How to Find the Number of Boxes You Need for Your Move. We Have a Trick

Even before you buy a bunch of cardboard boxes or try to find some free ones for your move, you'll first need to figure out how many you'll need to successfully move your stuff from your old address to your new one without ending up with too many boxes or not enough. 

While there are a few ways to figure out how many boxes you'll need, it's not as easy as just ballparking the number based on the size of each room. The amount of stuff in each room is more important than the size of it, and the type of housing you live in will also affect your box count. 

However, one of the easiest ways to determine the number of boxes you need for moving day relies on square footage, rather than number or size of the rooms in your dwelling. 

Read on to find out more and if you're looking for more moving tips, be sure to check out how to make your move more eco-friendly and seven must-have moving apps you should know about. 

Sizes and types of boxes

First, there are countless types and sizes of moving boxes, but here are the most common ones:

• Small boxes (about 16 by 12 by 12 inches): Put books, magazines, trinkets, small kitchen utensils like glasses or dishes, and other small items in this size box. 

• Medium boxes (about 18 by 16 by 18 inches): Use these boxes for office supplies, small kitchenware and decor. 

• Large boxes  (about 18 by 18 by 24 inches): Put bulkier items like towels, comforters, blankets, pillows and throws in these boxes. 

• Extra-large boxes (about 24 by 20 by 24 inches): Additional room gives another option for bulky, large or oddly shaped items.

• Wardrobe boxes: If you don't want to remove all your clothing from the hangers, take the items from your closet and put them directly in a wardrobe box, which features a closet pole and transports clothing -- hangers and all. 

• Dish barrel boxes: Use these boxes for fragile items like glassware or dishware. 

• TV boxes: Put your flatscreen in a TV box to keep it safe in transit. 

Of all the various box sizes, consider stocking up mostly on medium- to large-size boxes, and grabbing fewer smaller and extra-large boxes. 

Wardrobe boxes can generally fit about two feet of clothing -- the most common wardrobe boxes are 24 inches wide by 24 inches long, with varying heights. If you want to use wardrobe boxes, measure the width of the clothes in your closet and get one box for every two feet. Add an extra box if your clothes are packed very tightly.

A tip we spotted on Reddit was to place your clothes from your closet (hangers still on) into a large trash bag, then place the bag in an appropriately sized box. You could even go a step further and tear a hole at the bottom of the trash bag for the hanger hooks to fit through and tie or tape them together until you're ready to unpack. Yes, the clothes themselves may get wrinkled, but the flexibility with the type of box you can use with this method may be more beneficial for some people than a dedicated wardrobe box.

How many moving boxes do you need? 

Many moving companies have handy moving calculators that take into account the number of rooms in your place and other factors to determine how many boxes you should use. 

Though packing calculators can be helpful, instead consider the square footage of your house or apartment -- it's a standard unit of measurement and one of the more reliable ways of figuring out just how many boxes you'll need. 

We looked at recommendations from moving companies and services online and developed estimates of how many moving boxes of each size you may need for a range of home sizes. Use this chart to estimate how many boxes you'll need, based on the square footage of your current home or apartment.

Remember that this isn't an exact science, but we're confident you'll find a solid estimate for the number of boxes you'll need for your move. If you're in doubt, it'd be a better route to grab more boxes than you need than not enough of them. The last thing you'll want to do while packing is go for a box run after you've already put in the effort to determine how many you'll need. 

For more moving tips, check out how much money you save with a DIY move and moving day mistakes to watch out for.