Moving Boxes Calculator
Enter your bedroom count and how honestly you pack. The calculator gives the box total, the small/medium/large split, tape and bubble wrap counts, and how many solo packing days the job takes at a realistic pace.
Box-seller calculators inflate counts because boxes are the product. This one prices the whole packing job - and its real advice is which things go in which size, where most of the damage and back strain is decided.
How to use
- Count bedrooms; be honest about the packing style - the 'everything goes' multiplier exists for a reason.
- Buy the size mix shown: small for books, medium for kitchen, large only for light bulky things.
- Start three weeks out at the pace shown, storage rooms first, and pack the first-night box for the car.
Frequently asked questions
How many boxes does a 1-bedroom flat need?
About 35 for a normal household - 10 small, 16 medium, 9 large. Minimalists land near 25; collectors of everything should budget 50 and start two weekends earlier than feels necessary.
What goes in which box size?
Books and dishes in small boxes (20 kg is the lifting limit, not the box's), kitchen and general in medium, and only light bulky items - bedding, lampshades, plastics - in large. Heavy-in-large is how boxes die on staircases.
Where can I get free moving boxes?
Supermarkets, liquor stores and bookshops - sturdy double-corrugated and free. Refuse anything damp or from produce floors, and flatten-and-store them dry; wet cardboard loses half its strength before it looks weak.
What is the first-night box?
One box that rides in your car, not the van: bed sheets, kettle, mugs, chargers, toilet paper, basic tools and a change of clothes. It is the difference between a functioning first evening and excavating a wall of boxes at midnight.