What Packing Materials Do You Actually Need for a House Move?
The same removal boxes and packing materials our own crews use, from our store near Ashington. Collect them the same week or have them delivered across Sussex — and when you have finished, we take the empties back.
- Double-walled boxes, tape, paper, bubble wrap, wardrobe cartons
- Collect from our Ashington store, or delivered in Sussex
- We take the flattened empties back off your hands
- Advice on what you actually need, before you order
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Tell us about your move for a fast, fixed price — no obligation.
What to Order, and What Not to Bother With
People buy the wrong boxes far more often than they buy too few. The rule the trade works to is the opposite of the instinct: small boxes for heavy things, large boxes for light bulky things. Books, tools and tins go in small double-walled cartons, because a large box of books cannot be lifted safely and will burst at the seams. Duvets, cushions and coats go in the big ones.
Wardrobe cartons carry a hanging rail so clothes travel on their hangers and go straight back into the new wardrobe — they save more time at the other end than anything else we sell. Purpose-made cartons for glass and china have the cell dividers that stop things knocking together, which newspaper does not.
What people over-buy is bubble wrap. For most homes, packing paper around each item and a full box does more good than a lot of bubble — a half-empty box is what breaks things, not a lack of wrapping. Tell us the size of the property and we will tell you roughly what it takes — and anything you do not open comes back to us free, so there is no penalty for erring on the generous side.
If you would rather not do it at all, our full packing service, fragile packing and part packing use these same materials.
Why Choose Wolves Removals for Packing Materials?
Fully insured & covered
LAPADA Approved Service Provider and Checkatrade-verified, with full insurance on every move.
Trained, experienced team
Over 100 years' combined experience, handling your belongings with real care.
Transparent fixed pricing
Clear written quotes with no hidden extras — you know the cost up front.
One point of contact
A dedicated move coordinator looks after your job from first call to settling in.
We Take the Empty Boxes Back
This is the one thing a box retailer cannot do for you, and it is worth knowing before you order from a courier.
When you have finished unpacking, flatten the boxes and leave them somewhere accessible, and we will collect them next time one of our vans is in your area. They go back into the rotation and get used again. You do not pay for the collection, you do not load a car with cardboard, and you do not spend a Saturday morning at the recycling centre.
A box shipped to you by courier has no vehicle coming back — the empties are permanently your problem. Ours already pass your door. It is a small thing until you are standing in a hallway with a stack of flattened cartons and nowhere to put them.
Collect From Ashington, or Delivered Across Sussex
Our store is at Ashington in West Sussex, which is where the stock actually sits. You are welcome to collect — it is free, you can see what you are buying, and you can take a few extra cartons on the spot if you have underestimated.
For delivery we cover Sussex from our own vans. As published on our box shop page, delivery is free on orders over £75; below that we will tell you the charge when we confirm the order, before you commit to anything. We do not ship nationally, and we would rather point you to a national retailer than take an order we cannot serve properly.
Not sure how many you need? Our guide on how to pack boxes for moving works through it room by room, and it is a better answer than any number we could put here — two houses of the same size hold completely different amounts.
Materials as Part of a Booked Move
If you are already moving with us, the simplest option is to have the materials arrive with the survey or shortly after, on the same paperwork as the move. Nothing to collect, nothing to arrange separately, and the crew turns up to boxes it recognises.
It also makes the van pack better. Cartons of a consistent size stack square and tight, which means fewer part-filled gaps, less shifting in transit and a quicker unload. A load made up of supermarket boxes in fifteen different sizes is genuinely slower to move, and less safe stacked.
Tell us at the quote stage and it goes on the same written figure as everything else.
Services Related to Packing Materials
Our Step-by-Step Packing Process
From the first box to the last, our trained team protects everything you own — here’s how our professional packing service works, step by step.
Why Move With Wolves Removals for Packing Materials?
We’re a friendly, family-run Sussex removals and storage company that has been keeping its promises since 2016. From a single item to a full home or office move, every job is fully insured and led by a dedicated coordinator, so you always have one point of contact.
As a LAPADA Approved Service Provider and a Checkatrade-verified team, we handle it all with real care — expert packing, home and business removals, clean, secure storage and specialist antiques handling across Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent.
Trusted Packing Materials Since 2016
Wolves Removals is a modern, family-run removals company built on traditional values — reliability, responsiveness and keeping our promises. We’ve been moving homes and businesses across Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent since 2016, and we’re proud to be recommended by leading estate agents including Fine & Country, Justin Lloyd and Mansell McTaggart.
Our credentials reflect how we work: we are a LAPADA Approved Service Provider for antiques and fine-art handling, Checkatrade-verified, and fully insured on every job. To deliver consistently high standards we run a modern, fully maintained fleet and a trained, experienced team who treat your belongings as their own. We also welcome feedback — listening to our customers is how we keep improving. Read our customer reviews or learn more about us.
Packing Materials Across Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire & Kent
Need Long or Short-Term Storage for Your Home or Business?
Long-Term Storage
Ideal for extended storage between moves, downsizing or freeing up space. Flexible, affordable terms from three months or more.
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Perfect for moving delays, renovations or temporary storage during transitions — from a couple of days to a few months.
Explore Short-Term StorageBusiness Storage
Secure storage for stock, equipment, office furniture and business moves. Fully managed, including packing and unpacking.
Explore Business StoragePacking Materials with Wolves Removals
Our trained, fully insured team handling moves across Sussex and beyond.
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Packing Materials — Your Questions Answered
Not yet, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Our box shop page takes your list and we come back to confirm what is in stock and arrange payment directly. In practice it is a reserve-and-collect counter rather than a website checkout — which is also why you can ring up and change the order.
Usually the same week, and often sooner, because the stock is in our own store at Ashington rather than in a courier network. That is the practical advantage of buying locally: if you run out on the Saturday before a Monday move, there is somewhere to go.
Bring back anything unused and still sealed and we will not charge you for it. That is the whole point of buying boxes from a local firm rather than a courier: you are not stuck with what you guessed at. We would much rather you over-ordered slightly than ran out halfway through the kitchen on a Sunday night.
They are double-walled, which is what matters — a single-wall box will hold a lamp but will not survive being stacked six high in a loaded van. These are the cartons our own crews load, so they are specified for the job rather than for a shelf.
For books, linen and garage contents, yes — a used double-walled carton in good condition does that job perfectly well and costs less. We would not put china or anything heavy in one that has already done a move, because the corners are where they fail. Ask what we have when you order; it varies with what has come back in.
Yes. There is no minimum order and no kit you are obliged to take. Plenty of people have plenty of boxes and have simply run out of tape on the Sunday night, which is exactly the sort of thing a local counter is for.
Yes — mattress covers in the usual bed sizes, and protective covers for upholstery. Worth it if anything is going into storage rather than straight into the new house, because that is where dust and damp do their damage rather than in the van.
Guides & Advice
Moving Guides for Boxes and Materials
Practical moving tips, packing advice and local guides from our Sussex removals team — browse all articles.
Packing · 5 Jun 202501How to Pack Boxes for Moving House: The Complete Practical GuideLearning how to pack boxes for moving properly is one of the most useful skills you can develop in the weeks before a house move. Done well, packing…Read the article 
Packing · 30 May 202302Eight Sustainable Packing Ideas Worth TryingSustainable packing has quietly become one of the easiest ways to make a house move kinder to the planet without making it harder on yourself. A…Read the article 
Packing · 18 Feb 202503How to Pack a Picture for House Removals: A Step-by-Step GuidePictures, mirrors and framed artwork are among the most awkward and vulnerable things to move. They are flat, often heavy, frequently fragile, and…Read the article We’re Trusted By
