The Moving Boxes Checklist: What You Actually Need for Your Move

Most people either buy too few boxes and end up on a second supply run mid-pack, or buy too many and are left with a stack of flat cardboard nobody wants. Neither is a good use of moving week. This checklist sets out exactly which boxes and packing materials you need, roughly how many, and where a ready-made kit works out cheaper than buying everything separately.

Key takeaways

• • A 2-bedroom home typically needs 25–35 boxes; a 3-bedroom needs closer to 40–55.
  • You need more than one box size: a Medium Moving Box, Large Moving Box, Wardrobe Box and Document Box each do a different job.
  • Storage King’s Complete Mover Kit bundles everything a 3-bedroom move needs for R1,950 — more than R500 cheaper than buying the same items individually.

How many moving boxes do you actually need?

There’s no single right number, but home size gives a workable starting range:

• Bachelor/1-bedroom: roughly 15–20 boxes
• 2-bedroom: roughly 25–35 boxes
• 3-bedroom: roughly 40–55 boxes
• 4-bedroom or larger: 55–75+ boxes

Treat these as a starting order, not a hard limit. Kitchens and books add boxes fast — a well-stocked kitchen alone can take 8–10 boxes on its own — while a garage or garden shed full of loose tools and equipment often needs more than people expect. A sparsely furnished home needs fewer. It’s worth buying slightly over your estimate rather than under. A few flattened spares cost nothing to keep, while an emergency box run on moving day costs you an afternoon.

The core box types (and what goes in each)

A single box size forces everything into either “too heavy to lift” or “too big for what’s inside it.” Storage King’s shop stocks four box types for exactly that reason:

• Medium Moving Box (R45, 450 × 300 × 300mm) — the workhorse box. Good for crockery, small kitchen items, books and anything dense enough that a larger box would be too heavy to carry once full.
• Large Moving Box (R60) — for lighter, bulkier items: linen, cushions, soft toys, lampshades. Anything you’d struggle to fit in a medium box but that won’t get dangerously heavy.
• Document Box (R75, 430 × 325 × 250mm) — sized for files and folders, with a shape built for stacking. Worth its own box rather than piling paperwork into a general one, especially for a home office.
• Wardrobe Box (R357) — a standing box with a metal hanger rail clipped across the top, so clothes travel on their hangers instead of being folded and creased. One per wardrobe is usually enough for a couple’s clothing.

A realistic mix for a 2-bedroom move: mostly medium boxes, a smaller number of large boxes for bulky-but-light items, one document box if there’s a home office, and a wardrobe box per bedroom with hanging clothes.

Beyond boxes: the packing materials that actually protect your stuff

Boxes hold your things; everything else in this list is what stops them arriving broken. It’s the part people underbuy most:

• Bubble wrap (20m roll, R390) and wrapping paper (R95) — bubble wrap for furniture edges and anything fragile, wrapping paper for crockery and glassware so pieces don’t rub against each other in the box.
• Aerothene (1.25m × 20m roll, R455) — a finer wrap for small breakables like ornaments and glassware, where full bubble wrap is overkill.
• Moving blankets (R189) and furniture covers (R190) — for couches, headboards and anything with a finish worth protecting from scuffs during loading.
• Mattress covers (R85) — a dust and stain barrier for mattresses in transit, which otherwise pick up marks from the truck or storage unit floor.
• Clear tape and a tape dispenser (R50 / R175), plus strapping rope (R130) and a cutting blade (R80) — for sealing boxes properly the first time, rather than re-taping ones that split open mid-move.
• A black marker and fragile stickers — label contents and destination room on every box as you seal it, and flag anything breakable clearly enough that it gets handled that way.

Skipping this list is the single biggest reason boxes arrive damaged. A box is only as protective as what’s wrapped around the item inside it.

Buying a kit vs buying separately

Storage King sells two pre-packed kits, and the maths on them is worth knowing before you build a trolley of individual items:

Complete Mover Kit — R1,950. Built for an average 3-bedroom home: 2 document boxes, 8 medium boxes, 10 large boxes, wrapping paper, a bubble wrap roll, 4 tape rolls, 3 mattress covers, 2 furniture covers, a marker and fragile labels. Buying those same items individually from the shop adds up to roughly R2,470 — the kit saves more than R500.

Student Mover Kit — R950. A smaller bundle (5 medium boxes, 6 large boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, tape, a mattress cover and a marker) aimed at a single room or a holiday move. Bought separately, the same items come to around R1,245 — the kit saves close to R300.

If your move is close to either bundle’s size, the kit is the cheaper route by a meaningful margin. If your home is bigger or smaller than either, it’s usually still worth starting from a kit and topping up individual boxes to match, rather than pricing everything out item by item.

Packing smarter, not just buying more

The right boxes and materials only pay off if the packing itself is done properly: room by room, fragile items wrapped individually, and heavier boxes kept small enough to actually lift. Storage King’s packing tips guide covers the process end to end, from decluttering before you pack through to keeping an essentials box separate from the rest.

FAQ

How many boxes do I need to move a 2-bedroom house?

As a starting point, budget for 25–35 boxes, mostly medium-sized. Kitchens, bookshelves and any home office push that number up.

Do I actually need a wardrobe box, or can I just fold everything?

You don’t need one, but it saves the time of folding and reironing a full wardrobe. One wardrobe box per bedroom with hanging clothes is usually enough.

Where can I buy moving boxes and packing supplies in South Africa?

Storage King’s online shop stocks boxes, protective materials and pre-packed kits, deliverable to support a self-managed move or alongside a Storage King unit.

Is it cheaper to buy a kit or buy boxes and materials separately?

For a move close to a 3-bedroom or single-room size, the Complete Mover Kit or Student Mover Kit works out cheaper than buying the same items one by one — often by R300–R500.

Getting your supplies sorted

Once you know roughly how many boxes and how much protective material your move needs, the fastest route is a pre-packed kit topped up with whatever extra boxes your home size calls for. Browse the full range in Storage King’s shop, or see how packing supplies fit into a fully managed move on the packaging services page.