Packing Services in Bellevue, WA
Packing is where a move is won or lost. A kitchen takes one person a full weekend and takes two packers a morning. Book the whole house, or only the rooms you dread.
Typical Bellevue range: $300 to $550 for a kitchen, $600 to $1,100 for a full two-bedroom home, materials included. Packing is usually done the day before the move.
- Service
- Full or partial packing
- Supplied
- Boxes, paper, tape, wrap
- When
- Usually the day before
- Unpacking
- Available on request
What do packing services include?
Packers work room by room and leave a clear path to each door for the movers. Furniture is not boxed. It is padded and wrapped on move day by the moving crew, so packing covers what goes in cartons: dishes, books, clothes, lamps, electronics and the contents of every closet and cabinet.
Before the packers arrive:
- Set aside what stays with you. Passports, medication, laptops, chargers and a few days of clothes. Put them in the car or a marked bathroom.
- Run the dishwasher and the laundry. Everything gets packed as it is found.
- Use up or give away what cannot go. Cleaning chemicals, paint, propane and open food.
- Take down what is on the walls if you want it handled a particular way. Otherwise the packers will, and will box mirrors and framed art in flat cartons.
How much do packing services cost in Bellevue, WA?
Materials are billed as used, and the kitchen eats most of them. A dish pack, the double-walled carton made for breakables, costs several times what a plain box does. If you have good boxes already, say so. Liquor-store boxes with open tops and anything that has been damp are not worth saving.
| Job | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Packing labor | $60 – $85 / hr per packer | Usually two or three packers |
| Kitchen only | $300 – $550 | Dish packs, paper, labor, about three hours |
| One-bedroom apartment, full pack | $350 – $700 | 30 to 50 cartons |
| Two-bedroom home, full pack | $600 – $1,100 | 50 to 80 cartons |
| Three-bedroom house, full pack | $1,000 – $1,800 | 80 to 120 cartons |
| Four bedrooms and up | $1,500 – $2,400 | 120 cartons or more, often a full day |
| Dish pack carton | $10 – $15 each | Double-wall, with cell dividers for stemware |
Ranges are typical for Bellevue and the Eastside, not a quote. Your price comes as a written estimate.
Should you pack yourself or hire packers?
The coverage point is practical, not a sales line. When you pack a box, the mover is generally liable for its contents only if the carton itself arrives crushed or torn. When the mover's crew packs it, they answer for what is inside.
| Factor | Full packing | Kitchen and fragile only | Pack it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your time | An hour of preparation | Two weekends | Three or four weekends |
| Cost, two-bedroom home | $600 – $1,100 | $300 – $550 | $120 – $250 in boxes and paper |
| Coverage for box contents | All cartons | Carrier-packed cartons | Only if the carton is damaged |
| Breakage risk | Lowest | Low where it counts | Depends on your packing |
| Best for | Long-distance moves, busy households | Most local moves | Small homes, flexible schedules |
How do professional packers pack a kitchen?
Plates on edge is the rule people find strangest and the one that matters most. A flat stack puts the weight of the whole pile on the bottom plate, and one hard set-down cracks it. On edge, each plate carries only itself.
- Build a cushion. Three inches of crumpled packing paper on the bottom and around the sides.
- Wrap one piece at a time. Clean newsprint, not newspaper, which leaves ink on china.
- Fill stemware. Paper inside the bowl, a twist around the stem, then into a cell divider.
- Keep the box under 50 pounds. Pots and small appliances get their own medium cartons.
- Shake test. If anything moves or clinks when the closed box is rocked, open it and add paper.
Knives are wrapped as a bundle with the blades alternating and marked on the outside. Spices and sealed dry goods can travel on a local move. Anything open, oily or perishable should not.
How many boxes do you need to move?
Box sizes are standard across the trade. The small 1.5 cubic foot carton is for books, canned goods, tools and records. The medium 3.0 takes pots, toys and small appliances. The large 4.5 is for linens, pillows and lampshades. Wardrobe boxes have a metal bar, so clothes move on their hangers, and each holds about two feet of closet rod.
Rain changes the supply list here. From October to April, mattresses and sofas need plastic bags or stretch wrap, and cartons should never sit on a wet driveway. Stage boxes in the garage or just inside the door.
Label the side of the box, not the top, with the room and one line about the contents. Stacked boxes hide their tops.
Packing is normally booked with the move itself. See local movers in Bellevue for hourly moves and out-of-state and cross-country movers for longer hauls. Typical prices for everything are on the Bellevue movers home page.
What else do people ask about packing services in Bellevue?
How long does it take to pack a house?
Two packers finish a kitchen in about three hours and a one-bedroom apartment in four to five. A three-bedroom house takes a crew of three most of a day. Packing is usually scheduled the day before the truck so nothing is rushed.
What will packers not pack?
Flammables and hazardous materials: propane, gasoline, paint, solvents, bleach, aerosols and ammunition. Open food and plants are left for you on long-distance moves. Cash, jewelry, medication and important papers should be set aside before the crew arrives.
Do you provide moving boxes?
Yes. Boxes, packing paper, tape, stretch wrap and mattress bags come with the packing crew and are billed as used. Boxes can also be dropped off ahead of time if you plan to pack part of the house yourself.
Do packers also unpack?
On request. Unpacking means cartons are opened, contents are placed on counters and shelves, and the empty boxes and paper are hauled away. It takes roughly half the time packing did. Many people book it for the kitchen only.
Other moving services in Bellevue
Have a move date in mind?
(425) 696-1428Say where you are moving from and to, how many rooms, and anything heavy or awkward. You get a written estimate before you commit to a date. Prefer not to talk? Text the details and a few photos.