Clearing the counters first
We start with whatever is sitting out on the counters, since that is what gets left behind or tossed into a box at the last minute otherwise. Small appliances and cutting boards get wrapped and boxed before we touch a single cabinet.
Clearing the counters gives us a flat surface to stage boxes as we fill them, which speeds up everything that comes after. A cluttered counter slows the whole kitchen down, so it is always the first thing we tackle.
Dishes, glasses, and anything with a lid
Plates get wrapped flat and loaded on their edge inside the box, never stacked flat on top of each other, since a tall stack of flat plates cracks under its own weight the first time the truck hits a rough patch of road. Glasses and mugs get wrapped individually and stood upright with paper packed into every gap.
Anything with a lid, a spice jar, a mason jar from the pantry, gets the lid taped shut or the two pieces wrapped apart, since a loose lid is one of the most common reasons a box arrives with a mess inside it.
Small appliances and their cords
A toaster or a coffee maker rides fine on its own, but a cord left coiled loosely around the base tends to snag on whatever gets packed next to it. We wrap each cord flat against the appliance before it goes into the box.
Anything with a glass carafe or a removable tray gets that piece wrapped on its own and padded on both sides, since glass is the one kitchen material that breaks quietly if it spends the ride touching another hard surface.
The pantry shelf nobody thinks about
Open bags of flour, rice, or anything sold in a box rather than a sealed container get bagged and sealed shut before they go into a moving box, since a torn bag of flour in transit ends up coating everything else packed around it.
Canned goods are heavy and stack well, so they usually go into a smaller box lined with something that can catch a can that has started to rust or weep a little at the seam.
Loading the kitchen boxes onto the truck
Kitchen boxes are some of the heaviest in the whole house pound for pound, so they go in low and near the front of the load rather than stacked on top of lighter boxes. We mark every kitchen box clearly so whoever unloads it knows which ones need to be set down with care.
If you are packing the kitchen yourself before we arrive, label each box with the room it belongs in and whether it holds glass, and we will treat it with the same care we give the boxes our own crew packs.