Key Takeaways
- You don’t have to choose between packing everything yourself and paying for all of it. Partial packing, where movers take the kitchen and the breakables, is the option most Orlando customers pick.
- A three-bedroom house usually comes to 60 to 100 boxes. The kitchen alone can take most of a day if you want the glassware to survive.
- Professional packing is quoted on the work involved: how much you want packed, how full the home is, and how many fragile pieces there are.
- Who packs a box matters if something breaks. Movers generally aren’t liable for damage caused by boxes you packed yourself, which is the strongest case for paying for fragile packing.
- Even with full packing, keep cash, jewelry, medication, documents and keys with you.
Most people budget one weekend for packing. Then it’s 11 p.m. the night before the truck arrives, they’re on box number 54, and the kitchen still hasn’t been touched.
Packing is the part of a move everyone underestimates, so it’s fair to ask whether paying someone else to do it is worth the money. Sometimes it clearly is. Sometimes it isn’t, and you’d be better off spending that money elsewhere. Here’s how to tell which one you are, from a crew that packs homes across Central Florida every week.
Your Four Options, From Everything to Nothing
Packing isn’t all or nothing. These are the four ways people usually split the job, and you can mix them:
- Full packing. The crew packs every room, closet and cabinet, usually the day before the move. You don’t touch a box.
- Partial packing. You do the easy rooms, and the crew takes the ones that eat time: the kitchen, the china cabinet, the garage and the home office. This is the most popular option by a wide margin.
- Fragile-only packing. Just the breakables: glassware, dishes, mirrors, framed art, lamps and TVs. You pack the rest.
- Unpacking. At the new place the crew empties the boxes, puts things on shelves and in cabinets, and takes every box and scrap of paper away. It’s the service people forget to ask about and are most glad they booked.
Doing it all yourself is the fifth option, and for some moves it’s the right one.
When Paying for Packing Is Worth It
Full or partial packing usually pays for itself in these situations:
- You’re moving a whole house. A three-bedroom home is typically 60 to 100 boxes. A crew that packs every day does that in a single day. Most families need two or three weekends of evenings.
- Your timeline is short. A job start date, a closing that moved, or a lease that ended early. When you have days instead of weeks, packing is the first thing to hand off. Our last-minute moving tips cover the rest of a rushed move.
- You own a lot of breakables. China, crystal, stemware, framed art and large mirrors take the most time to pack well and are the most expensive to get wrong.
- You’re both working full time, or there are small kids at home. The real cost of DIY packing is your evenings. If those are already spoken for, the boxes don’t get done.
- The garage is the job nobody wants. Tools, sports gear and patio furniture, packed in a Central Florida garage in the afternoon heat, is miserable work. It’s the room people most often hand to us.
When Doing It Yourself Makes Sense
Skip paid packing, or keep it to the fragile items, when:
- You’re moving a studio or one-bedroom apartment and you have a few weeks.
- Most of what you own is books, clothes, linens and things that don’t break.
- You’re downsizing and want to sort and declutter as you pack anyway. Going through things yourself is part of the point.
- Your budget is tight and you’d rather put the money toward the move itself.
If you’re packing yourself, a few things save the most time: start with the rooms you use least, label every box by the room it’s going to at the new place, and keep a separate first-night box with sheets, chargers, toiletries and a coffee maker. Clothes are the easiest win, and our guide on the best way to pack clothes for moving covers it.
The Detail Most People Miss: Who Packed the Box
Here’s the part that should weigh on your decision more than it usually does. If something arrives broken, it matters who put it in the box.
Movers generally aren’t responsible for damage to items you packed yourself when the packing was the cause. A plate that shattered because it went into a box loose, with no paper around it, is a packing problem, not a moving problem. That’s common across the industry, and it’s in our own terms and conditions.
That’s why fragile-only packing is such a popular middle ground. You save most of the money by packing the books and clothes yourself, and the things most likely to break get packed by people who do it every day.
What You Should Pack Yourself, Even With Full Packing
Some things should travel with you in your own car, no matter who packs the house:
- Cash, jewelry and small valuables
- Medication
- Passports, birth certificates, closing paperwork and other documents
- Keys, laptops and computer backups
- Small items of high sentimental value
And some things no mover will pack or carry: propane tanks, gasoline, paint, aerosols, fireworks, chemicals and perishable food. Plan to use them up, give them away, or move them yourself where it’s legal and safe to do so.
What Professional Packing Costs
There’s no honest flat price for packing, because two homes of the same size can differ by 30 boxes. A good mover quotes packing on the work involved and lists it separately from the move, so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. These are the things that move the number:
- How much you want packed. A fragile-only pack is a fraction of a full-house pack.
- The size of the home, and how full it is.
- Fragile and high-value pieces. China, crystal, art and anything that needs a custom crate take longer and use more material.
- Materials. Boxes, paper, bubble wrap, wardrobe boxes and dish barrels. Ask whether they’re included in the quote. With us they are, and we take the leftovers away.
- Unpacking. Priced separately, and you can usually decide on it later.
As a rough guide to timing, a one-bedroom apartment is often half a day of packing, and a three or four-bedroom house is usually a full day with a crew, scheduled the day before the move. For what the move itself costs, see our Orlando moving cost guide.
A Quick Way to Decide
| Your situation | What usually makes sense |
|---|---|
| Whole house, less than two weeks to go | Full packing |
| Whole house, plenty of time, busy evenings | Partial packing: kitchen, garage and fragile items |
| Apartment with lots of glassware or art | Fragile-only packing |
| Studio or one-bedroom, a few weeks out | Pack it yourself |
| You need to be working or living normally the day after | Add unpacking |
Still not sure? Tell us the size of your home and how much time you have. We’ll tell you honestly which parts are worth paying for, and which ones aren’t. Here’s how our packing and unpacking service works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth paying movers to pack?
For a whole house or a short timeline, usually yes. A crew packs in a day what takes most families several weekends, and you avoid the gap where damage to boxes you packed yourself usually isn’t covered. For a small apartment with time to spare, packing yourself is often the better value.
Can I pack some rooms myself and have movers pack the rest?
Yes. That’s called partial packing, and it’s the most common choice. Most people pack books, clothes and linens themselves and leave the kitchen, garage and fragile items to the crew.
How long does professional packing take?
A one-bedroom apartment is often half a day. A three or four-bedroom house is usually a full day with a crew, scheduled for the day before the move.
Do movers bring the boxes and packing supplies?
Most professional packing services include materials. Orlando Express Movers brings boxes, paper, bubble wrap, wardrobe boxes, dish barrels, mirror cartons and tape, and takes the leftovers away afterward.
What won’t movers pack?
Hazardous and flammable items such as propane tanks, gasoline, paint, aerosols, fireworks and chemicals, plus perishable food. You should also keep cash, jewelry, medication, documents and keys with you rather than in a box.
Packing doesn’t have to be the part of your move that falls apart. Hand off the rooms that eat your time, keep your valuables close, and label everything by where it’s going.
Orlando Express Movers is a licensed Florida moving company (Reg. IM2690) serving Central Florida since 2009. Tell us your home size and which rooms you want packed, and we’ll quote the packing separately so you see exactly what it costs.