Essential Moving Supplies: A San Antonio Checklist

Most moving-supply lists tell you to grab tape and boxes and call it done. That’s how you end up with ten boxes for towels and none for books. A San Antonio move — whether you’re headed across town to Stone Oak or out to a place near Bandera — goes a lot smoother when you match the supply to the job before you start taping anything shut.

This checklist covers what actually earns a spot in your pile, what you can skip, and a few things that matter more in Texas heat than they do anywhere else.

How Many Boxes Do You Actually Need?

There’s no single right number, but these ranges give you a starting point:

Home size	Typical box range
Studio or 1-bedroom apartment	20–40 boxes
2–3 bedroom house	60–100 boxes
4+ bedroom house	100+ boxes

Add more if you’ve lived somewhere for years or tend to collect things. Use fewer if you’ve already decluttered. Either way, it’s better to have a few extra flattened boxes in the garage than to run out at 8 p.m. the night before your movers arrive.

Match the Box to the Item

• Small boxes — books, canned goods, tools, anything dense and heavy
• Medium boxes — kitchen items, toys, décor, most everyday belongings
• Large boxes — bedding, pillows, lampshades, and other bulky but light items
• Dish-pack boxes — plates, glassware, and stemware, ideally with built-in dividers
• Wardrobe boxes — hanging clothes you don’t want to fold

The Supplies People Forget

• Packing paper, which is better than newspaper because it won’t leave ink smudges on your things
• Bubble wrap for anything with a screen, hinge, or glass
• Furniture pads or moving blankets for tabletops, dressers, and mirrors
• Mattress bags to keep mattresses clean and protected off the truck floor
• A few thick permanent markers and a roll of labels — not just tape

What Texas Heat Does to a Moving Truck

By midsummer, the inside of a closed moving truck sitting in a San Antonio driveway climbs well past what your air-conditioned house feels like. That matters for a few specific things:

• Candles and anything wax-based can melt or warp.
• Electronics left in a hot truck for hours can be damaged. Carry laptops, monitors, and game consoles in your own vehicle when you can.
• Vinyl records warp in heat the same way electronics do — treat them the same, not like ordinary books.
• If you’re loading in summer, an early-morning start beats an afternoon one, before the truck has had hours to bake in the sun.

Tape Matters More Than You Think

Not all tape holds up the same way. Skip duct tape and household cellophane tape — both tend to peel off cardboard within a day, especially in Texas heat. Look for a 2-inch packing tape and, if you’re packing more than a handful of boxes, a hand-held tape gun. It sounds like overkill for a few rolls of tape, but sealing dozens of boxes by tearing tape off a bare roll is slow and your hands will feel it by the end of the day.

A Labeling System That Actually Saves Time

Writing “kitchen” on a box helps a little. Writing “kitchen — everyday dishes, not fragile” helps a lot more. A simple system works best:

• Pick one color of marker or sticker per room and stay consistent.
• Note the room on two sides of the box, not just the top, so you can read it while boxes are stacked.
• Add “fragile” and which way is up on anything breakable, and mean it — don’t mark every box fragile just in case, or movers can’t tell which ones actually need extra care.

What You Can Skip

Not everything sold as a “moving supply” earns its spot on your list. Specialty shaped boxes for single items, printed pre-labeled box sets, and single-use plastic wrap for furniture you’re already covering with a blanket are easy to skip. Save the budget for the things that actually protect your belongings: sturdy boxes, real tape, and padding for anything fragile.

Where to Find Supplies Locally

You don’t have to buy everything new. H-E-B and local hardware stores often have free boxes if you ask at the right time. For sturdier options, U-Haul locations in Kerrville and Boerne carry wardrobe and dish-pack boxes, and office-supply stores sell bubble wrap and tape by the roll. If you’d rather skip the supply run altogether, RiverHills’ packing services bring wardrobe boxes, dish packs, and blankets with the crew — one less list to manage yourself.

A Simple Rule for Fragile Items

If you’re not sure whether something needs bubble wrap or just paper, ask yourself this: would it survive being dropped from waist height onto a driveway? If the answer is no, wrap it properly instead of just tossing it in a box with padding around the edges.

Whether you’re moving a two-bedroom apartment in San Antonio or a home out toward Bandera, having the right supplies on hand before moving day removes a good chunk of the stress. If you’d rather have a crew bring the supplies and do the packing for you, contact us or call (830) 329-7272 for a free, no-obligation quote.