Your kitchen has got to be one of the most difficult rooms to pack for a move so you should make sure you tackle it fairly early in the house packing process.
Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the time it takes to pack a kitchen for moving. In most cases, you’ll be genuinely surprised by the sheer number of kitchen items – both large and small – that you’ll find tucked away in various kitchen cabinets and drawers.
Once you enter the kitchen with packing in mind, sooner or later you’re going to need to pack small kitchen appliances such as coffee makers, stand mixers, toasters, blenders, air fryers, food processors, bread makers, rice cookers, sandwich makers, and of course – microwave ovens.
In addition, you may have other types of small kitchen appliances and that’s OK – we’ll describe a universal packing method that will work great for all compact electric kitchen units that are used in the preparation of food and beverages.
Here’s the best way to pack small kitchen appliances for moving:
Step 1. Prepare the required packing supplies
The first step is to gather the necessary packing materials so that you won’t have to interrupt the packing process once you’ve started it.
- Boxes. If you keep the original boxes of your kitchen appliances, then make sure you use those since they will be the right size and might even have Styrofoam inserts in them for better protection.
If not, then the idea is to find sturdy boxes that are slightly larger than the appliances themselves. You may also choose to pack several small kitchen appliances in a single large box. - Paper. You’re going to need plenty of soft packing paper to protect the kitchen appliances for the haul. In addition to wrapping up the electric units, you’ll need paper as space filler as well.
- Packing tape. You need packing tape to secure the paper bundles and to seal the boxes.
- Cable ties. Use twist ties to secure the electric cords of the appliances. As an alternative, you can also use rubber bands.
- Permanent marker. Have a permanent marker to label the boxes once you pack them up.
See also: How to pack plates for moving
Step 2. Sort out your small kitchen appliances
Before you go ahead and pack up your small kitchen appliances, it’s a good idea to go through each unit and make sure it’s worth moving it to the new home.
You may have a small appliance that’s not been working well recently. You may even keep a broken one for no particular reason, maybe planning to have it fixed but never finding the time to do so.
It’s possible that you may have wanted to upgrade a kitchen appliance for some time now and the upcoming move is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the old unit and purchase a brand-new one after the move.
Even though you’re probably packing and moving all small kitchen appliances found in your kitchen, it’s still a good idea to go through your kitchen devices and set aside the ones that are not worth packing and moving for some reason or another.
Good to know: How to pack glasses for moving
Step 3. Clean and dry the appliances
It’s advisable that you clean and dry each small appliance before you wrap it up for transport. Why? The thing is that it’s a bad idea to transport unclean small kitchen appliances with crumbs, stains, grease, and other types of debris still on them.
In most cases, you won’t have the time to clean your appliances thoroughly, so it’s OK to wipe them down with a damp cloth or wet wipes. Once you do it, wait enough time so that the electric units can dry out completely before you start wrapping them up with paper.
If your small kitchen appliances are already sufficiently clean, then you should skip this cleaning step altogether.
See also: How to pack pots and pans for moving
Step 4. Disassemble the small kitchen appliances, if applicable
Whenever possible, you should always remove any loose or detachable parts from the small kitchen appliances before packing them in paper.
This is largely a safety measure since loose components may shift around or inside the appliance and cause some sort of transportation damage. Also, some kitchen appliances such as blenders are just too large as they are and need to be disassembled – the plastic or glass jars should be removed and packed up separately.
Always pack disassembled components of a single appliance in the same box to save valuable time when unpacking and setting up those kitchen devices after the move.
Disassembling small kitchen appliances for moving should be pretty straightforward. Still, if you get stuck, consult their respective operation manuals or look for disassembly instructions on the Internet.
Read also: How to pack knives for moving
Step 5. Secure the electric cords
Electric cords of small kitchen appliances may pose a tripping risk or they could scratch the devices they belong to. And this is exactly why this step is all about securing the cables of those kitchen appliances to prevent any accidents whatsoever.
If the power cable of a kitchen appliance can be removed completely from the unit, do so. Then, fold the cord a few times without pressing it too much, wrap it up entirely in soft packing paper, and then tape the bundle to keep it from unwrapping.
If the power cord of an appliance cannot be detached from the unit, fold it carefully, use zip ties or rubber bands to keep it in place, and finally – wrap it up in wrapping paper and secure it with packing tape.
Additional info: How to pack spices for moving
Step 6. Wrap the appliances in packing paper
If you haven’t already packed the detachable components you disassembled from the small kitchen appliances, then do so now. Use several sheets of packing paper to wrap completely those detached or loose parts, then secure them with tape.
Then, wrap the main body of each kitchen appliance in 2-3 sheets of wrapping paper as if you were wrapping a present. Check to see whether the unit you’re about to protect is completely dry before you start wrapping it up in paper. If not, use a soft dry cloth to dry it up – this is an important step as it’ll prevent the possible buildup of mold.
When you’re done wrapping the sheets of paper around the appliance, use packing tape to secure the package. Do not use packing tape directly onto the appliance because it is rather sticky and may stain the delicate surface of the electric device.
Must-read: How to pack a microwave oven for moving
Step 7. Line the boxes with packing paper
Small kitchen appliances tend to be rather fragile, so you should do your best to provide the best type of protection you can.
Lay pieces of crumpled paper on the inside bottom of each cardboard box. The paper wads will create a soft shock-absorbing layer on the bottom that should additionally protect the delicate appliances on the road.
Instead of regular packing paper, you can also safely use crumpled newspaper because the ink won’t be able to reach the appliances and potentially leave nasty ink stains on them. If you have pieces of bubble wrap, they can also be used effectively to form that initial bottom cushion that should absorb any shocks along the route.
Good to know: How to move a refrigerator by yourself
Step 8. Place the kitchen appliances into the box
Transfer gently the packed appliances into their pre-selected boxes. Add in any additional components you have disassembled and packed separately – trays, jars, cords, etc.
When arranging the paper-wrapped appliances in boxes, keep them upright since most of them are designed to be used like that. Also, be careful to place the heaviest kitchen appliances on the bottom of the box and place the lighter ones on top of them.
If there’s enough room for another small kitchen appliance in the same box, then add it too. As a safety rule, you should not exceed 40 pounds for each box no matter how sturdy the cardboard container seems.
May be useful: How to move a dishwasher by yourself
Step 9. Fill the gaps with crumpled paper
After you’ve filled up a box with protected small kitchen appliances, be sure to fill any remaining gaps inside the box with crumpled paper. Why should you bother with this step?
Packed boxes will be moved around a lot and they will be subjected to various external forces while being transported inside the moving truck. Due to the vibrations while the vehicle is traveling, your packed kitchen appliances are likely to shift inside the container unless you make sure they don’t have any space to move at all.
For safety reasons, just fill in any remaining spaces inside the boxes with crumpled paper or pieces of discarded bubble wrap. One way to test whether you’ve done a good job immobilizing the delicate electric devices is to lift the box after you’ve packed it up and shake it gently. If nothing is moving inside it, then you’re good to go. But if you feel there’s any movement inside the box, then add more crumpled paper.
Read also: How to pack a kitchen for moving
Step 10. Seal and label the boxes
The final step when packing small kitchen appliances is to seal the boxes and label them appropriately.
Close the top flaps of the box you have just filled in and tape the container shut using a few rounds of packing tape. You should be able to close the flaps comfortably without exerting any pressure downwards. If the flaps happen to be bulking upward, it means that you’ve overfilled the box which is not recommended. In that case, remove one or two items from the box and transfer them into a new one.
Use the permanent marker to label each packed box accordingly. Write the name of the kitchen appliance or appliances that are packed inside the container, then write down the destination room – KITCHEN.
Finally, write FRAGILE and HANDLE WITH CARE on the box to alert whoever is carrying it to be extra careful.
Good advice: How to clean a kitchen before moving in
