How to Pack Clothes and Wardrobes for a Move
Knowing how to pack clothes for moving is mostly about keeping things upright, dry and easy to find at the other end. Clothes are bulky and light, so the enemy is not breakage but creasing, damp and chaos, opening ten unlabelled bags to find one jumper. With a couple of wardrobe boxes, some suitcases and a simple system, you can pack a whole household's clothes for a Sussex move quickly and unpack them without a single crease.
Sort before you pack
Moving is the best decluttering prompt you will get. Before anything goes in a box, split each wardrobe into keep, donate and bin. Charity shops across Sussex will take clean, wearable clothes, and shifting a bag or two of things you never wear means fewer boxes to carry and less to put away. Pack out-of-season clothes first, since you will not need them during the move.
Use wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes
The single best tool is a wardrobe box: a tall carton with a rail across the top. You lift clothes straight from your rail, on their hangers, into the box, and hang them back up at the new house. Suits, dresses, shirts and coats travel upright and crease-free, and a box fills in seconds. Most removal companies hire them out, so ask when you book. A cheap alternative for a few items is to pull a bin bag up over a bunch of hangers as a dust cover.
Folded clothes: suitcases and medium boxes
Everything that lives folded, t-shirts, jumpers, jeans, underwear, goes into suitcases and medium boxes. Wheeled suitcases are perfect because they carry weight you would not want in a cardboard box and they are easy to move. Rolling casual clothes rather than folding them saves space and reduces creasing. Keep boxes to a weight one person can lift, and do not leave a void at the top.
Shoes, delicates and accessories
- Shoes: pack in pairs, stuff each with socks to hold their shape, and box them separately so they do not mark clothes.
- Delicates and knitwear: fold flat with tissue between layers, and never hang heavy knits, which stretch out of shape.
- Belts, ties and jewellery: roll belts, keep jewellery in a small pouch, and pack them in a clearly labelled box so they do not vanish.
Label and keep an essentials bag
Label every box and case by room and contents, "main bedroom, hanging" or "kids, folded", so unpacking is quick and the removal team know where each goes. Finally, pack a separate essentials bag with a few days of outfits, nightwear and toiletries, and keep it with you. It means you can get dressed on moving day and the morning after without opening a single box. For the wider job, see our guides on packing a kitchen without breakages and packing fragile items, glasses and china safely.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pack clothes for moving?
Use large wardrobe boxes with a hanging rail for anything on hangers, so garments travel upright and crease-free, and pack folded clothes into suitcases or medium boxes. Leave everyday outfits in a labelled essentials bag you open first at the new house.
What is a wardrobe box and do I need one?
A wardrobe box is a tall carton with a metal rail across the top, so you lift clothes straight from the rail on their hangers into the box and back out again at the other end. It saves ironing and packs a lot quickly, and most removal firms hire them out for the move.
Can I use bin bags to move clothes?
You can, and a bin bag pulled up over a bunch of hanging clothes makes a cheap garment cover, but loose clothes in bags crush easily and are hard to stack. For anything you care about, wardrobe boxes or suitcases protect them far better.
Should I wash clothes before packing them to move?
Yes. Pack everything clean and fully dry, because damp fabric shut in a box for days can mildew and smell. It also means your wardrobe is ready to use straight away rather than facing a mountain of washing on top of unpacking.
How do I pack clothes without wrinkles?
Keep hanging clothes on their hangers in a wardrobe box, roll casual items like t-shirts and jeans rather than folding them, and do not overfill boxes so nothing is crushed. Unpack and hang the good pieces promptly at the new place.