What Packing Materials Do You Actually Need to Move House

The packing materials you actually need to move house come down to a short list: small, medium and large boxes, a couple of wardrobe boxes, strong packing tape, butcher's paper, bubble wrap and a marker. Everything else is optional. The mistake most people make is over-buying boxes they never fill and under-buying tape and paper, then running out mid-pack. This guide tells you exactly what to get and how much, so your first packing session does not stall.

Key takeaways

• The core kit: 3 box sizes, wardrobe boxes, tape, paper, bubble wrap, a marker.
• Match box size to weight: heavy in small, light and bulky in large.
• Rough guide: 1 tape roll per 15 boxes, 1 kg paper per 10 boxes, 1 bubble roll per 20.
• Do not over-buy; run your home through the packing box calculator first.
• Save on boxes with our free boxes in Adelaide guide.

The core packing kit

Boxes, in three sizes plus wardrobe

Boxes are the foundation, and size matters more than most people realise:

• Small boxes for heavy, dense items: books, tinned food, tools, crockery. A small box caps the weight so it stays liftable and the base does not fail.
• Medium boxes for the everyday middle ground: kitchen gear, toys, pantry, shoes, general household items. This is the workhorse size, so you will need the most of these.
• Large boxes for light and bulky items only: doonas, pillows, cushions, soft toys, lampshades. Never fill a large box with anything heavy or you will not be able to lift it.
• Wardrobe boxes with a hanging rail, so clothes transfer straight off the wardrobe still on their hangers. A couple per bedroom saves hours of folding and re-hanging.

To get the exact count for your home instead of guessing, run your details through the packing box calculator. It breaks down small, medium, large and wardrobe boxes by home size, occupants and how much stuff you own.

Tape, and plenty of it

Buy proper packing tape, not sticky tape from the kitchen drawer. You will use far more than you expect, because every box needs the base and lid sealed in an H pattern (a strip down the centre seam and one across each edge). A rough rule is one roll per 15 boxes, with a minimum of 2 rolls even for a small move. A tape gun makes it faster and less painful on the hands, but is not essential.

Butcher's or packing paper

Plain paper does two jobs: wrapping breakables and filling gaps so nothing shifts. Butcher's paper is clean and does not transfer ink, unlike newspaper, which marks light crockery and glass. Budget around 1 kg of paper per 10 boxes. It is cheap and you would rather have too much than run out mid-wrap.

Bubble wrap

Reserve bubble wrap for the genuinely fragile: glassware, framed art, mirrors, ceramics and electronics. It is more expensive than paper, so you do not want to wrap everything in it. A roll per 20 boxes is a fair starting point, more if you have a lot of glassware. Our fragile items guide shows exactly where it earns its cost.

A marker (and stickers)

A thick permanent marker is a packing essential, not an afterthought. Label every box on the top and one side. Coloured stickers for room-coding speed up the unload even more, as our labelling guide explains.

The nice-to-haves

These are not essential but help on bigger moves:

• Cell dividers for glasses and stemware, turning one box into safe compartments.
• Mattress and lounge covers to keep upholstery clean in the truck.
• Furniture blankets to protect timber and screens (most crews bring their own).
• Zip-lock bags for screws, cables and small parts when you disassemble furniture, covered in our furniture disassembly guide.
• Stretch wrap for holding drawers shut and bundling awkward items.

How much of each? A quick reference

For an average home, scale from these ratios rather than eyeballing it:

• Tape: 1 roll per 15 boxes, minimum 2 rolls.
• Paper: 1 kg per 10 boxes.
• Bubble wrap: 1 roll per 20 boxes, minimum 1.
• Markers: 2, so a lost one does not stop you.

The packing box calculator does this maths for you and outputs a full supplies list alongside the box count.

Where to buy and where to save

New boxes from a removal supplier or hardware store are consistent, clean and strong, which matters for stacking. But you do not need to buy everything new. Boxes are the easiest item to source free or cheap around Adelaide, and our guide on where to get free or cheap moving boxes in Adelaide lists the best spots. Just make sure free boxes are clean, dry and strong enough to stack, because a collapsing box is no saving at all.

Or skip the buying entirely

If sourcing, measuring and packing is not how you want to spend your weekends, many Adelaide crews offer a full packing service that includes all the materials. You get professional-grade boxes and wrapping, and often the packing is covered by the mover's insurance. Weigh it up in our guide on whether professional packing is worth it.

Whatever you decide, the move itself needs a reliable crew. Get matched with vetted, insured Adelaide removalists and compare 3 free quotes, no obligation. You handle the boxes, they handle the truck.