The kitchen is the hardest room in any house to pack, and within the kitchen, two things trip people up more than anything else: small appliances and pantry items. The big stuff like dishes and pots is straightforward. It is the air fryer, the spice rack, the half-used bottles of olive oil, and the bag of flour from last Thanksgiving that cause real problems on move day.
After 13 years of running moves out of our Enfield, CT facility, I can tell you that the people who plan this part of the move ahead of time save themselves a lot of grief. The people who do not end up with leaked oil in the truck and a crockpot with a cracked ceramic insert.
Here is how to handle it right.
Start by deciding what is actually moving
Before you pack a single appliance or pantry item, sort everything into three piles.
Definitely going. The everyday appliances you actually use, sealed pantry items in good shape, spices that are not ancient.
Tossing or donating. Anything expired, anything you have not used in a year, duplicate appliances, the bread machine you got as a wedding gift in 2014.
Maybe. This pile is dangerous. Be honest with yourself. If you have not used it in the last six months, the answer is probably no. We do not offer junk removal, so anything you toss needs to go before load day.
Long-distance pricing is based on weight or volume. Every pound you move costs money. A pantry full of half-used boxes of cereal you will not eat anyway is a pantry full of paid-for dead weight.
Small appliance packing, one by one
### Coffee maker, espresso machine, kettle
Empty all water completely the day before the move. Run a paper towel through the inside if you can to dry it out. A coffee maker with leftover water that sits in a hot truck for a few days will grow mold or warp internally.
Wrap the unit in bubble wrap or a few layers of packing paper. Tape the cord to the body so it does not whip around. Pack upright in a small box with crumpled paper around the sides. Label the box "fragile" and "this side up."
Espresso machines deserve extra care. The portafilter, drip tray, and water tank should all come off and get wrapped separately, then packed in the same box.
### Air fryer, instant pot, slow cooker
These are bulky but generally tough. Remove the inner basket or pot and wrap it in paper to keep it from rattling against the housing. Wrap the body in bubble wrap. Tape the cord down. Pack in a medium box with paper padding.
Ceramic and glass inserts are the weak point. Wrap them like dishes - a sheet of paper around each one, then bubble wrap, then the box. If you have the original box for the appliance, use it. Manufacturers test those boxes for shipping abuse.
### Blender, food processor, mixer
The bases are heavy. The attachments are fragile. Pack them as separate items in the same box.
For a stand mixer, the bowl and any attachments come off. Wrap the bowl like you would a serving dish. The mixer itself is heavy, so it goes on the bottom of a small box with serious padding underneath. Do not put a stand mixer in a large box - the box will collapse.
Glass blender pitchers should be wrapped twice in bubble wrap and stood upright in the box.
### Toaster, toaster oven
Empty the crumb tray. Wrap in a layer of paper or a clean kitchen towel to catch any remaining crumbs. Then bubble wrap and box. Toaster ovens are awkward shapes - they take a medium box mostly to themselves.
### Microwave
If you have the original box, use it. If not, wrap it in moving blankets and tape the door shut so it cannot swing open in transit. Box it if you have one big enough. Otherwise, our crews can pad and wrap it on the truck.
The glass turntable plate should come out and travel separately, wrapped like a dinner plate.
The pantry: what travels and what does not
Pantry items are split into things that move easily and things that should never move at all.
These travel fine:
- Sealed canned goods (soup, beans, vegetables, sauces) - Sealed jars (peanut butter, jam, pickles, sauces) - Unopened boxed pasta, rice, and cereal - Vacuum-sealed coffee - Sealed bags of dried beans and lentils
These get tossed or used up before the move:
- Anything in a cardboard box that has been opened (flour, sugar, cereal, pasta - the bugs find it during transit) - Open bags of chips or crackers - Old spices (anything older than two years - they are flavorless anyway) - Anything past its expiration date - Half-empty oil bottles (more on this below)
These should never be moved on a long-distance move:
- Refrigerated items - Frozen items - Anything fresh
For a local move, the cold and frozen stuff can ride in a cooler in your own car. For a long-distance move, eat it, give it away, or toss it. Do not pack frozen food in the truck thinking it will hold. It will not.
Oils, vinegars, and liquids - pack like they will leak
Because they will. Even good caps loosen in transit.
Take every bottle, unscrew the cap, lay a piece of plastic wrap over the opening, and screw the cap back on. The plastic wrap creates a second seal. This single trick prevents 90% of pantry disasters.
Pack all liquid bottles in a sealed plastic bag together, standing upright. Then put that bag in a box with absorbent material around it - paper towels, dish towels, or crumpled packing paper. If something does leak, it leaks into the bag, not into the box.
Label the box "this side up" and never lay it on its side.
Spices
Spices are the worst kept secret of moving. They are tiny, they are fragile, the lids pop off, and they get crushed.
Pack them in a small box, never the bottom of a large one. Stand them up and pack them tight so they cannot shift. Use crumpled paper to fill any gaps. If you have a spice rack with a lid, leave them in the rack and tape it shut.
Toss anything older than two years before you pack. Old spices are flavorless and not worth the cubic inches.
Knives, cutting boards, and dish towels
Most people pack knives wrong and cut themselves on move-in day reaching into a box.
Wrap each knife individually in a kitchen towel or several sheets of paper. Bundle them with rubber bands. Label the bundle "knives" so whoever opens the box at the new place is not surprised. Better yet, pack them in a small dedicated box and label the whole box "knives - sharp."
Cutting boards lay flat in the box on top. Dish towels are perfect padding material - use them to fill gaps in any kitchen box.
Plates, glasses, and bowls (a quick refresher)
This is technically covered in our main kitchen packing guide, but the short version:
- Use real dish boxes (double-walled) for plates and glasses, not regular boxes - Plates go vertical, like records, not stacked flat - Wrap each glass and stem-ware piece individually - Crumpled paper between every item
If you do not want to deal with any of this, our Princess Packing options handle the entire kitchen for you. The Plus tier (50 boxes, kitchen plus 2 rooms) is our most popular package because the kitchen alone is what makes most people decide to hand the packing to professionals.
Move day: the kitchen goes last
Pack the rest of the house first. The kitchen is the room you are using right up until the morning of the move. Aim to have everything except your essentials packed two or three days out. The morning of, pack the last few items - coffee maker, the bowl you ate cereal out of, the kettle.
Designate one box as your "first night kitchen kit" - paper plates, plastic utensils, a sharp knife, a cutting board, a coffee maker, a few mugs, dish soap, paper towels. That box should ride in your car, not on the truck. You will thank yourself the first night in the new place when everyone is hungry and you cannot find the good knives.
A few common mistakes I see
Packing flour, sugar, and rice in their original boxes or bags. They split open in transit. Either eat them down before the move or transfer them into sealed plastic containers.
Forgetting the freezer and fridge. People remember the pantry and forget the cold storage until move morning. Plan for that 48 hours out.
Underestimating how much the kitchen weighs. A full kitchen often runs heavier than the entire bedroom. Use small to medium boxes, never large ones.
Not labeling clearly. "Kitchen" is not enough. Write "kitchen - everyday dishes" or "kitchen - small appliances" so you can find what you need first.
If you want help
Packing the kitchen is the single most common reason people upgrade to full-service packing. It is detail work, it takes time, and the consequences of doing it wrong show up at the new place when you open a box of broken stemware.
Our team can pack the whole kitchen as part of any move, or you can book Princess Packing as a standalone service ahead of move day. Most customers who try it once never go back to packing their own kitchen.
If you are planning a move out of Connecticut or Western Massachusetts and want help thinking through the kitchen, get in touch with us for a free estimate, or call (888) 553-4503.
- Joe Caronna, Owner, Castle Express Moving & Storage