Four Ways to Tell How Many Cardboard Boxes You Really Need

If you need to buy boxes for a residential move, how can you tell how many you need?

Cardboard boxes are a staple of any residential move. But how can you tell how many you really need? They don’t come cheap, as you can expect to pay several dollars or more for each, depending on the size and features of the box. Therefore, you might want to buy as few as possible.

On the other hand, you can probably imagine the frustration if you are just a few boxes short of packing up all the contents left in your home. To avoid this frustrating scenario, you’ll want to carefully calculate how many boxes you need. Keep reading for four factors to consider when determining how many boxes your move requires.

Rough Guidelines

A very, very rough rule of thumb is that you’ll need about 30 boxes for every bedroom your home has. But this is subject to adjustment depending on several variables.

Variable #1: Type of Home

A detached home will generally need more boxes than an apartment or condominium, even if the number of bedrooms is the same. This is because detached homes often have larger rooms and may even have an additional building, such as a garage. This will add to the number of items that need packing.

Variable #2: Lifestyle

Are you someone who likes to collect things? Or maybe you consider yourself a pack rat? If so, you’ll need more boxes than someone who lives a minimalist lifestyle.

Variable #3: Number of People Living in Your Home

Just because your home has a lot of bedrooms or square footage, that doesn’t automatically mean you need more boxes. If you’re the only person living in a five bedroom, 5,000 square foot home, you will probably need fewer boxes than a family of four living in a 3,500 square foot home with four bedrooms.

Variable #4: Size of Boxes

The bigger the box, the more stuff you can put inside. So, if you have one box that has twice the volume as a smaller box, you’ll need two smaller boxes for every large box. But this ratio is subject to change, depending on what you put in the box. For instance, you cannot completely fill a large box – one that is roughly 20 inches on each side – with textbooks. If you did, it would be almost impossible for one person to move and you would likely tear the box during transport.

If you want extra guidance for figuring out how many cardboard boxes you’ll need for your residential move, think about giving our moving professionals at Nilson Van and Storage a call today.