How to pack dishes so nothing breaks

The kitchen is the room where you hear the clink when a box is set down too hard. The cause is almost always the same: dishes stacked flat, empty space inside the box and something heavy loaded on top. All three are easy to avoid. Watch the one-minute video first, then work through your own kitchen in the order below.

• 0:00Padding on the bottom of the box
• 0:12Every item in its own wrap
• 0:24Plates on edge
• 0:36Glasses upright
• 0:48Fill the gaps and label the box

The five steps in the video

1. Padding on the bottom. A 5–8 cm layer of crumpled paper on the base of the box. It absorbs the knocks on the stairs and in the truck.
2. Every item in its own wrap. Each plate, glass or cup gets its own sheet. Two bare plates touching is the pair that chips.
3. Plates on edge. Vertical, like records on a shelf, never in a flat stack. A plate standing on its rim takes many times more pressure.
4. Glasses upright. Rim up, with the stem of a wine glass wrapped separately. The side of a glass is not its strongest part.
5. Fill the gaps and label. Paper in every space until nothing moves, then FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP on the lid.

Materials: what you need

Packing paper. White tissue paper or unprinted wrapping paper is the best wrap. Newspaper works as filler on the bottom of the box and in the gaps, but not as a wrap: the ink rubs off onto light porcelain and glass, and every dish has to be washed before it goes in the cupboard.

Bubble wrap. For glasses, stemware and thin ceramic bowls. Bubbles against the dish, tape on the plastic, never on the dish. One roll covers the most delicate pieces in an ordinary kitchen; paper does the rest.

Cell dividers. A cardboard grid that splits the box into glass-sized compartments. Not essential, but if you own a lot of glasses it speeds up packing and removes the guesswork.

A small box. The most important choice. A large box full of plates weighs 30 kg and its bottom gives out on the stairs. Dishes go in a small or medium box — our rental box is 100 litres, lidded and stackable, which is exactly right.

Plus wide packing tape, a black marker and time. Pack the dishes a week before the move, not on moving morning.

Technique by type of dish

Plates

Wrap each plate in paper and place it in the box on its edge. Large dinner plates first, then smaller ones, with an extra sheet of paper after every five plates. Pack the row tight enough that nothing wobbles. If they do not all fit in one box, do not stack a second layer of plates on top — put something light there instead.

Bowls

Bowls can be nested with a sheet of paper between each one, three or four to a stack at most. The stack goes into the box upside down or on its edge. Thin-walled ceramic bowls are wrapped individually like plates.

Glasses and stemware

Crumple paper inside the glass, then wrap the outside. For wine glasses wrap the stem first, then the whole glass. Glasses are packed upright, rim up, and always as the top layer of the box: heavier bowls or cups underneath, glasses on top. A glass never lies on its side.

Cups and mugs

The handle is the weakest point of a cup. Wrap the handle first with a small strip of paper, then the whole cup. Cups go into the box upside down in a single layer, with paper on top so the lid closes without a gap.

Pots and pans

Nest the pots with paper between them and wrap the lids separately, standing them upright beside the pots. A non-stick frying pan gets its own sheet of paper on the cooking surface so the next pan cannot scratch it. Pots are heavy: they go on the bottom of the box, preferably in a box of their own, with light plastic containers and tea towels on top.

Knives

A loose knife in a box is a hazard for whoever packs and whoever unpacks. Wrap the blade in several layers of paper or a folded piece of cardboard, tape the wrap shut and pack the knives with the blades pointing the same way. Write KNIVES on the side of the box. A knife block can be wrapped as it is, knives in place, held with cling film or tape.

Small appliances

The coffee maker, blender and toaster travel best in their original boxes if you still have them. Otherwise remove the loose parts — glass jug, blades, filter basket — and wrap them separately. Coil the cord, bag it and tape it to the side of the appliance so it is there when you unpack. Anything that holds water is emptied and dried before packing.

How many dishes per box — and the weight limit

The limit is 15 kg per box. That is what one mover carries safely on the stairs and what the bottom of the box will hold. In practice a 100-litre box takes about 20–25 wrapped plates or 12–16 glasses with filler, and that already approaches the limit. Lift the box before you close the lid: if it feels like a box of books, split it in two. A typical two-room kitchen takes 8–12 boxes — for a closer estimate, see the table on our box rental page.

Labelling: FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP

The label is not a formality, it is an instruction to the person carrying the box. Write FRAGILE on two sides and the lid so it shows in a stack from any direction. Add THIS SIDE UP and an arrow, because a box of glasses on its side loses the whole benefit of upright packing. A third line gives the room and contents, for example KITCHEN – GLASSES. Movers read the labels and load accordingly; an unlabelled box is an ordinary box to them. In Finland you will see the same words as SÄRKYVÄÄ and TÄMÄ PUOLI YLÖS.

Where dish boxes go in the truck

Fragile boxes are loaded as the top layer of the load or on top of heavy, flat-bottomed boxes — never under a sofa or mattress and never loose on the floor. No empty space is left around the box, so it cannot slide when the truck brakes; a moving blanket between the boxes and the furniture is enough. If you pack yourself, gather the FRAGILE boxes in one spot by the front door: that way they are loaded last and unloaded first.

Unpacking order in the new kitchen

1. Open the everyday box first: coffee cups, a few plates, a knife and a pot. Mark it DAILY when you pack so it is found at once.
2. Unpack one box at a time onto the counter and check each dish before it goes in the cupboard. Photograph any damage straight away.
3. Used paper goes back into the empty box — it keeps the new kitchen tidy and goes out to paper recycling in one trip.
4. Wash glasses and porcelain once they have warmed up. Stack the empty rental boxes with the lids on by the door; we collect them on the agreed day.

Frequently asked

With the dishes packed like this, the rest of the kitchen is easy. Our quick moving tips cover the other rooms, and once the boxes are ready, request a quote — we usually reply within the hour.