Moving Box Calculator and Printable Moving Checklist

Moving Checklist and Box Estimator

Estimate how many moving boxes, rolls of tape and packs of paper you need, which truck size fits, and follow a printable 8-week moving checklist.

Units Metric (m, m³) Imperial (ft, cu ft)

Home size

How much stuff?

Moving day (optional)

Rooms and boxes per room

Choosing a home size fills in the number of rooms; adjust them to your home. The box and furniture columns are editable assumptions for one room of each type.

Room	Number	Small boxes	Medium boxes	Large boxes	Wardrobe boxes	Furniture (m³)
Bedroom	Bedroom: Number	Bedroom: Small boxes	Bedroom: Medium boxes	Bedroom: Large boxes	Bedroom: Wardrobe boxes	Bedroom: Furniture
Living room	Living room: Number	Living room: Small boxes	Living room: Medium boxes	Living room: Large boxes	Living room: Wardrobe boxes	Living room: Furniture
Dining room	Dining room: Number	Dining room: Small boxes	Dining room: Medium boxes	Dining room: Large boxes	Dining room: Wardrobe boxes	Dining room: Furniture
Kitchen	Kitchen: Number	Kitchen: Small boxes	Kitchen: Medium boxes	Kitchen: Large boxes	Kitchen: Wardrobe boxes	Kitchen: Furniture
Bathroom	Bathroom: Number	Bathroom: Small boxes	Bathroom: Medium boxes	Bathroom: Large boxes	Bathroom: Wardrobe boxes	Bathroom: Furniture
Home office	Home office: Number	Home office: Small boxes	Home office: Medium boxes	Home office: Large boxes	Home office: Wardrobe boxes	Home office: Furniture
Garage, basement or attic	Garage, basement or attic: Number	Garage, basement or attic: Small boxes	Garage, basement or attic: Medium boxes	Garage, basement or attic: Large boxes	Garage, basement or attic: Wardrobe boxes	Garage, basement or attic: Furniture

Supplies and truck assumptions

Tape per box (m)

Tape roll length (m)

Paper sheets per box

Sheets per pack

Usable truck space (%)

Box volumes used: small 1.5 cu ft (≈ 42 L, books and dishes), medium 3 cu ft (≈ 85 L), large 4.5 cu ft (≈ 127 L, light bulky items), wardrobe 10 cu ft (≈ 283 L, hanging clothes).

Small boxes: –
Medium boxes: –
Large boxes: –
Wardrobe boxes: –
Total boxes: –
Packing tape: –
Packing paper: –
Volume to move: –
Suggested vehicle: –

Moving checklist

Ticks are saved in this browser. Enter your moving day above to see a date for each step.

Estimates based on typical rules of thumb. The real number of boxes depends on what you own: count a few cupboards to check, and confirm the vehicle size with the rental company or mover.

How to use the moving box calculator

Pick your Home size, from Studio to 4+ bedrooms. The table Rooms and boxes per room fills in a typical number of each room; change the Number column to match your home, for example two bathrooms or a home office.
Set How much stuff?: Minimalist (−25 %), Average or Lots of belongings (+35 %).
Read the result: Small boxes, Medium boxes, Large boxes, Wardrobe boxes, the Total boxes, the Packing tape and Packing paper to buy, the Volume to move and the Suggested vehicle. The calculation is detailed step by step below the figures.
Every assumption is editable: the boxes and furniture volume of one room of each type, the Tape per box, the Tape roll length, the Paper sheets per box, the Sheets per pack and the Usable truck space (%). Default assumptions puts them back.
Enter your Moving day (optional) to date each step of the Moving checklist. Ticks are saved in your browser, so you can come back to the page as the move approaches. Print checklist prints the results and the checklist on their own, Download as text and Copy export them.

How the estimate works

Each room type has a typical content, in boxes of four sizes. A bedroom, for instance, counts 3 small, 5 medium, 3 large and 1 wardrobe box by default; a kitchen, 8 small (plates and glasses are heavy, so they go in small boxes), 8 medium and 2 large. The tool multiplies these by the number of rooms and by the packing level, then rounds up:

Boxes = Σ rooms × boxes per room × packing level

For the truck, it adds the volume of the boxes (small 1.5 cu ft ≈ 42 L, medium 3 cu ft ≈ 85 L, large 4.5 cu ft ≈ 127 L, wardrobe 10 cu ft ≈ 283 L) to a furniture volume per room, then divides by the share of the cargo space you can really fill, 85 % by default, because furniture never stacks perfectly:

Truck capacity needed = (box volume + furniture volume) ÷ usable space

Example with the default 2-bedroom home: 22 small, 28 medium, 13 large and 2 wardrobe boxes, 65 in all, or about 5.5 m³. With 17.2 m³ of furniture, the load is 22.7 m³, which needs about 26.7 m³ of truck: a 20 ft truck (about 28.5 m³). With 3 m of tape per box, 65 boxes take 195 m of tape, 4 rolls of 50 m.

Tips for packing

Heavy items in small boxes, light items in large ones: a large box of books is too heavy to carry safely.
Tape the bottom of each box with an H pattern (one strip along the seam, one across each edge) and do the same on top. That is where the 3 m per box comes from.
Label each box on two sides with its room and a short list of contents, and number them so you can count them at both ends.
Order about 10 % more boxes than the estimate: the last day always needs a few more.

Frequently asked questions

How many boxes does a 1-bedroom apartment need?

With the default assumptions, about 47: 17 small, 20 medium, 9 large and 1 wardrobe box. A minimalist household needs about a quarter less, and a well-stocked one about a third more.

What size truck do I need?

The tool compares the needed capacity with typical rental vehicles: a cargo van (about 7 m³), a 10–12 ft truck (11.5 m³), a 15–17 ft truck (21.5 m³), a 20 ft truck (28.5 m³) and a 26 ft truck (47.5 m³). Beyond that, it suggests several trips or a professional mover. Check the exact volume with the rental company.

Why are wardrobe boxes counted separately?

They let hanging clothes travel on their hangers. They are tall and light, and take much more space than their weight suggests, so they matter for the truck size.

Are my ticks and dates saved?

Yes, in your browser’s local storage on this device only. Nothing is sent to a server. Untick all clears the ticks.

When should I start packing?

Start with rarely used items about six weeks before, and pack a room every day or two in the last two weeks. Keep an essentials box for the first night.