How many boxes do I need to move a 3-bedroom house?
About 134 boxes for a 3-bedroom house with two people and an average amount of belongings: 42 small, 39 medium, 23 large, 15 extra-large, 10 wardrobe and 5 dish-pack, from a published 2026 guide whose range runs from 111 (minimal) to 153 (a lot of stuff); another guide prints 60-80. Below: the count at each packing style, what one to five people change, what a garage, an office or many books add, the tape, paper and bubble wrap, and the truck it all takes.
Open the moving box calculator
How many boxes by size?
The published counts for a 3-bedroom house, low and high, and where each packing style reads them: minimal takes the low end, average the midpoint, a lot of stuff the high end (STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20; Derived from the STOMO Storage ranges above, read 2026-09-20). Two people, no extra rooms; the moving box calculator does it for your own house.
| Packing style | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large | Wardrobe | Dish-pack | Total | Tape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal | 36 | 30 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 111 | 16 rolls |
| Average | 42 | 39 | 23 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 134 | 20 rolls |
| A lot of stuff | 47 | 47 | 26 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 153 | 22 rolls |
The guide’s own ranges by size: small 36-47, medium 30-47, large 20-26, extra-large 13-16, wardrobe 8-11, dish-pack 4-6, 111-153 in total.
Does the number of people change it?
The published counts are read as a home of 2 people; each person above that adds 10% and one person removes it, a declared rule of thumb rather than a published table (Declared assumption, read 2026-09-20).
| People | Total boxes | Against two people | Tape |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 122 | -12 | 18 rolls |
| 2 | 134 | — | 20 rolls |
| 3 | 148 | +14 | 22 rolls |
| 4 | 161 | +27 | 23 rolls |
| 5 | 174 | +40 | 25 rolls |
What do a garage, an office or many books add?
Each room with extra needs adds a fixed set of boxes on top of the house’s count, following the guide’s own rule that heavy things go in small boxes and bulky things in large ones (Declared assumption, following the guide's own box-by-content rule "Heavy items go in small boxes, everyday household items go in medium boxes, and light, bulky items go in large or extra-large boxes", read 2026-09-20). Tick several and they add up.
| Room | Adds | Boxes added | New total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big kitchen (lots of dishes and glassware) | 2 dish-pack boxes, 2 medium boxes | 4 | 138 |
| Home office | 3 small boxes, 2 medium boxes | 5 | 139 |
| Garage or shed | 4 large boxes, 2 extra-large boxes | 6 | 140 |
| Many books | 6 small boxes | 6 | 140 |
| Large wardrobe of hanging clothes | 2 wardrobe boxes | 2 | 136 |
How much tape, paper and bubble wrap?
20 rolls of tape at one roll per 7 boxes, 8 markers, 15 lb (6.8 kg) of packing paper and 100 ft (30 m) of bubble wrap: the published "average house" figures stand for a house of this size, so the average 3-bedroom result is the source's own number and every other count scales from it (mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20; Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20). Box prices start empty in the calculator; type what your supplier charges and it totals the list.
What truck does a 3-bedroom house take?
The boxes go in with the furniture: a 3-bedroom house is 900 to 1,200 cu ft (25.5 to 34 m³) of belongings under the per-room rule, a 26 ft truck in one trip. The truck guide for a 3-bedroom house lists every class with its trips; the 2-bedroom apartment guide has the same box tables for a smaller home, by room.
Sources: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20; Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move?, read 2026-09-20; mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20; Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20. The people and extra-room rules are declared assumptions, marked as such in the calculator’s source list.
Frequently asked questions
- How many boxes for a 3-bedroom house, in one number?
- 134 for two people packing an average amount (STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20). The guide's own range is 111-153 and a lower estimate elsewhere is 60-80 (Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move?, read 2026-09-20); pick minimal in the calculator if you moved in recently and the cupboards are half empty.
- How many wardrobe boxes for a 3-bedroom house?
- 10 on average, from a published range of 8-11. Tick "large wardrobe" in the calculator and it adds 2 more.
- How many dish-pack boxes for a 3-bedroom house?
- 5 on average (range 4-6). A big kitchen with a lot of glassware adds 2 dish-packs and 2 medium boxes, 138 boxes in total.
- How much tape, paper and bubble wrap for a 3-bedroom house?
- 20 rolls of packing tape (one per 7 boxes; mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20), 15 lb (6.8 kg) of packing paper and 100 ft (30 m) of bubble wrap (Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20), and 8 markers (mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20).
- How does it compare with a 2-bedroom apartment?
- 134 boxes against 102 for a 2-bedroom apartment with the same two people and average packing, 32 more: 11 of them small, 9 medium and 3 wardrobe. The 2-bedroom guide has its own tables by room.
- What size truck does a 3-bedroom house need?
- A 26 ft truck (1,682 cu ft) in the US: 900 to 1,200 cu ft of belongings from 5 furnished rooms plus a loading margin, and U-Haul's own pick is the 26 ft truck. The truck guide for a 3-bedroom house has every class with its trips, Penske and the UK vans.
More guides
- How many boxes for a 2-bedroom apartment? (by room)
Boxes by size for a studio to a 5-bedroom home, the truck each one takes in cubic feet and m³, and what local movers charge, from published guides with their sources.
- What size moving truck do I need for a 3-bedroom house? (cubic feet)
The cubic feet and m³ a 3-bedroom house takes, which U-Haul, Penske or UK lorry class moves it in one trip, and a truck size chart from a studio to 5 bedrooms.
- How much does it cost to move a 2-bedroom apartment? (local vs long distance)
Local movers by the hour, long-distance ranges by distance, what stairs, peak season and packing add, and a rental truck at each distance, US and UK, with sources.
Last updated 2026-09-21. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.