How to pack a portable moving container

The container company picks up your container, often lifts it onto a trailer and drives it. You don't control how it moves. Pack it tighter than you would pack a truck.

Before delivery day

• Check where the container can go. Many cities require a permit for a container in the street, and some don't allow it at all. Our permit guide covers Colorado cities.
• Pick a level spot with a clear path from your door.
• Confirm the container size against your inventory. If it's close, size up or plan for two.

How to load it

1. Start at the back wall. Load the heaviest items first, spread across the full width. Don't stack them in one corner.
2. Build tight tiers, floor to ceiling. Heavy boxes on the bottom, lighter on top, each tier packed edge to edge before you start the next.
3. Brace each tier. Stand mattresses or flat furniture across the face of a finished tier, then strap it to the container's tie-down points if it has them.
4. No empty space. Gaps let loads shift when the container is lifted. Fill them with soft items, pillows or extra boxes.
5. Keep weight low and centered. A top-heavy load can tip forward when the container moves.
6. Finish with a final brace against the door so nothing leans on it, then lock it.

What to leave out

• Anything flammable or hazardous: fuel, propane, paint thinners, ammunition.
• Perishable food and plants.
• Valuables, documents, medication and anything you'll need before the container arrives.

Follow the container company's own list of prohibited items.

Help at both addresses

Containers are usually loaded and unloaded in different places, often in different cities. Plan help at each address as its own appointment. A moving-labor crew can load at the start, and a crew where the container is delivered can unload.