Ask five moving companies how many boxes you need and you'll get five different answers. After hundreds of local moves, here's the math that actually holds up.
The baseline: 10–12 bins per bedroom
A typical furnished bedroom — clothes, bedding, books, the closet you forgot about — fills 10 to 12 of our bins. Each bin is 27" × 17" × 12" (18.75 gallons) — right in line with a standard large cardboard box, so if you've moved with cardboard before, your old count translates nearly one-to-one.
The rooms that break the estimate
Kitchens are the biggest surprise: plan on 8–10 bins for a full kitchen, because dishes and small appliances need loose packing to survive the truck. Home offices run 4–6. Garages and basements are the wildcard — honest answer: walk in, count the shelving units, and budget 3–4 bins per loaded shelf.
What the packages assume
Our Studio package (15 bins) covers a studio with room to spare, and the 1-Bedroom (30 bins) adds a modest kitchen and living room. Three bedrooms of people accumulate more per room — that's why the 3-Bedroom package jumps to 65 bins, not 60. The 4- and 5-Bedroom packages (85 and 100 bins) are sized for a full family house with a garage.
When in doubt, size up one
Running out of boxes mid-pack is the single most common moving-day delay we see. The price difference between adjacent packages is small compared to a second delivery trip — and unused bins just ride back with the pickup. If you're between sizes, take the bigger one.
Still unsure? Use the home-size recommender on our pricing page, or call us — we'll talk through your rooms in five minutes.