About BoxCount Planner

A practical starting point for your next move.

BoxCount Planner helps you estimate moving boxes and packing supplies before you shop. You can change your home details, belongings, books, fragile items, wardrobe clothing, and moving distance, then print a supply checklist.

How the estimate works

The calculator starts with preset quantities for a two-bedroom, 1,200 sq ft house with two people, average belongings, and a local move. It adjusts home-size planning ranges for area, household size and belongings. Optional details add garage or storage contents, extra rooms, kitchen size, measured books and hanging clothes, furniture, mattresses, TVs and artwork. Explicit item counts replace quick-form allowances. Partial-move settings scale household allowances; explicit counts refer only to items you are taking.

These are planning rules, not a survey of your belongings or a promise of the exact supplies you will use. Check the result against a room-by-room inventory and revise it after packing your first room. Tape follows carton dimensions and an H-seal allowance. Paper is estimated in 10 lb packs, bubble wrap in 12 in by 50 ft rolls, and stretch wrap in 20 in by 1,000 ft rolls. Check these sizes, your wrapping technique and specialty-carton fit before buying. Supported home sizes are studio to eight bedrooms, 100 to 10,000 sq ft, and one to twelve people.

What to buy

The result shows a range and a total number of cartons. The editable checklist starts at the midpoint of each supply range. Enter what you already have, can borrow or receive from your movers to see the remaining quantities and an illustrative remaining budget. Set optional supplies to zero when they are not needed. Recalculating resets edited plan quantities but keeps the actual quantities you have.

Our planning references

We compared the rules with PODS packing guidance and U-Haul inventory guidance. Box sizes and household contents differ. These references inform the method; they do not validate an accuracy percentage. The current model has not been validated against a representative sample of completed moves.

What the budget means

The budget is an illustrative range in US dollars calculated from preset unit costs. The assumptions were updated on October 22, 2026. It is not a live retailer quote. Local prices, pack sizes, taxes, delivery charges, movers, and other services can change what you pay.

Our packing guides

The guides explain practical packing choices and link to further sources where provided. They support your planning; valuable, unusually heavy, hazardous, or delicate items may need specialist handling.

Help improve the planner

If a result or guide needs a correction, tell us what you found. Include the page address and enough detail to reproduce the issue.