How Many Moving Totes Do You Need?

The most common question we hear isn't about price. It's "how many totes is enough?" Order too few and you're making emergency box runs mid move. Order too many and you're paying for totes you never fill. Here's the room by room math we use, based on our 27 gallon totes.

The quick answer

A 27 gallon tote holds roughly what 2 to 3 medium cardboard boxes hold, because you're not losing space to crushed corners and half filled boxes. As a rule of thumb, plan on 10 to 15 totes per bedroom, plus 5 to 10 for the kitchen and 5 for everything else.

Room by room breakdown

• Kitchen (8 to 12 totes): The densest room in the house. Dishes, pots, pantry goods, and small appliances fill totes fast. Wrap fragiles in towels and dishcloths. That's padding you were moving anyway. Here's how to pack a kitchen in totes.
• Bedrooms (10 to 15 each): Clothes go straight in. No wardrobe boxes needed. Shoes, linens, and nightstand contents fill the rest.
• Living room (8 to 12): Books, electronics, decor, and media. Totes stack neatly, so your couch cushions can ride on top.
• Bathrooms (2 to 3 each): Small but fiddly. One tote per bathroom usually does it.
• Garage / basement / attic (10 to 20): The wildcard. Tools, holiday decorations, and "I'll deal with it later" boxes live here. Walk through with a critical eye before you count.

When to round up

Round up to the next package if any of these sound like you: you work from home (office gear is deceptively bulky), you have kids (toys multiply), you're a collector of anything, or your closets are doing that thing where the door barely closes. An extra 10 totes costs far less than a stalled moving day.

What doesn't go in totes

Mattresses, furniture, and anything longer than about 30 inches won't fit. That's what the truck is for. We also recommend keeping a small "first night" bag with you: chargers, toiletries, medications, and a change of clothes.