How to Pack a Laundry Room and Linen Closet for a Move in Kelowna
To pack a laundry room and linen closet for a move in Kelowna, start a week out: wash and fully dry every towel and sheet, fold them flat, and use them as padding in your kitchen and fragile totes. Use up the big detergent jugs, seal and bag any liquids you keep, and carry bleach separately. Keep one towel per person and one sheet set per bed out until moving day. Most homes fit a linen closet in 2 to 4 moving totes and a laundry room in 1 to 3. With moving tote rental from $99, Bin Ready drops off clean 102L totes and a free dolly, then picks up the empties when you're done.
The laundry room and the linen closet are two of the easiest spaces to pack, and two of the most useful. Done right, your towels and sheets protect your dishes on the way to the new place, and nothing in the laundry room leaks on the drive across the bridge to West Kelowna or up the highway to Lake Country.
Quick plan: laundry room and linen closet
One week out: sort the linen closet and use up laundry soap and cleaners.
Wash and fully dry every towel, sheet and blanket you're keeping.
Five days out: pack spare linens, or use them as padding in other rooms.
Two days out: seal, bag and pack the laundry liquids you're keeping.
Moving day: one towel per person and one sheet set per bed ride in your open-first tote.
Two weeks out: sort, use up and count
Linen closets fill up quietly. Pull everything out and sort it into keep, donate and rag piles. Thin towels and stained sheets make great rags for move-out cleaning, so keep a few and let the rest go. Most households only need two or three sheet sets per bed and two bath towels per person.
In the laundry room, plan to use things up. Stop buying detergent, softener and stain spray two weeks out, and finish the open jugs before move day. A half-empty jug is heavy, awkward and the thing most likely to leak.
Linen closet: keep, donate or rag pile.
Laundry room: use it up, then pack what's left.
Count your totes (see the counts below) and book your totes once you know your move date.
How to pack a linen closet
Let towels and sheets do double duty
Clean towels, sheets and throw blankets are the best free packing material in the house. Line the bottom of your kitchen and fragile totes with a folded bath towel, wrap glasses and plates in tea towels, and tuck pillowcases into the gaps. Our fragile packing guide shows the method. Every towel you use this way is one less tote of linens to pack.
Fold flat and pack in sets
Fold the leftover linens flat and pack them by set: tuck each fitted sheet, flat sheet and spare pillowcase inside one pillowcase so the whole set comes out together. Duvets and pillows fill a 102L tote fast but stay light, which makes them perfect for the top of a stack.
Wash and dry everything first
Make sure every towel and sheet is completely dry before it goes in a tote. Damp fabric in a closed tote smells musty within a day or two, especially if the move stretches over a weekend.
Keep a night-one set out
Leave one towel per person, one sheet set per bed and a bath mat out until moving day. They go in your open-first tote with the toilet paper and toothbrushes, so beds get made and showers happen on night one.
How to pack the laundry room
Detergent and other liquids
For any liquid you're keeping, open the cap, lay a square of plastic wrap over the opening and screw the cap back on. Put each bottle in its own zip bag, then stand the bottles upright in a tote lined with an old towel. Laundry pods and dryer sheets go in a sealed zip bag so they stay dry.
Bleach and harsh cleaners
Bleach, ammonia and strong stain removers don't belong in a moving tote. Use them up, give them to a neighbour, or carry them upright in a separate bin in your own vehicle. Our what-not-to-pack guide covers the full list.
The small stuff
Iron: let it cool completely, empty the water, wrap the cord and pad it with a towel.
Drying rack: fold it flat and carry it beside the totes.
Hangers: bundle 10 to 15 with a twist tie or a rubber band.
Lint rollers, clothespins, sewing kit and the stain stick: one zip bag, in the same tote as the iron.
Washer and dryer: they don't go in a tote
The washer and dryer move on their own. Run an empty hot cycle and wipe the drum a few days before you move, then leave the doors open for a day so everything dries out. Bag the hoses with any brackets, and photograph the hookups before you disconnect them. Bin Ready isn't a moving company and doesn't move appliances, so book your movers or helpers for the big pieces.
How many totes for a laundry room and linen closet?
Small linen closet (condo or apartment): 1 to 2 totes.
Family linen closet: 2 to 4 totes.
Laundry room: 1 to 3 totes.
Extra duvets, pillows and guest bedding: 1 to 3 totes.
If you use your linens as padding in the kitchen, you'll need fewer. Our how many moving totes guide covers the whole house room by room.
Move day: label, load and roll
Slide a card like LINENS 2 or LAUNDRY into the clear label sleeve on the side of each tote. No tape needed, and nothing gets written on the tote. Our labelling guide has the full system.
Linen totes are light, so they ride on top. Heavy totes go on the vehicle floor first, the laundry liquids tote stays upright, and stacks stay no more than 3 or 4 high. Roll 2 or 3 totes at a time on the free dolly from the house to your vehicle instead of carrying them.
At the new place, put the linen totes straight in the hallway by the linen closet, and the laundry tote in the laundry room. Make the beds first, then unpack the rest.
Moving tote rental in Kelowna, West Kelowna and the Okanagan
Bin Ready Tote Rentals drops off clean, sanitized 102L moving totes with yellow snap-on lids and a free dolly, you pack at your own pace, and we pick up the empties when you're settled. Start (20 totes) $99, Apartment (30) $149, Home (40) $189, Family (65) $249. Every package covers 14 days. That's under 36¢ a tote per day, delivered and picked up. Need longer? Just $2 a tote per extra week.
We offer free drop-off and pickup in Kelowna (Glenmore, Dilworth, Rutland and the Upper and Lower Mission), West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Vernon and Penticton. Book your moving totes online, browse more moving tips, read the FAQ or see every guide on the blog.
FAQ
Can I pack laundry detergent in a moving tote?
Yes, if you seal it. Lay plastic wrap under the cap, put each bottle in a zip bag and stand it upright in a tote lined with a towel. Use up big, half-empty jugs before move day, and carry bleach and harsh cleaners separately.
Should I wash towels and sheets before I move?
Yes. Wash and fully dry everything before it goes in a tote. Clean, dry linens stay fresh in a closed tote, and you can use them right away as padding for dishes and glassware.
How many moving totes do I need for towels and bedding?
Most linen closets fit in 2 to 4 totes and most laundry rooms in 1 to 3. Duvets and pillows are bulky but light, so add 1 to 3 totes if you have a lot of guest bedding.
Do you move washers and dryers?
No. Bin Ready rents moving totes. We drop off clean totes and a free dolly and pick up the empties, and the dolly is for moving totes between the house and your vehicle. Book movers or helpers for appliances.
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