How to pack a kitchen so nothing breaks

Almost every breakage we hear about happened in the kitchen, and almost always for the same reason. Plates were packed flat. Stacked flat, a plate takes the whole weight of the plates above it, and one bump in the truck cracks the lot.

Plates go on edge

Stand plates on their edge, like records in a crate, with a tea towel or a sheet of paper between each one. On edge, a plate flexes and survives. Fill the row snugly so nothing can shift, and keep plate crates to about half depth so you can still lift them.

Glassware and stemware

Wrap each glass in paper or a tea towel, stand them upright, and pack them into a crate as one tight layer rather than stacking them. Stemware goes in last with something soft packed around the bowls. Never lay a wine glass on its side under weight.

Use your linen as packing material

You are moving towels and tea towels anyway, so use them. It saves buying paper, it fills gaps, and it means fewer crates overall. The only exception is anything oily or dusty from the back of a pantry, which goes in a bag first.

Knives, pans and appliances

• Knives: blade into a folded tea towel, tape the roll, then label it. Do not leave a loose blade in a crate.
• Pans: nest them with a cloth between each, heaviest at the bottom of the crate.
• Appliances: run the kettle and coffee machine dry, empty water tanks, tape loose lids shut.
• Cables: bag each one with a note saying what it belongs to.

The pantry rule

Eat it or bin it. Open packets, half bags of flour and mystery jars are not worth a crate. Anything liquid gets bagged, upright, in a crate of its own, so a leak does not become a linen problem.

How many crates a kitchen takes

Budget 8 to 12 crates for an average Sydney kitchen, more if you cook seriously or own a lot of glassware. Pack it first if you can eat out for a few nights, or last if you cannot, and unpack it first at the other end. A working kitchen makes a strange house feel like home much faster than a made bed does.