How-To Guide · Moving
How to Pack for a Move: A Room-by-Room Guide
Good packing is what makes a move go smoothly — fewer breakages, faster loading, and an easier unpack. Here's a practical, room-by-room guide to packing efficiently, protecting your fragile items, and knowing when to let the pros handle it.
Quick answer
Start packing 2–3 weeks out, room by room, beginning with the things you use least. Get the right supplies (sturdy boxes in a few sizes, packing paper, bubble wrap, tape, and markers), wrap fragile items individually, keep boxes under about 50 lbs, and label every box by room and contents. Pack an “essentials” box you open first. Decide who packs what before you start: LIOO's Terms leave boxes you packed yourself out of damage claims, while boxes the crew packs fall under the released valuation. Pack the sturdy, replaceable things yourself and leave the glassware and framed art to the crew.
Key Takeaways
- Pack rooms in order of use: storage areas and the garage first, the kitchen in the final week, and bedrooms and bathrooms last.
- Keep every packed box under about 50 pounds. NIOSH’s voluntary lifting equation starts at 51 pounds and lowers that for twisting, reaching and repeated lifts.
- Who packs a box decides its coverage with LIOO: customer-packed boxes are excluded from damage claims, and crew-packed boxes fall under released valuation of 60 cents per pound per item, up to $2,000 a move.
- Unboxed televisions and electronics fall outside LIOO's damage protection.
- Medication, documents, cash, jewelry, firearms, perishables and hazardous materials do not go on LIOO's truck. Paint, gasoline and propane cylinders count as hazardous.
Packing supplies to gather before you start
Gather packing supplies before you pack the first box, so the work doesn't stall on a store run. Heavy things go in small boxes because a packed box should stay under about 50 pounds: NIOSH’s voluntary lifting equation begins with a 51-pound load and then reduces it for real lifting conditions such as twisting and reaching (OSHA). Quantities by home size are in the packing supplies checklist, and box dimensions and what fits in each size are in the moving box guide.
- Sturdy boxes in small, medium, and large (small for heavy items, large for light bulky items)
- Specialty boxes: dish/glass packs, wardrobe boxes, TV/mirror boxes
- Packing paper and bubble wrap
- Packing tape and a tape gun
- Markers and printable labels
- Furniture pads or moving blankets, and stretch wrap
- Resealable bags for small parts and hardware
Room-by-room packing tips
Pack room by room, in order of how little you use each room: storage areas and the garage first, then spare rooms and decor, then the living room, then the kitchen, with bedrooms and bathrooms last.
- Kitchen. Use dish packs; wrap each plate in paper and stack them on edge (vertically), not flat. Nest bowls with paper between. The dish and glass packing guide has the full method. Seal and bag opened dry goods. Unplug and empty the fridge, and disconnect the washer and dryer before the crew arrives: LIOO's movers don't disconnect or reconnect appliances unless that is agreed in writing, and an appliance left connected falls outside damage protection. Our appliance disconnection guide covers the details.
- Bedrooms. Wardrobe boxes let clothes move on their hangers. Empty the dresser drawers into boxes too: dressers are stood up on end to move, full drawers can break the legs, and personal items can fall out.
- Living room. Box books in small boxes (they get heavy fast). Use TV and mirror boxes for electronics and framed art; the methods are in how to pack a TV and how to pack artwork and mirrors. A television or other electronics handed over without a box sits outside LIOO's damage protection, so keep the original carton or buy a TV box.
- Bathrooms. Tape and bag any liquids to prevent leaks; pack toiletries together and set aside a small first-night kit.
- Garage & storage. Drain and clean tools; pack hardware in labeled bags taped to the item it belongs to.
Protecting fragile items
Wrap fragile items individually in packing paper or bubble wrap, and cushion the bottom and top of each box with crumpled paper. Fill every gap so nothing shifts — a box should not rattle when you gently shake it. Pack heavier items on the bottom, lighter on top, and mark fragile boxes clearly on the top and sides. For truly valuable or irreplaceable pieces (art, antiques, a piano, or a gun safe), consider professional handling. Pianos, gun safes and anything over 300 pounds carry a $100 specialty-item fee, quoted before you book. LIOO doesn't build crates. Its crews wrap fragile pieces in blankets and pads and box them; a piece that genuinely needs a crate should go to a fine-art or crating specialist.
Who packs which box: what LIOO's terms cover
Who packs a box decides whether LIOO's damage protection applies to it. LIOO's Terms of Service (section 24) list items packed by the customer among the exclusions from damage claims. Boxes the crew packs are handled under the released valuation that comes with every LIOO job: 60 cents a pound for each item, with a ceiling of $2,000 for the whole move ($1,000 when you book labor only). Released valuation is a mover's basic liability, paid by an item's weight and not by what it is worth; it is not insurance. A damage claim has a two-day reporting window. For interstate moves, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration warns that if articles you packed yourself are damaged, it may be more difficult to establish a claim against the mover (FMCSA, Liability and Protection).
- Pack yourself: books, linens, clothes, shoes, toys, pantry goods and anything you could replace without much loss. The exclusion costs you little here.
- Leave to the crew: stemware, china, lamps, mirrors, framed art and anything fragile you'd want covered. Packing labor bills on the same hourly card as labor-only work ($140 an hour for two packers), and materials are a separate line.
- Carry yourself: the irreplaceable and the small valuable. See the list below.
For how the 60-cents-per-pound figure plays out item by item, read what movers are liable for in Georgia.
What stays out of the boxes
LIOO's movers won't transport the items on the Terms' prohibited list (section 29), so these ride with you or go another way: passports and legal documents, cash and jewelry, medication, collectibles and sentimental items, firearms and ammunition, perishables, and anything hazardous, chemical or explosive. The policies on LIOO's estimate page add paint, other flammable items and live plants. Hazardous covers more household items than most people expect: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's definition for household moves names nail polish remover, paints, paint thinners, lighter fluid, gasoline, propane cylinders and automotive repair chemicals (FMCSA glossary). That is one more reason the essentials box belongs in your car: the medication and the documents in it can't go on the truck anyway. Drain fuel from mowers and give away open paint, cleaners and propane before move day. In metro Atlanta, the nonprofit Live Thrive runs CHaRM (Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials) drop-off sites that take leftover paint and household chemicals by appointment. The first 20 pounds are free for residents and the rest is charged by the pound. CHaRM does not accept propane tanks (CHaRM accepted items).
Labeling that saves you hours
A moving box label needs three things: the room it goes to, its main contents, and any handling warning.
- Label every box on at least two sides with the room and a few contents.
- Mark FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP where needed.
- Number boxes per room and keep a quick master list so you know if anything is missing.
- Use a color per room (colored tape or dots) so movers can place boxes correctly at the new home.
A simple packing timeline
This packing timeline starts three weeks before move day. A larger house, or one you have lived in for many years, needs an earlier start.
- 3 weeks out: declutter and donate; gather supplies; start with storage, garage, and off-season items.
- 2 weeks out: pack books, decor, and rooms you use less.
- 1 week out: pack most of the kitchen and closets, leaving out only essentials.
- Last 1–2 days: pack what's left and prepare an essentials box (chargers, meds, toiletries, a change of clothes, basic tools, snacks).
Should you pack yourself or hire packers?
Packing yourself saves labor hours if you have the time and not too many fragile items. With LIOO the two halves are priced separately: materials can be bought with or without packing labor, in packages sized to the home that run $240 (one bedroom) up to $1,080 (four bedrooms), and the labor is hourly. Our packing services page lists what each package holds and the individual box prices. A split job, where you box the everyday things and the crew packs the kitchen, fragiles and art, keeps the fragile boxes inside the released valuation without paying for hours on the linen closet.
Packing FAQ
How far in advance should I start packing?+
How do I pack fragile items so they don't break?+
What should go in my essentials box?+
Is it worth paying for professional packing?+
Where can I get moving boxes?+
What won't movers put on the truck?+
Sources
Want the packing done for you?
LIOO Moving's crews can pack the whole home or just the fragile rooms. Packing labor is billed by the hour and materials are priced separately, so the estimate shows both lines.
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