How many boxes do you need?
Working figures for a typical move. Kitchens and home offices run higher than these numbers because the contents are small and dense — add 10 to 15 boxes if either is heavily stocked.
| Home size | Total boxes | Rough split |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 15–25 | Mostly medium, a few small |
| 1 bedroom | 30–40 | ~50% medium, 25% small, 25% large |
| 2 bedroom | 50–60 | ~50% medium, 25% small, 25% large |
| 3 bedroom house | 70–100 | Add wardrobe bags per closet |
Large Moving Boxes
Large boxes are for bulk that is light: bedding, pillows, lampshades, winter coats, cushions, stuffed toys. The mistake almost everyone makes on their first move is filling a large box with books — a large box of books weighs more than most people can safely lift, and the bottom gives out. Keep anything dense in small boxes.
Rule of thumb: Light and bulky only — never books or dishes
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Large Moving Boxes — 6 Pack
Enough for a bedroom's worth of bedding and soft goods.
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Large Moving Boxes — 12 Pack
Better per-box value for a full-apartment or house move.
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Medium Moving Boxes
Medium is the workhorse size and the one people consistently under-buy. Kitchen items, small appliances, toys, shoes, files, pantry goods and most miscellaneous packing all land here. If you are unsure how to split an order across sizes, buy more mediums than you think you need.
Rule of thumb: Buy roughly twice as many mediums as larges
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Medium Moving Boxes — 10 Pack
A sensible starting quantity for a studio or one-bedroom.
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Medium Moving Boxes — 20 Pack
The volume most two-bedroom moves actually consume.
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Small Moving Boxes
Small boxes exist for dense things. Books, canned goods, tools, glassware, records, plates. A small box packed with books stays under a weight one person can carry up stairs without help, which is the entire point of the size.
Rule of thumb: Books, tools, canned goods — anything heavy goes small
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Small Moving Boxes — 25 Pack
Sized for books and dense items that would make a larger box unliftable.
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Wardrobe & Clothes Bags
Hanging clothes are miserable to pack flat and worse to unpack wrinkled. Clothes bags let you move a closet section straight from rail to rail, still on the hangers. They also compress into almost no storage space afterwards, which is more than you can say for a wardrobe box.
Rule of thumb: Move clothes on the hanger — you will not iron anything twice
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Clothes Storage Bags — 8 Pack
The quantity most full closets need.
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Clothes Storage Bags — 6 Pack
A middle option for a shared or smaller closet.
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Clothes Storage Bags — 4 Pack
Enough for a single wardrobe or seasonal storage.
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Moving Box Kits
A kit bundles a mix of sizes in roughly the proportions a real move uses, usually with tape and labels included. If you have never priced out a move box by box, a kit is the lower-risk purchase — you are less likely to end up with fifteen large boxes and nothing to put the plates in.
Rule of thumb: Best value if you are not sure what mix you need
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Amazon Basics Cardboard Moving Boxes — Assorted Sizes
Mixed-size assortment covering a typical move — the lowest-risk option if you're unsure of the split.
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Moving Box Kit
Alternative bundle — compare counts and included supplies.
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Moving Box Kit
Alternative bundle — compare counts and included supplies.
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Common questions
How many moving boxes do I need?
A rough working figure is 10 to 15 boxes per room, weighted toward medium. A studio typically lands around 15 to 25 boxes, a one-bedroom around 30 to 40, a two-bedroom around 50 to 60, and a three-bedroom house 70 or more. Kitchens and home offices consume far more boxes than bedrooms because the contents are small and dense.
What size moving box should I use for books?
Small. A small box of books typically comes in around 30 to 40 pounds, which one person can carry. The same books in a large box can exceed 100 pounds, which is both unliftable and heavy enough to tear the box bottom out while you are on the stairs. This is the most common packing injury and it is entirely avoidable.
Are moving box kits cheaper than buying boxes separately?
Usually, yes — kits bundle sizes at a lower per-box cost and often include tape and labels. Buying separately makes more sense when your move is unusual: a book-heavy office needs far more smalls than any kit includes, and a sparse apartment may only need mediums.
Should I buy new boxes or find used ones?
Used boxes are free and fine for light, non-fragile goods over a short distance. New boxes matter when weight, stacking or storage time is involved — corrugated cardboard loses a significant share of its compression strength after one use and more again if it has absorbed any humidity. For anything going into a truck stacked three high, or into storage for months, new is the safer call.
What are clothes storage bags used for?
They hold clothes that are already on hangers, so a closet section moves as a unit and arrives hanging rather than folded and creased. They are also useful after the move for seasonal storage, since they fold flat when empty unlike a rigid wardrobe box.
Packing a garden, or moving house plants?
Plants travel badly in sealed boxes — they need airflow, and most will not survive more than a day or two boxed up. If you are moving somewhere new and want to know what will actually grow there before you start replanting, Furrow works out your new hardiness zone and planting calendar from the address. There is also a garden supply guide for setting up beds at the other end.