How to pack an apartment: the room-by-room packing guide

Don’t skimp on boxes and don’t use one size: small boxes for heavy things, medium for most of the home, large only for light and bulky (blankets, pillows).

Free boxes come from supermarkets and pharmacy chains — ask at the stockroom in the morning. Just make sure they’re dry and intact; a box soft at the bottom is an accident waiting to happen.

Heavy in small, light in large. Books in a big box make a box no one can lift; up to 20 kg per box — for your sake and the crew’s.

Every box belongs to one room. A "miscellaneous" box mixing kitchen with office is the last one you’ll open and the first one you’ll curse.

Write what’s inside — when sealing, not "later". A number per box, a short contents list, and unpacking becomes a different experience.

Start the serious packing here — it always takes twice as long as you think. Plates pack vertically, like records, with paper between them: standing on edge they absorb shocks with their natural rigidity and don’t break.

Glasses get stuffed with paper inside and wrapped outside, packed standing. Pots nest one inside another with paper between; lids go on the side.

Defrost the fridge 24 hours before the move, clean it and leave it open to dry — or you’ll open it in the new home to a smell you won’t forget.

Before unplugging the TV and router — photograph the back of the devices. One picture of "which cable goes where" saves an entire evening of trial and error.

Screens travel in their original carton if you have it; if not, a blanket and upright — never flat with weight on top.

Books are the classic trap: small boxes only, spine down. The average bookshelf weighs more than the sofa.

Folded clothes can travel in suitcases and even in the drawers themselves — if the dresser travels whole, check with the movers that drawers may stay full (usually fine when they’re light).

Hanging clothes: the garbage-bag trick — gather ten hangers, pull a bag up from below and tie it around the hooks. They stay hanging, protected, and re-hang in the new home in a second.

Bedding, towels and blankets are your padding material — stuff them around fragiles instead of buying more bubble wrap.

Every bottle that can spill — will. Open it, lay plastic over the mouth, close the cap over it, then into a zip-lock. All liquid bags go in one box marked "this side up only".

The bathroom packs last and unpacks first: keep toothbrushes, soap and one towel aside — they travel with you, not on the truck.

For the truly fragile — a box inside a box, with padding between them. Mark "FRAGILE" large on at least two sides, and tell the movers out loud as well.

Jewelry, documents, passports, laptop and cash don’t go on the truck at all — they travel in one bag that stays on you all day.

Photograph especially valuable items before packing — if damage happens, the photo is your evidence with the mover’s insurance.

Moving companies won’t take flammable and hazardous materials: gas canisters, paints and thinners, strong cleaning agents, aerosols. Plan to move them yourself or dispose of them properly.

And what’s allowed but unwise: regular medications, chargers, the apartment documents — anything you’ll need in the first 24 hours stays with you.

The simple system: room name + running number on every box ("Kitchen 3"), and one central list of what’s in each number. On unpacking day every box goes straight to its room, and you know exactly which box has the frying pan.

Want to level up — a color per room (colored tape) or a QR label per box, so one phone scan shows the contents. That’s exactly what our app does for free, if you’d rather skip the paperwork.