Free moving box calculator. Estimate how many small, medium and large boxes plus tape rolls you need from bedrooms, other rooms and storage rooms.
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Each bedroom adds 8 small, 12 medium and 4 large boxes. Each other room, such as a kitchen, living room, dining room or bathroom, adds 6 small, 10 medium and 4 large boxes. Each garage or storage room adds 4 small, 8 medium and 10 large boxes, since storage holds bulky, light items. Tape rolls are total boxes divided by 25, rounded up.
Room count tracks belongings better than floor area alone, because every room holds its own set of items. A bedroom holds clothes, bedding and personal items, so it earns 24 boxes. An other room, such as a kitchen or living room, holds a mix of heavy and general items, so it earns 20 boxes. A garage or storage room holds tools and bulky seasonal items, so it earns 22 boxes weighted toward large boxes. Add the rooms up, split by size, and tape follows at one roll per 25 boxes.
Count your bedrooms, then count every other room you will pack, including the kitchen, living room, dining room and each bathroom. Count garage, basement or attic storage as storage rooms. Enter the three numbers and read off small, medium and large boxes, the total, and tape rolls. Buy a few extra boxes beyond the estimate, since running out on moving day costs more time than the spare boxes cost.
Moving guides agree on the shape of the answer even when their totals differ. Kitchens run 8 to 15 boxes, bedrooms run 5 to 15 boxes each, living rooms run 5 to 15, and bathrooms run 2 to 5 small boxes. A studio apartment needs roughly 10 to 20 boxes, a 1 bedroom home roughly 20 to 30, a 2 bedroom home roughly 30 to 45, and a 3 bedroom home roughly 50 to 70 in the lighter guides, with room-by-room counts running higher. This calculator sits in the middle of those ranges, so it plans for a normal household rather than a minimalist one.
Small boxes, about 1.5 cubic feet, suit heavy items: books, tools, canned goods and dense kitchen items, kept under about 40 lb so they stay liftable. Medium boxes, about 3 cubic feet, are the workhorse: kitchenware, toys, clothes and general household goods. Large boxes, about 4.5 cubic feet, suit light, bulky items: bedding, pillows, towels and lampshades. Never pack books in a large box, since it becomes too heavy to lift safely.
With 2 bedrooms, 3 other rooms and 1 storage room, small boxes come to 16 plus 18 plus 4, which is 38. Medium boxes come to 24 plus 30 plus 8, which is 62. Large boxes come to 8 plus 12 plus 10, which is 30. The total is 130 boxes, and tape is 130 divided by 25, rounded up to 6 rolls. A 2 bedroom move on this basis needs about 130 boxes, which matches the fuller room-by-room guides rather than the lightest estimates.
A studio apartment with no separate bedroom, 2 other rooms and no storage needs 12 small, 20 medium and 8 large boxes, 40 in total, plus 2 tape rolls. A 3 bedroom house with 4 other rooms and 1 storage room needs 52 small, 84 medium and 38 large boxes, 174 in total, plus 7 tape rolls. If your home is heavily furnished or you have lived there for many years, round up, since belongings accumulate in closets and storage.
Wardrobe boxes moving hanging clothes directly from closet to box are worth adding separately: plan 1 to 2 per bedroom closet, or 2 to 3 for a large closet. Tape runs at about one roll per 25 boxes in this calculator, and other guides suggest one roll per 10 to 15 boxes for heavier taping, so buy an extra roll if you double-tape box bottoms. Add packing paper for wrapping, bubble wrap for fragile items, and markers for labelling every box by room.
The cheapest box is the one you never pack, so declutter room by room before buying boxes and donate or discard what you will not use. Pack soft items such as clothing and linens inside suitcases and drawers you are already moving. Fill boxes to about three quarters with heavy items, label each box with its room and a short contents note, and keep a first-night box aside with bedding, toiletries and chargers.
A 1 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room and bathroom typically needs about 40 to 60 boxes on a room-by-room count, split roughly into small, medium and large boxes. Lighter guides quote 20 to 30, which suits a minimalist household with little storage.
A 2 bedroom home with a kitchen, living room and bathroom typically needs around 100 to 130 boxes on a full room-by-room count. Lighter estimates of 30 to 45 boxes assume far fewer rooms and no garage, so count your rooms rather than trusting a single headline number.
A 3 bedroom house with four other rooms and a storage room needs about 174 boxes on this calculator: 52 small, 84 medium and 38 large. Lighter guides quote 50 to 70, which fits a lightly furnished home; a long-settled family home usually needs more.
A studio apartment typically needs 10 to 20 boxes on light guides and about 40 boxes on a full room-by-room count with a kitchen and bathroom included. Count the kitchen and bathroom separately, since they hold more than a single room estimate suggests.
Buy a mix: small boxes for heavy items such as books, medium boxes for most household goods, and large boxes for light, bulky items such as bedding. Add wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes and dish-pack boxes for fragile kitchenware.
Plan about 24 boxes per bedroom on this calculator: 8 small, 12 medium and 4 large. Guides quote 5 to 25 boxes per bedroom depending on closet size and clutter, so add more for a bedroom with a large closet or a book collection.
Plan 1 to 2 wardrobe boxes per bedroom closet, or 2 to 3 for a large closet. Wardrobe boxes are counted separately from the small, medium and large totals in this calculator.
Plan about one roll of packing tape per 25 boxes, rounded up, which is 6 rolls for 130 boxes. If you double-tape every box bottom, buy one roll per 10 to 15 boxes instead, and add a tape dispenser.