Packing Services near you

With full packing, the crew packs the entire home, from the kitchen cupboards to the storage room, and nothing is left for you but the bag you keep with you. It's the most complete option and the one that puts the most responsibility on the mover, since the crew chose how each item was wrapped. Partial packing covers only certain rooms or categories, most often the kitchen, fragile pieces, artwork, lamps and mirrors, while you box up clothing, books and linens yourself.

Unpacking is a separate service. The lighter version means the crew opens the boxes, sets items out on counters, tables and beds, and takes away the paper and cartons; the fuller version includes putting dishes in cupboards, making beds and hanging clothes. Say which one you want before the estimate, since the time involved is very different.

Packing time depends less on the size of a home than on how much is in it. A sparsely furnished condo packs quickly; a family house with a full kitchen, a finished basement and years of books, tools and collections takes far longer. During the survey, open cupboards, closets and storage rooms so the estimator can see what needs wrapping, and point out anything that needs special care, such as a glass tabletop, a chandelier or a large painting.

The inventory then does double duty. It sets the quote and the number of packers, and on moving day it becomes the checklist of what left the house. Ask for a numbered box count or an itemized list you can check at delivery, and take your own photos of valuable items before they're wrapped.

Full packing usually happens the day before the truck is loaded, and a large home may need more time than that. Partial packing of a kitchen or a few fragile pieces is often done the same morning, just before loading. Book packing together with the move itself, especially in busy seasons, because packers usually come from the same crews.

Fragile pieces are where professional packing earns its keep. Packers wrap each plate and glass individually, stand plates on edge, fill every gap so nothing shifts, and build or order custom crates for pieces that won't fit a standard box, such as a marble top, a large mirror or a sculpture. Framed art and mirrors travel in telescoping picture boxes with corner protectors.

Electronics are safest in their original boxes if you kept them. Otherwise, packers wrap screens in padding, keep them upright and tag each cable with the device it belongs to. Before packing day, back up your computers and phones, and photograph the back of the television and the network equipment so you can reconnect everything. If you'd rather pack these things yourself, read the section on liability first.

Every mover has a list of items it won't pack, transport or store, and it's worth asking for it before packing day so nothing is left behind by surprise. The Office of Consumer Affairs gives live plants, certain food products and flammable items as examples.

Who packed a box matters when something inside it breaks. The Office of Consumer Affairs notes that a mover is generally not liable for goods you packed yourself, and that basic liability is calculated by weight rather than value. When the crew packs a box, you're in a stronger position to claim if its contents arrive broken, within the limits of the protection you chose.

If you pack part of the home yourself, leave the fragile and valuable things to the crew, and expect the mover to note your own boxes as packed by the owner on the inventory. At delivery, check the box count against the list, open any carton with visible damage right away, and write down any problem on the paperwork before signing.