How to pack a kitchen so nothing arrives in pieces

More things break in the kitchen than in the rest of the house put together, and almost every one of them broke for the same three reasons.

Small boxes, always

A big box full of crockery is too heavy to carry safely and the bottom drops out of it. Dish barrels exist because 18 inches is as wide as a box of plates should ever be.

Plates stand on edge

Wrapped and stood on their edges like records in a crate, plates survive a drop that would shatter the same stack laid flat. This one habit prevents most breakages.

Paper, not newspaper

Newsprint transfers onto glazed china and white plastic and you will be washing it off for a week. Clean packing paper costs a few dollars a bundle.

Fill every gap

A box that rattles is a box that breaks. Crumpled paper in the corners and across the top until the lid has to be pressed down.

The box you open first

Kettle, mugs, tea, a knife, a pan and a roll of paper towel, in one box, labeled OPEN FIRST on all four sides. You will want it two hours before you want anything else.