Professional Packing & Unpacking: How It Works and Why It's Worth It

Ask anyone who has moved without professional packing help and they'll tell you the same thing: they underestimated how long it would take and overestimated how careful they'd be at midnight when they were exhausted and surrounded by half-filled boxes.

Professional packing isn't a luxury — for many people, it's the single most valuable part of a move.

What Professional Packing Actually Involves

When FreshMove provides full packing service, we arrive with everything needed:

• Double-walled cardboard boxes in multiple sizes (book boxes, medium, large, wardrobe boxes)
• Dish packs — extra-reinforced boxes with inner dividers designed specifically for glassware and ceramics
• Bubble wrap in sheets and rolls
• Packing paper (unprinted newsprint that doesn't transfer ink)
• Foam corner protectors
• Stretch wrap for drawers and protecting furniture surfaces
• Packing tape and dispensers
• Specialty boxes for mirrors, TVs, and artwork

Our packers work systematically through each room, wrapping every item individually and filling boxes to the right weight and density — firm enough that nothing shifts in transit, light enough to be safely carried.

Room-by-Room Packing: How We Approach Each Space

Kitchen

The kitchen is the most time-consuming room to pack and the most likely source of breakages. Glasses, plates, ceramic bowls, and cast iron pans all need different handling.

• Dishes are wrapped individually in packing paper and packed vertically (on their sides), not stacked flat — vertical packing dramatically reduces breakage
• Glasses are wrapped in two layers of paper and nested in dish-pack dividers
• Pots and pans are nested and cushioned with paper between each item
• Sharp knives are wrapped in cardboard sleeves before boxing
• Small appliances are boxed individually with paper fill around them

Living Room and Bedrooms

• Books go into small boxes (they're heavy — large boxes become impossible to lift)
• Clothing can be packed directly in drawers or moved in wardrobe boxes on hangers — this is faster and means less ironing
• Framed photos and artwork are wrapped in paper and placed in picture boxes or a dedicated artwork crate
• Lamps have their shades packed separately with tissue paper to prevent crushing
• Electronics are ideally packed in their original boxes. If those aren't available, we use appropriately sized boxes with foam inserts

Fragile and High-Value Items

Valuables — jewellery, collectibles, antiques — require special attention:

• Each piece is wrapped in tissue paper, then bubble wrap, then paper
• Boxes are marked FRAGILE on every side and on top
• These boxes are loaded last and unloaded first
• Hollow items (vases, figurines) are stuffed with tissue paper before wrapping so they don't flex or collapse under pressure

The Right Way to Label Boxes

Good labelling makes unpacking dramatically faster. Our system:

• Room name on every face of the box (so it's readable no matter which way it's stacked)
• Brief contents note (e.g., "Kitchen — glasses & mugs")
• Fragile or Heavy warnings where applicable
• Number on every box if you're tracking an inventory

With proper labelling, the unloading crew knows exactly where each box goes — no guessing, no moving boxes twice.

How Long Does Professional Packing Take?

For a 1-bedroom apartment, a team of two packers typically needs 3–5 hours. A 3-bedroom house might take 8–12 hours depending on how much you own. We'll give you a time estimate after a quick phone discussion about your home's size and contents.

Some clients prefer partial packing — they handle their clothing and books but ask us to manage the kitchen, artwork, and fragile items. That's completely fine. We're flexible about scope.

Professional Unpacking: Settling in Faster

The unpacking service is the mirror image of packing. Our crew:

1. Brings every box to its designated room 2. Unpacks and places items according to your direction 3. Disposes of all packing materials — boxes, paper, bubble wrap — so you're not left wading through packaging

With professional unpacking, most clients are functionally settled in their new home the same day the move happens — not a week later.

When Packing Help Makes the Most Sense

You'll benefit most from professional packing if:

• You're time-constrained — a job, young children, or other commitments make it impossible to dedicate days to packing
• You have a lot of fragile items — collections, vintage items, expensive glassware
• You're moving long-distance — items on a truck for days need to be packed to a higher standard than a 30-minute local move
• The thought of packing gives you anxiety — this is more common than you'd think, and completely valid

What You Should Always Pack Yourself

Even with full professional packing, some items should travel with you:

• Medications and medical devices
• Important documents — passports, SIN cards, birth certificates, mortgage papers
• Irreplaceable valuables — jewellery, family heirlooms
• Cash
• Keys to both homes

These items are too important to be in a box on a truck.

Book Your Packing Service With FreshMove

We serve all of Toronto and the GTA. Whether you need full packing, partial packing, or just unpacking help at the other end, we'll work around your schedule.

Call 647 625 5811 for a quote.