Packing Services
Every box packed like we're the ones unpacking it.
Full home, one room, or just the fragiles — double-wall boxes, wardrobe cartons, foam wrapping, packed to a method the crew works to. From $60/hr + GST per packer. Unpacking and box pick-up on request.
Certificate of currency available on request before move day.
In one paragraph
Sydney packing, by the numbers.
Hartmann packs Sydney homes at $60/hr + GST per packer, plus a $150–$350 materials kit sized to the home. Double-wall boxes, wardrobe boxes on hangers, foam wrapping for glass and art, purpose-made cartons for pictures and mirrors. Full home, one room, or fragiles only. A kitchen-only pack is about half a day; a full 2-bedroom home is 4–6 hours; a 3-bedroom home is 6–8 hours — all with two packers, plus materials. Book the pack the day before the move, or bundled with move day. Unpacking and free box pick-up a week later are both available.
from $60/hr
Per packer
Plus GST. Most homes use two packers. Charged by the hour, from the time we start to the last box sealed.
from $150–$350
Materials kit
Plus GST. Boxes, butcher paper, bubble wrap, tape, wardrobe and picture cartons. Sized to the home. Unused stock credited back.
Free
Box pick-up
We come back a week after the move and collect the empty boxes and paper. No extra charge.
The method
Six rules the crew packs to, every home.
Good packing isn't about working fast — it's about working to a method so nothing shifts, splits, nests loose or goes missing. These are the rules the crew works to on every job, whether it's a whole house or a single kitchen.
01
One room finished before the next is opened
We pack a room to completion — boxed, labelled, closed — before moving to the next. Nothing is left half-done, so nothing gets mixed between rooms and nothing goes missing between the pack and the truck.
02
Heavy things in small boxes, light things in big boxes
Books, plates and tinned food go in book boxes so no one has to lift 40kg of paperbacks. Doonas, cushions and lampshades go in the large boxes. It sounds obvious; it is the single most common thing DIY packs get wrong, and it is why DIY boxes split on the stairs.
03
Every box labelled by room and content, on the top and one side
So the label is readable whether the box is stacked or on the floor. "Kitchen — glassware — fragile — this way up" beats "misc" every time. On request we build a numbered room-by-room inventory so nothing is unaccounted for at the other end.
04
Fragile items wrapped individually, never nested loose
Glasses, plates, ceramics and framed pieces are each wrapped in butcher paper or foam and cushioned so they cannot touch each other in the box. Plates travel on their edge, not stacked flat — the way that survives a pothole.
05
A clearly marked essentials box you keep with you
Phone chargers, kettle, a couple of mugs, toilet paper, medications, a change of clothes, the kids' and pets' basics. Packed last, marked bright, and kept out of the truck so your first night in the new place is not a search through thirty boxes.
06
Flat-pack comes apart only when it has to
Assembled furniture that will travel safely stays assembled. Where a piece is too big for the stairwell or too fragile to move whole (a wardrobe, a tall bookshelf), we dismantle it, bag and label the fixings to the piece, and reassemble at the other end.
What's included
Packed like we're the ones unpacking it.
Packing badly saves a couple of hours on move day and costs a broken kettle, a chipped vase, and an afternoon hunting for your phone charger. Everything below is standard on a Hartmann pack — labelled, cushioned, inventoried.
- Double-wall packing boxes — book, standard and large — rated for the weight that goes in them
- Wardrobe boxes so clothes travel on their hangers, not folded and creased into a carton
- Butcher paper, foam wrapping and bubble wrap for glass, ceramics, art and electronics
- Purpose-made picture and mirror cartons for framed pieces
- Tape, markers, fragile labels and a numbered room-by-room inventory on request
- Dismantling of flat-pack furniture that can't safely travel assembled, with fixings bagged to the piece
- Kitchen, wardrobe, office and kids' rooms handled as separate work zones so nothing gets mixed
- A clearly marked essentials box packed last and kept out of the truck
- Unpacking at the new address if you'd rather skip week one of cardboard
- Box and paper pick-up one week after the move, at no extra charge
The materials
What actually goes around your things.
The right box and the right wrap for each thing is most of what keeps it intact. A materials kit ranges $150–$350 + GST depending on home size, quoted separately from the packing hours. Unopened boxes and paper are credited back after the move.
Double-wall book boxes
Two-ply corrugated, ~40cm — for books, crockery, tinned goods and anything dense. Small on purpose so no box is too heavy to carry safely.
Standard & large tea-chest boxes
For linen, kitchenware, toys and light bulky items. Large boxes carry volume, not weight — doonas and cushions, not dinner sets.
Wardrobe boxes
Tall cartons with a built-in hanging rail. Clothes lift straight from the wardrobe onto the rail and straight back into the new wardrobe — no folding, no creasing, minutes instead of an afternoon.
Picture & mirror cartons
Telescopic flat cartons that adjust to the frame, with corner protection. Framed art, mirrors and TVs travel upright and cushioned, never flat under other boxes.
Butcher paper & foam wrap
Clean butcher paper for glassware and ceramics; closed-cell foam sheets for anything with a finish that marks. Neither leaves ink on your things the way newspaper does.
Bubble wrap & tape
Bubble for electronics, lamps and irregular fragiles. Strong packing tape on every seam — boxes are taped along the base, not just tucked, so they hold their weight.
For high-value or awkward pieces — a chandelier, a marble tabletop, a large artwork — we can commission a custom-built crate at cost (typically $80–$300 per crate), quoted as a separate line. See our white-glove service for archival-grade materials and full unwrap-and-place.
Room by room
Where the time and the breakages actually are.
Every room has its own risk. Here's how we approach the ones that take the longest and break the most — and where a professional pack earns its keep.
Kitchen
The room most people hand to us, because it takes the longest and breaks the most. Glassware and crockery wrapped individually and packed on edge, appliances boxed with their cords, the pantry sorted and sealed. A kitchen is usually a third of a whole-home pack on its own.
Wardrobes & bedrooms
Hanging clothes go straight into wardrobe boxes on their hangers. Folded clothes, shoes and linen boxed by person and room. Bedside contents and jewellery kept together and clearly labelled so they are the first things you find, not the last.
Living & dining
Books in book boxes (never large ones), electronics wrapped and boxed with a photo of the cabling so it goes back together in minutes, and framed art and the TV in purpose-made cartons. Décor and ornaments wrapped and boxed as fragile.
Home office
Documents kept in order and boxed upright so files don't become a shuffled pile, computers and monitors wrapped and boxed, cables bagged and labelled to their device. We can keep a sealed, labelled "open first" box for anything you need working on day one.
Kids' rooms
Packed as their own zone and labelled clearly, so a child's familiar things — favourite toys, bedding, the night light — can be found fast at the new place. We keep an essentials bag per child if you ask, for the first night.
Bathroom, laundry & garage
Toiletries and cleaning products sealed upright so nothing leaks in transit. Tools, sports gear and garage odds-and-ends sorted, boxed by type and labelled — the room that always gets left to last, done properly instead.
Full, partial, or fragiles only
Hand us the whole home, or just the hard part.
You don't have to choose all-or-nothing. Three worked examples of how people actually use us — each quoted with an hourly-per-packer estimate and a materials range before you book.
3–4 hours · 2 packers
Kitchen-only (partial)
The most common partial pack. Two packers, about half a day, plus a small materials kit. You pack the rest of the home at your own pace; we take the room that breaks the most and takes the longest off your hands.
4–6 hours · 2 packers
2-bedroom home (full)
A whole 2-bed apartment or house packed the day before the move. Two packers, 4–6 hours, plus a materials kit. Move-day crew arrives to a fully boxed, labelled home and just loads.
6–8 hours · 2 packers
3-bedroom home (full)
A full family home packed the day before. Two packers, 6–8 hours, materials kit sized to the home. Kitchens, wardrobes and kids' rooms handled as separate zones so nothing gets mixed across the house.
All figures assume two packers and a home packed and ready — de-cluttered, fridge and freezer emptied. Hours shift with how much is in the home and how much of it is fragile. The estimate on your quote is specific to your rooms.
How it runs
From quote to boxed, loaded and unpacked.
Step 1
Quote
Tell us the home size, which rooms you want packed, and the move date. We come back within the hour during business hours with an hourly-per-packer estimate and a materials-kit range, both + GST — no obligation.
Step 2
Pack day
Usually the day before the move. The crew arrives with all the materials, works room by room to the method above, and leaves your home fully boxed, labelled and inventoried — with your essentials box set aside for you.
Step 3
Move & unpack
Move day, the crew loads a home that's already packed, so the truck fills faster and safer. At the new address we can unpack too — most people ask us to do the kitchen and bathrooms so those rooms work from day one, then finish the rest themselves.
Why pay someone to pack
The honest case for a professional pack.
Plenty of moves don't need it — if you've got the time and it's mostly clothes and books, pack it yourself and save the money. Here's when handing it over actually pays for itself.
It's the time, not the boxes
A 3-bedroom home is 40–60 hours of packing done properly. Most people underestimate it by half, run out of the night before, and end up throwing loose items into bin bags at 11pm. Two packers do it in a day because it's what they do every day.
Breakages come from bad boxing, not bad driving
Most transit damage happens because a box was under-filled and things shifted, or over-filled and it split, or fragile items were nested loose. Individually wrapped, correctly weighted, properly taped boxes are what actually survives the trip.
A pro pack loads faster and safer
Uniform, correctly weighted, labelled boxes stack tight and square in the truck. Loose bags and mismatched cartons don't — they waste truck space, slow the load, and are more likely to be crushed. A good pack pays for part of itself in move-day hours.
Insurance likes a professional pack
Goods-in-transit cover is cleanest when items were professionally packed — self-packed boxes are harder to claim on if something inside breaks. Every Hartmann pack is covered, and we can talk through what that means for your valuables on the quote call.
Related
Pair packing with the rest of the move.
Want someone else to pack the kitchen?
Tell us the home size, which rooms, and the move date — hourly + materials estimate back within the hour.
Packing FAQ
Questions about packing before the truck arrives.
How much does professional packing cost in Sydney?
Packers are from $60/hr each + GST, and materials are costed separately as a kit. A kitchen-only pack is usually 3–4 hours with two packers; a full 2-bedroom home is 4–6 hours; a full 3-bedroom home is 6–8 hours. You get an hourly-per-packer estimate and a materials range on the quote before you book.
What do packing materials cost?
A materials kit runs from $150–$350 + GST depending on the size of the home — boxes, butcher paper, bubble wrap, tape, wardrobe and picture cartons. Unused boxes and paper can be credited back if they're returned unopened.
Can you pack just the kitchen and leave the rest?
Yes — partial packing is one of the most common ways people use us. Kitchens and wardrobes are the two rooms most clients hand off because they take the longest and break the most. You pack the rest at your own pace; we take those two off your list in about half a day.
Do you pack the day of the move or the day before?
Both work. Day-before is the most common — we pack Saturday, move Sunday, so the move-day crew arrives to a boxed home and just loads. For smaller homes a same-day pack-and-move can finish in one day. We match it to your move date and any building lift window.
Do you pack fragile items like art, mirrors and glassware?
Yes — fragile items are wrapped individually in foam and butcher paper, packed in dedicated boxes and labelled "fragile, this way up." Framed art, mirrors and TVs go in purpose-made telescopic picture cartons that travel upright, never flat under other boxes. Anything high-value can go in a custom crate.
Can you unpack at the new address too?
Yes. Unpacking is quoted at the same hourly per packer. Most clients ask us to unpack the kitchen and bathrooms so those rooms are functional day one, then do the rest at their own pace. We also take the empty boxes and paper away a week later.
Will professional packing affect my insurance?
It helps. Goods-in-transit cover is cleanest when items were professionally packed — self-packed boxes are harder to claim on if something inside breaks. Every Hartmann pack carries public liability and goods-in-transit insurance, and we can talk through what that means for your valuables on the quote call.
How far ahead should I book packing?
For a full-home pack, book at the same time as the move — 2–3 weeks ahead, or 3–4 weeks during the Oct–Feb peak. A kitchen-only or fragile-only pack can often be slotted in with less notice. The pack is usually scheduled for the day before your move date.
Want someone else to pack the kitchen?
Tell us the home size and move date — you'll get an hourly + materials estimate within the hour.