Packing Materials Quantity and Cost Calculator

Who this is for

How many boxes, and what they cost. You count boxes by size room by room, list the other materials, and the sheet totals each size, works out what still needs buying and costs it at the prices you enter.

Anyone packing their own home who wants to order the right quantities once rather than running out halfway through or buying twice as many as needed.

What this helps you track

• Small, medium, large and wardrobe boxes needed for each room
• Box totals by size across the whole house
• The cost of boxes per room at your prices
• Tape, wrap and other materials still to buy
• The total cost of everything to be bought

How to use it

1. Fill in the number of rooms, the packing start date and your price for each box size from your supplier.
2. Walk round each room and estimate how many boxes of each size it needs; note anything that needs special packing.
3. List the other materials with the quantity you need, what you already have and your price for each.
4. The browser and workbook total the boxes, cost each room and work out what is short; on paper, add across and down.
5. Order the shortfall shown in the to buy column, and update the counts if a room needs more.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How many boxes does a room need?

The sheet does not guess: it depends on how much you own and how you pack. Count a shelf or cupboard and scale up, or ask your removals firm if they surveyed the house. The totals then add your own counts.

Where do the prices come from?

From your supplier, removals firm or shop. Enter your price for each box size at the top and your price for each material in its row. No prices are supplied.

What does the to buy column show?

Quantity needed less what you already have, never below zero. It is the reorder line: what is still short, costed at your price.

What counts as a specialist item?

Anything that will not go in a standard box, such as a mirror, a television, a bike or a lamp. Note it in the room's row so the right crate or wrap is bought.