apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm moving soon and would love some kitchen-packing tips!

My name is Wende, and I have recklessly bought kitchen equipment that I don't use regularly.

The focus of my guilt is a mini-bundt pan that makes cakes shaped like flowers. I have used it once since we bought it in 2004. Cupcakes are just more practical.

Oh, no, you're leaving that turquoise oven? I've admired that for a long time!

I know!! I was rather heartbroken about that. I am hoping to get a good tradeoff in big windows and more counter space, though...

Moving kitchen was a great way to get rid of food and kitchen implements that just weren't getting used, and weren't ever going to, either. My 'new' kitchen (of 8 months now) is larger and has more counter space, but somehow it has less cabinet space. Judicious pruning has been a must.

I just moved into a tiny apartment and the kitchen stuff was a nightmare. My problem is both gadgets and dishes... I ended up with a lot of things that belonged to my great grandmother and my mother, both fanatical culinary collectors, so it's hard to part with stuff that carries a lot of sentimental value.

I'm very annoyed with my mom, however, who gave me her big honkin' Cusinart and all its ungainly attachments and blades, and kept the Mini Prep for herself.

Simple, things for moving kitchens that I've found useful:
- Twist ties and string, to tie together things like chopsticks, spoons - it's such a joy to unpack those little bundles.
- Lots of little, long, flat boxes, to put together sundry stuff that shouldn't be left loose, like knives, all those tiny little gadgets that hang out in kitchen drawers, etc. Be sure to tape or rubber band these before putting them into larger boxes.
- Finally, very very large plastic bins (the largest I could find) for putting in all my unwieldy pots and pans, separated by newspaper and dish towels. Don't worry about wasted space there, and things will go easier.

I guess this is all pretty obvious, but it took me a long while to figure this out, and I've got to say, moving kitchens is now my favorite part of moving. I also get the special packing boxes meant for china and glass, and pack everything up nice and neatly there. People have watched me do this, and noted that it doesn't actually take longer than doing a messy job packing - there's just something about the nature of kitchen stuff that takes time, no matter what. Except that being methodical makes the unpacking take no time at all. Oh, and it also took me a long time to realize that you DON'T move things like wooden dish racks or drawer dividers, bags of old spices or melted plastic strainers. Anything that's worn or waterlogged gets thrown out - moving kitchens is a great time to update all that stuff.

tin_angel,
I ended up using the ridiculous number of unworn t-shirts I've accumulated over the years (which were originally tagged for donation) to pack small appliances, pots and pans, etc., thus cutting down on the amount of packing paper I needed. I also put things like tea towels and pot holders that were coming with me anyways to use in the wrapping/cushioning department. I still, however, found that a dishpack system (one of those special boxes with slats for plates and bowls, and the foam covers that fit snuggly over the dishes) was a worthwhile investment since I was carting my stuff across several states rather than just across town.

Good luck with your upcoming move!

My BF and I are moving from a small apartment to a new house we're building in Vermont at the end of the month. Unfortunately, the house (and kitchen) won't be done in time, which means a few weeks staying with his parents while we install floors and paint cabinetry! So everything has to go into storage for a while, and that also means that I have to use up all of our food and miscellaneous condiments before we go. That's the fun part right now... trying to come up with uses for shrimp paste, or oat bran, or blackberry jam!

All the moving tips posted above will be VERY helpful. Does anyone have an idea for packing wine glasses? I'm terrified about what will happen to them in the UHaul!

I used an old cardboard wine case for a lot of my wine glasses. I wrapped them in paper and put them in the wine bottle slots. We'll see how they come through!

And if any of you moving folks have weird ingredients to use up and would like to send me a Cupboard Challenge please do so... :-)

faith: don't tempt me! We're moving at the end of the month, and though it's been very easy to use up a few leftover sausages, tomato paste, pasta, etc, the things like pickled herring, frozen blueberries, 4 kinds of mustard, some barley, and chinese gelatin dessert mixes are proving very tricky. Perhaps I'll make a list of all the sundry items next week, when I'm getting VERY desperate!

SisterRae-
What I did with the wine glasses was to stuff a clean sock or two into the bowl part on the theory that it would help absorb any shock, wrapped each glass in two layers of bubble wrap, then put them in shoe boxes, bowl-to-stem style. If there was any wiggle room in the box I plugged the gaps with crumpled newspaper. Not sure that science backs me up on the shock-aborbing sock theory but it made me feel better and I didn't lose any. But thank goodness I have a small number of wine glasses!

Moving or not we all need to update the pantry/spice cupboard regularly. I had the unfortunate experience of a can of tomato juice eating its way through the can and dribbling onto the pantry shelf. This made a sticky mess which has been hard to clean... so I went through everything in the pantry checking expiration dates and got rid of several large heavy grocery bags of goods which were long past their prime. Some donated, some tossed.

Thanx for the great advice! J - I'm looking into the dishpack system, that sounds good. I'm not moving that far - this being england after all - but I am prodigiously skillful in the breakages department!The old-clothes-cushioning thing sounds good too.

And I think some ruthless chucking out is in order - there's a limit to the amount of pretty cappuccino frothers and mismatched chopsticks a person needs...! And maybe a Cupboard Challenge too! I also like having random things to use up, but there are always a few things I just get stuck with...

Thank you!

when i moved to la, my dad packed up my kitchen in ny for me. he did the most amazing job, packing everything the way you'd unpack & use it. which meant: dishes, cutlery, napkins, glasses, tablecloths all went in one box (napkins, tablecloths all cushioned the breakables as well as the felt circles i use between my dishes); stuff you'd use on & near the stove went in another box; baking stuff went in another box; prep stuff went in another box. made unpacking a lot easier. and he used the entire sunday ny times so i could unpack and read at the same time and instead of packing peanuts, unshelled peanuts. now that made for fun unpacking!

On the subject of odd ingredients and spices: I let a friend pack up most of my pantry and spices. She was much more brutal that I would have been myself about keeping things, and I appreciated it at the other end.

I also second the suggestion for getting the specialized dish and glass packaging: worth it even for a short distance, and you can always use it for tidier storage in the new place if, like me, you don't have cabinet space for everything.