Overnight Bag vs. Open First Box: What to Pack in Each

You’ve decided to move out of your current home but you haven’t started packing. 

You might be thinking: what should I pack first? What do I need to take with me? 

Let’s talk about two things to focus on packing before the movers are scheduled to come to your home to load everything onto a truck.

Even if you hired professional packers, I still recommend packing these types of items yourself.

Overnight Bag vs. Open First Box

The two types of items I recommend packing yourself are an overnight bag and an open first box.

What’s the difference between the two? 

An overnight bag should contain the essentials you will need the night before moving, the day of your move, and the day after your move. 

Keep the overnight bag in your personal vehicle and transport it to your new home yourself. 

An “open first” box is a box that should contain household essentials you will need the first week you’re in your new home.

Ask yourself, “What will I need immediate access to in my new home?” Those items should be separate from the items in your overnight bag but still as important to help you get back into your regular routine after you move. 

Overnight Bag: What to Pack

If you have kids, pets, and other people in your household, you may want to have a separate overnight bag for each individual. 

Examples of what to pack in an overnight bag:

• Medications
• Eyeglasses/contact lenses
• Pajamas
• Outfits 
• Work uniforms 
• Undergarments (e.g. bras, underwear, tank tops)
• Socks
• Shoes
• Chargers
• Important documents (e.g. passport, birth certificate)
• Towels
• Toiletries (e.g. toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, deodorant)
• Scissors or box cutter 
• First aid kit
• Electronics (e.g. laptop, tablet)

Important Documents: Please keep your important documents in a waterproof folder or document holder and take them with you. These items shouldn’t be placed on a moving truck, because you most likely will need immediate access to at least one of them and the last thing you want is to have to go through 50+ boxes to find them. Additionally, these documents can take a while to be replaced if they’re lost or damaged so it’s best to avoid that by keeping them in a safe place and moving them yourself. 

Irreplaceable Items: If there are certain items that have immense value to you and are irreplaceable (e.g. family heirloom), then it’s best if you pack and transport those items yourself. While the moving professionals will do their best to handle your belongings with care, there’s always a risk of loss or damage while items are being transported. To further prevent this, you can pack and transport those items yourself. 

Open First Box: What to Pack

If you’re moving from a studio apartment to a one-bedroom apartment, you may only need and want to pack one open first box.

However, if you’re moving from a two-bedroom house to a four-bedroom house, you may want to have multiple open first boxes dedicated to different areas of the home. 

For example, you can have an open first box for the kitchen, each person’s bathroom, each person’s bedroom, and the laundry room.

When labeling these boxes, indicate which room they need to go in and that they should be opened first. You can do this by writing “OPEN FIRST: KITCHEN” on the box or “KITCHEN: OPEN FIRST” on the box.

Below are examples of what to pack in an open first box.

Kitchen – Open First Box

• Plates or paper plates
• Cups or paper cups 
• Eating utensils
• Paper towels
• Pot or pan
• Dish soap or dishwasher tablet
• Sponge
• Trash bags
• Coffee maker or teapot 

Bathroom – Open First Box

• Toilet paper
• Hand soap
• Shower curtain and liner
• Bath mat 
• Cleaning supplies (e.g. toilet bowl cleaner, surface cleaner)

Bedroom – Open First Box

• Sheets
• Pillows
• Blanket
• Hangers
• Curtains

Laundry & Cleaning – Open First Box

• Laundry detergent
• Laundry hamper or bag
• Stain remover 
• All-purpose cleaner
• Microfiber cloths or paper towels
• Gloves 

Now you might be wondering, “do I have to transport the open first boxes too or should the movers do that?” The answer is: it depends. 

If you have enough space in your personal vehicle to fit your overnight bag(s) and your open first box(es), then yes you can transport them yourself. 

On the other hand, if you don’t have enough space in your personal vehicle or you simply don’t want to move any boxes yourself, then you can have the movers transport them with their moving truck. When you do a walkthrough with the movers, let them know that you have certain boxes labeled as “open first” so you would like for those boxes to be loaded and unloaded a certain way (e.g. loaded last, unloaded first, put in an obvious area in the appropriate room). 

Overnight Bag vs. Open First Box Guide

Now that you know the difference between an overnight bag and an open first box, you’re ready to start packing for your move!

If you hired professional packers or movers, then check out my guide on what you can do to prepare for your packing or moving appointment. 

Ready to plan your own overnight bag and open first box?

Moving Day Essentials takes what you’ve learned in this blog post a step further by helping you put it into practice. With this digital printable guide, you’ll be able to plan your own overnight bag and open first box while also thinking through what to keep with you instead of placing on the moving truck, what to do before your packers and movers arrive, and what to unpack first once you’re in your new home.