The kitchen is usually the hardest room to pack for a move. Between fragile dishes, small appliances, and half-used pantry items, it takes more planning than tossing everything into a box. A little strategy goes a long way, especially if you’re navigating a narrow Montreal walk-up or trying to beat the July 1st moving rush. Here’s how to pack your kitchen so nothing cracks, spills, or gets left behind.
Start Packing at Least a Week Before Moving Day
Give yourself more time than you think you need. Start with items you rarely use, like the fondue set or the good china, about seven to ten days before your move. Save daily essentials, like your coffee maker and a few plates, for the last day or two. Working from a moving day checklist helps you pace this out so you’re not packing at midnight the night before the truck arrives.
If you’re moving during Quebec’s peak season around July 1st, add extra buffer time. Trucks, elevators, and even boxes get harder to find as the date approaches, and building superintendents are booking freight elevators weeks in advance.
Wrap Fragile Dishes and Glassware the Right Way
Dishes break most often from friction, not drops, so the goal is to stop them from moving inside the box. Wrap each plate individually in packing paper and stack them on their edge, like records in a crate, rather than flat. Flat stacking puts pressure on the bottom pieces and is one of the most common causes of cracked china.
Glasses and mugs need paper stuffed inside them before wrapping, since hollow items crush under weight. Use a dish-pack box with thick walls if you have one, line the bottom with crumpled paper, and never leave empty space where items can shift. Label these boxes “Fragile” and “This Side Up” on every side, not just the top, so movers can see it no matter how the box is carried.
Pack Small Appliances With Their Cords and Parts Together
Small appliances like blenders, toasters, and stand mixers travel best in their original boxes if you kept them. If not, wrap the body in a moving blanket or towel and pack it upright in a sturdy box with padding on all sides. Remove any glass jugs or detachable blades and wrap them separately.
Tape cords to the appliance body or bag them together with small parts so nothing gets separated at the other end. A sandwich bag taped to the side of the appliance works well for screws, blades, or attachments that are easy to lose in a move.
Sort Pantry Items Before You Pack Anything
Go through your pantry and fridge a few days before the move and decide what’s actually worth transporting. Opened bags of flour, sugar, and cereal can spill and attract pests, so transfer them into sealed containers or ziplock bags before boxing them up. Canned goods are heavy but sturdy, so they can go in smaller boxes without much padding.
Perishables, frozen food, and anything in glass jars with liquid should be used up, given away, or transported separately in a cooler. Movers generally won’t transport perishable food, so plan to eat down your fridge and freezer in the two weeks leading up to your move.
Know What Movers Won’t Take
Professional movers can’t legally transport certain household items, and your kitchen probably has a few of them. This typically includes propane tanks, lighter fluid, aerosol cans, and cleaning products that are flammable or pressurized. Open containers of liquid, perishable food, and anything that could leak also usually get left off the truck.
Check with your moving company ahead of time for their specific restricted items list, since it can vary slightly. Planning around these restrictions early means you won’t be scrambling to find a home for a bottle of cooking oil or a can of oven cleaner on moving day.
Label Every Box by Room and Priority
A clear labeling system saves hours of confusion when boxes come off the truck. Write the destination room on at least two sides of each box, along with a short description of the contents. Consider a simple priority system too, marking boxes you’ll need to unpack first, like the coffee maker and a few dishes, so your first night in the new place is less chaotic.
If you’re moving into a condo or apartment with a shared elevator, labeling also helps movers move efficiently in tight hallways and stairwells, which matters when building management gives you a limited booking window. For a full move, not just the kitchen, our residential moving services team can walk you through room-by-room prep so nothing gets missed.
Ready to Make Your Move Easier?
Packing a kitchen carefully takes time, but you don’t have to do it alone. Whether you need help with a few fragile boxes or the entire move, our West Island-based team handles it with transparent pricing and careful attention to every box. Get a free estimate and let us help you plan a move that goes smoothly from the first box to the last.