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Packing Calculator
Use this free packing calculator to estimate how many moving boxes and supplies you need before moving day. Tell it how many bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms you have, tick the extra rooms, and it works out the small, medium, large, and wardrobe boxes, plus tape, bubble wrap, and furniture pads.
Counts assume an average amount of stuff per room. Heavy collectors, book lovers, and hobby rooms should add a few extra boxes.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Small boxes (1.5 cu ft) | 14 |
| Medium boxes (3 cu ft) | 19 |
| Large boxes (4.5 cu ft) | 10 |
| Wardrobe boxes | 4 |
| Total boxes | 47 |
| Tape rolls (1 per 8 boxes) | 6 |
| Bubble wrap | 200 ft |
| Furniture pads | 5 |
| Markers | 2 |
How it works
Running out of boxes halfway through packing is the classic moving-day problem, and buying far too many is the expensive version of the same mistake. This calculator estimates by room, because rooms are the best guide to how much stuff a home actually holds: a bedroom holds clothes, bedding, and personal items; a kitchen holds heavy dishes and small appliances; a garage holds bulky, awkward things.
Each room type contributes a fixed set of boxes. A bedroom adds 3 small, 5 medium, 3 large, and 2 wardrobe boxes. A bathroom adds 2 small and 1 medium. A living room adds 2 small, 4 medium, and 2 large. A kitchen adds 4 small, 4 medium, and 2 large. Dining rooms, garages, and home offices add their own smaller sets. The calculator adds up every room you tick, so a 2-bedroom home with a kitchen comes out very differently from a 4-bedroom home with a garage.
Medium boxes = 5 per bedroom + 1 per bathroom + 4 per living room + 4 per kitchen + extras
Large boxes = 3 per bedroom + 2 per living room + 2 per kitchen + extras
Wardrobe boxes = 2 per bedroom
Box size matters as much as box count. Small boxes, about 1.5 cubic feet, are for heavy things: books, canned food, tools, and dishes. A large box full of books is too heavy to lift and can split, so heavy items always go in small boxes. Medium boxes, about 3 cubic feet, are the workhorses for clothes, toys, and kitchenware. Large boxes, about 4.5 cubic feet, are for light, bulky things: bedding, pillows, lampshades, and towels. Wardrobe boxes have a hanging bar, so clothes move on their hangers and arrive ready to hang.
Supplies are worked out from the box total. Tape is one roll per 8 boxes, rounded up, because each box needs its bottom and top sealed. Bubble wrap is 10 feet per large box plus 5 feet per medium box, rounded up to the nearest 25 feet, for wrapping dishes, glassware, and picture frames. Furniture pads are one for every two large boxes, to protect tables and dressers in the truck. Two markers cover labelling every box with its room and contents.
These are estimates for an average household. If your rooms are packed full, your shelves are double-stacked, or you have a hobby that fills a room — books, crafts, tools, sports gear — add 5 to 10 extra boxes of the matching size. It is far cheaper to buy a few spare boxes than to make a last-minute run to the store on moving day.
Worked example
You are moving out of a home with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, and a kitchen.
Step 1: Add the small boxes — 3 × 2 bedrooms (6) + 2 × 1 bathroom (2) + 2 × 1 living room (2) + 4 for the kitchen = 14 small boxes.
Step 2: Add the medium boxes — 5 × 2 (10) + 1 × 1 (1) + 4 × 1 (4) + 4 for the kitchen = 19 medium boxes.
Step 3: Add the large boxes — 3 × 2 (6) + 2 × 1 (2) + 2 for the kitchen = 10 large boxes.
Step 4: Add the wardrobe boxes — 2 × 2 bedrooms = 4 wardrobe boxes.
Step 5: Supplies — 47 boxes ÷ 8 = 5.9, so 6 tape rolls; bubble wrap is 10 × 10 + 5 × 19 = 195 feet, rounded up to 200 feet; furniture pads are 10 ÷ 2 = 5.
The result is 47 boxes in total — 14 small, 19 medium, 10 large, and 4 wardrobe — plus 6 tape rolls, 200 feet of bubble wrap, and 5 furniture pads. That is exactly what the calculator shows for these inputs.
FAQ
How many boxes do I need for a 2-bedroom home?
A typical 2-bedroom home with one bathroom, one living room, and a kitchen needs about 47 boxes: 14 small, 19 medium, 10 large, and 4 wardrobe boxes. Add a garage or a home office and the total rises to roughly 55 to 60 boxes. Homes with a lot of books or collections need more small boxes in particular.
What size moving box should books go in?
Books always go in small boxes. A large box full of books can weigh over 70 pounds, which is unsafe to lift and likely to split the bottom. Fill small boxes with books, dishes, canned food, and tools, and save large boxes for light, bulky items such as bedding, pillows, and lampshades.
How much tape do I need for moving?
Plan on one roll of packing tape for every 8 boxes, and round up. Each box needs tape along the bottom seam and the top seam, and a little extra for reinforcement. For 47 boxes that works out to 6 rolls. Cheap tape splits and peels, so buy proper packing tape rather than office tape.
Do I really need wardrobe boxes?
They are worth it for clothes you hang. A wardrobe box has a bar, so you move shirts, jackets, and dresses on their hangers and they arrive unwrinkled and ready to hang. The calculator allows 2 wardrobe boxes per bedroom. For a short move you can also bag hanging clothes in trash bags instead, but wardrobe boxes are sturdier and reusable.
How much bubble wrap should I buy?
This calculator allows 10 feet per large box and 5 feet per medium box, rounded up to the nearest 25 feet — 200 feet for a typical 2-bedroom move. That covers dishes, glasses, picture frames, and electronics. If you have a lot of fragile items, add an extra roll; newspaper and towels also work as free padding for less fragile pieces.