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Small (1.5 cu ft): books, dishes, tools, pantry. The workhorse in a book-heavy home, where you should buy the most of these.
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Medium (3.0 cu ft): kitchenware, toys, decor, small appliances.
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Large (4.5 cu ft): bedding, pillows, lampshades — light and bulky only.
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Dish pack: double-walled, for the kitchen. One or two is usually enough.
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Wardrobe boxes: one per 2 feet of closet rod — clothes move on their hangers.
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Picture/mirror boxes for framed art and mirrors. Full sizing detail in the moving box guide.
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Free used boxes: fine for light, unbreakable things if they pass a check. The FedEx packaging guidelines require a reused box to have no holes, tears or corner dents, and warn that used boxes are more likely to result in loss or damage. Inspect produce boxes closely: University of Minnesota Extension says to use boxes from a place free of cockroaches when moving.
How many moving boxes do you need?
A two-bedroom home needs roughly 40 to 60 moving boxes, but published counts vary. The table compares three counts by home size.
| Home size | Boxes in LIOO’s packing-material package | This guide’s estimate (boxes) | Public Storage’s estimate (boxes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | No package | 20–40 | 15–25 |
| 1 bedroom | 18 | 20–40 | 30–40 |
| 2 bedrooms | 41 | 40–60 | 50–70 |
| 3 bedrooms | 70 | 60–90 | 70–100 |
| 4 bedrooms | 94 | 90–120 | 100–150 |
LIOO’s packages are preconfigured quantities sized to the home. The two-bedroom package, for example, holds 10 small, 15 medium and 10 large boxes plus 6 wardrobe boxes. The right-hand column comes from Public Storage’s box guide. Big kitchens, full garages and book collections push a home higher.
Wrap & cushion Where damage is prevented
Packing paper does most of the wrapping on a move; bubble wrap, stretch wrap and blankets each cover a narrower job.
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Packing paper — the primary wrap for everything. ~10 lbs for a 2-bedroom, more with a big kitchen. For comparison, Anchor Box, a box seller, lists 10 to 15 pounds of paper and 150 to 200 feet of bubble wrap for a 3-bedroom home.
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Bubble wrap for electronics and glass — outer layer only, never against screens or paint.
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Stretch wrap to bundle, protect upholstery, and keep drawers shut, over a pad or blanket on finished wood.
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Moving blankets for furniture and TVs (rental trucks rarely include enough). On a LIOO move, skip them for furniture: pads and wrap are part of the crew’s moving equipment.
Tape & tools Don’t cheap out here
Tape, markers, zip bags and a few basic tools finish a packing supply list.
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Packing tape: ~1 roll per 15–20 boxes; a dispenser gun pays for itself in an hour. Buy tape at least 2 inches wide: FedEx’s shipping guidelines ask for that and rule out cellophane tape, duct tape, masking tape and string for sealing boxes.
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Markers (one per packer) — label room + contents on two sides of every box.
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Zip bags for screws and hardware, taped to the furniture they came from.
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Box cutter, gloves, and a tape measure for doorways and the truck.
Where to buy in metro Atlanta
You can buy moving boxes and packing supplies directly from LIOO Moving — flat packing-material packages by bedroom count ($240 for a 1-bedroom up to $1,080 for a 4-bedroom) or by the box, with no packing labor required. Home-improvement and moving-supply stores carry all of it too. If you’d rather skip the buying and the packing both, the same page covers full packing crews — boxes, paper, tape, and dish barrels arrive with the team, with labor billed hourly and materials as their own line. Pair this list with the 8-week moving checklist so buying lands at the right week.
Common questions
How many boxes do I need to move?
Rough guide: studio/1-bedroom 20–40 boxes, 2-bedroom 40–60, 3-bedroom 60–90, 4-bedroom and up 90–120 — weighted toward small boxes because heavy items must go in small boxes.
How much packing paper do I need?
Around 10 pounds for a typical 2-bedroom home, more if the kitchen is large. Buy about 10% extra — running out mid-pack is the most common supply mistake.
Are free grocery-store boxes okay?
For light, unbreakable items, yes. For dishes, glass, books, or anything heavy, used single-wall boxes fail at the seams — use new small boxes or a dish pack.
Packing crews arrive with every material on this list. Tell us the home size and what’s fragile, and the quote covers labor and materials in writing.