How many boxes do I need to move

working hard

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 5:20 pm

Baruch Hashem, we are actually moving!! (I think).
We are trying to get quotes from movers. Any ideas how many boxes I would need for a family of 10. Please share your best moving tips and advice.

Thanks for joining me in this insanity!

amother

Vanilla

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 5:24 pm

I moved many times. You can't put a number on how many boxes you will have. It really depends on each individual. Most movers calculate based by rooms of the house or sq feet.

amother

Vanilla

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 5:38 pm

mom24.7 wrote:

Probably 150 approx

Doesn't sound correct. I had that amount for a family of 5

amother

Latte

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 6:09 pm

Many more than you think
We moved after close to 30 years in the same place. Our children are out of the house and we had over 150 boxes plus stacks of sefarim that were tied. Plus odd sized items plus plus plus.
Get colour coded labels. Collect different size boxes, bubble wrap, shrink wrap, newspapers, foam.
Stores that sell items in jars have xtra sturdy boxes with foam boards and other support. I collected those for my china and crystal.
And try to get rid of things as you pack. Try not to be too sentimental about things.
We moved from ny to nj and payed 3500 to move.

amother

Ginger

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 6:11 pm

amother Vanilla wrote:

Doesn't sound correct. I had that amount for a family of 5

Wow!
We recently moved, and had about 80 boxes for a family of 5.

pinkpeonies

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 6:12 pm

If you have anything in your closet that are already containerized, do not put them into boxes. Instead, duct tape all the boxes together. That saves so much time and energy. For example, if your toys are containerized, just take three boxes and duct tape them together, don’t empty them into cardboard boxes

amother

Blush

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 6:30 pm

When we moved, we kept everything tht was in drawers there and the movers wrapped them closed. That was helpful.

amother

Latte

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 8:36 pm

pinkpeonies wrote:

Yes we did this too.
Also leave the hanging clothing - movers bring wardrobe boxes.

Amarante

Mon, Jan 02 2023, 10:01 pm

Many many more than you think you could possibly need.

Check Craigslist as people will sell their used boxes after they moved. I got very lucky as a friend was moving right before I started to pack and so I was gifted about 100 boxes but I still needed to buy more boxes.

I do recommend going to a really good box store because they have specialized boxes which makes packing easier. For example, I got foam envelopes in different sizes and so it was much faster to put dishes in these instead of wrapping. Also buy their packing paper because it is clean and much nicer when you unpack to have clean stuff instead of using newspaper or other stuff.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 3:20 am

There really is no way of giving you one answer. We moved 6 years ago and we had 30 boxes just with books. And we are a family of 3 and we were not moving from a big place, but I know we had over 150 boxes.
OP I would start with at least 200. You will need more than you think you will need. Good luck.
It really depends on how much stuff you need to box up.

mommy3b2c

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 7:26 am

The first time I moved we were a family of five and we had 110 boxes. We moved again two years later and we were still a family of five and had 170 boxes. I remember the morning of the move . My cleaning lady came to help finish up the packing and the house looked bare and she somehow packed another 30 boxes. It’s crazy how much stuff people have .

amother

Daylily

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 9:29 am

I recently moved from a small apartment to a house with 2 kids. We used about 100 boxes not including books and seforim that were tied with the Saran Wrap type of tape. Movers brought wardrobe boxes for all our hanging clothing.
Hatzlacha!

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 2:02 pm

Which country are you? Americans vs Israelis, Americans have more stuff. For a small-medium family usually 150 boxes is max for Israelis.

amother

Cyan

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 2:20 pm

I never moved since I got married. This thread is really scaring me. How does one manage to pack and unpack 200 boxes (we’re a family of 8) and still stay sane.

Amarante

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 2:28 pm

amother Cyan wrote:

I never moved since I got married. This thread is really scaring me. How does one manage to pack and unpack 200 boxes (we’re a family of 8) and still stay sane.

In stages.

Pack items you don’t need first like books.

Label everything by rooms so mover can put boxes in rooms.

Keep boxes where you pack essentials like bedding and a few dishes or pans as necessary and label.

amother

Latte

Tue, Jan 03 2023, 2:33 pm

One more idea for the day if moving
A small handbag for each family membr
With pjs and clothing for next morning.
If moving not far - go day before with linen to set up bedrooms.