Most Philadelphia-area homes need between 10 and 20 moving boxes per room, or roughly 60 to 90 boxes for a 3-bedroom house. Kitchens and home offices run high, bedrooms run low, and a full basement can add 20 boxes on its own. Below is the count LiteMovers crews use, followed by 12 tips for getting your moving boxes right.
Not sure how many moving boxes your King of Prussia or Main Line home needs? Call LiteMovers at (610) 755-5535 or request a written estimate.
How many moving boxes do you need per room?
Use this table as a starting point. It reflects what LiteMovers crews see in Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Bucks County homes, from a Conshohocken apartment to a five-bedroom colonial in Newtown Square. Adjust up if you have not decluttered in a few years.
| Home size | Total moving boxes | Typical mix |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1-bedroom apartment | 20 to 35 | Mostly medium, 4 to 6 dish packs, 2 wardrobe boxes |
| 2-bedroom home or condo | 35 to 55 | Medium and small, 6 to 8 dish packs, 3 to 4 wardrobe boxes |
| 3-bedroom house | 60 to 90 | Mix of sizes, 8 to 12 dish packs, 4 to 6 wardrobe boxes |
| 4-bedroom house with basement | 90 to 130 | Heavy on medium and large, 12 dish packs, 6 to 8 wardrobe boxes |
Room by room, a kitchen usually takes 12 to 20 boxes and a living room 8 to 12. Each bedroom needs 6 to 10, a home office 8 to 15, and a garage or basement 10 to 30. Those figures assume books go in small boxes and linens in large ones.
What do LiteMovers crews wish every customer knew about moving boxes?
These 12 tips come from the people who load trucks in Wayne, Ardmore, West Chester and Doylestown every week. All of them change how fast a crew can work and how well your things survive the ride.
1. Count rooms, then add a quarter
Homeowners who tally their rooms and multiply by 10 almost always come up short. Closets, hall cabinets, the shelf over the washer and the shed all hold more than you remember. Take your room total and add 25 percent. Extra moving boxes fold flat; running out on the last night is a problem.
2. Buy more medium boxes than anything else
Medium boxes, around 3 cubic feet, should be roughly half of your order. They fit dishes with a divider, pantry goods, toys, shoes and most kitchen drawers. A crew can stack them four high on a dolly without strain. Large boxes are for pillows, comforters and lampshades only.
3. Put books in small boxes only
A small box of hardcovers already weighs 40 pounds. A medium box of books can pass 70, and the bottom seam is the first thing to fail on a stairway in a Narberth twin. Small boxes for books, records and canned goods. Your movers, and your own back, will notice.
4. Use dish packs for the kitchen, not regular boxes
Dish packs are double-walled moving boxes built for glassware, plates and mugs. Paired with cell dividers, they cut breakage more than any amount of extra newspaper. LiteMovers includes them in every packing and storage job, and our short video on packing dishes and wine glasses shows the wrap.
5. Rent or buy wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes
One wardrobe box holds about two feet of closet rod. Clothes stay on hangers, travel upright and go straight into the new closet. For a Bryn Mawr colonial with four walk-in closets, six wardrobe boxes save an entire evening of folding and repacking.
6. Keep every box under 50 pounds
This is the rule crews care about most when they lift moving boxes. A 50-pound ceiling protects the box, the mover and your floors. If you cannot lift a box comfortably to waist height, split it. Heavy items on the bottom, light items on top, and fill any gap with paper so nothing shifts.
7. Tape the bottom in an H pattern
One strip along the seam and one across each end. That H pattern is what separates moving boxes that hold on a wet driveway from boxes that open on the walk to the truck. Use 2-inch packing tape, not masking tape or duct tape, which lets go in September heat.
8. Label two sides and the top
Crews stack boxes so only one side shows. Write the room and a short contents note on two adjacent sides and on top, and mark fragile boxes with an arrow pointing up. Our packing essentials checklist covers markers, tape and the other supplies to have on hand.
9. Reuse secondhand boxes carefully
Boxes from a neighbor’s move or a local store are fine for linens, toys and garage items. They are not fine for dishes, electronics or anything heavy, because cardboard loses strength each time it is crushed. Check every used box for damp corners and old tape before you trust it with anything you care about.
10. Pack a first-night box and keep it out of the truck
Sheets, towels, phone chargers, medications, a box cutter and a coffee setup go in one clearly marked box. That box rides in your own car. It is the most-used box of the whole move and the easiest one to lose in a garage full of identical moving boxes.
11. Ask what your movers will pack for you
Partial packing is common in the Philadelphia suburbs. Many families pack bedrooms and closets themselves and leave the kitchen, artwork and mirrors to the crew. LiteMovers can pack a single room or the whole house, and the box count for that work appears on the written estimate.
12. Plan where the boxes go after unpacking
Sixty flattened boxes take up real space. Most townships collect collapsed cardboard curbside, and Montgomery County lists cardboard drop-off sites in Conshohocken and Pottstown for bigger loads. Sturdy boxes can go to the next neighbor who is moving.
Which moving boxes does LiteMovers bring to a packing job?
When LiteMovers packs, the crew arrives with new small, medium and large boxes, dish packs with dividers and wardrobe boxes. Picture cartons for framed art and mirrors and unprinted paper come along too. Materials are itemized on the estimate, and any unused moving boxes are not left behind for you to store. For a look at the box types themselves, see our guide to packing boxes and their uses.
How far ahead should you buy moving boxes?
Order boxes about three weeks before a local move and four weeks before a long-distance one. That leaves time to pack a room every few evenings instead of a whole house in a weekend. If your closing dates leave a gap, our Main Line residential movers can hold packed boxes in King of Prussia. They stay in our warehouse until the new home is ready. Any Pennsylvania mover you hire should give you a written estimate first. The PA PUC household goods page explains what that estimate must include.
Frequently asked questions about moving boxes
How many moving boxes do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
Plan on 60 to 90 moving boxes for a typical 3-bedroom house in the Philadelphia suburbs. A finished basement, a large garage or a home office pushes the count toward 100. Most of those should be medium boxes, with dish packs for the kitchen and wardrobe boxes for closets.
Can LiteMovers supply moving boxes and packing materials?
Yes. LiteMovers supplies moving boxes, dish packs, wardrobe boxes, paper and tape for full-service or partial packing across Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Bucks County. Materials are listed as a line item on your written estimate, so you know what is included before moving day.
What do I do with moving boxes after I unpack?
Flatten them and recycle them. Most Philadelphia-area townships take collapsed cardboard curbside, and Montgomery County lists drop-off sites for larger loads. Sturdy boxes can also be passed to a neighbor who is moving next.
Ready to get the box count and the crew in one written estimate? Call LiteMovers at (610) 755-5535 or request a written estimate.
LiteMovers, 307 East Church Rd, Suites 1 & 2, King of Prussia, PA 19406. Phone (610) 755-5535 or toll-free 1-877-798-8989. Email moves@litemovers.com. PA PUC A-8916211, USDOT 2173383, MC-888055. More planning help on our moving tips page.
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