Moving Supplies in Payson, Utah
Boxes, tape, paper, pads and covers — plus the part nobody sells you: how many you actually need and what to put in what.
Packing materials are the least interesting part of moving and the part that most reliably ruins an evening. Everyone under-buys tape. Everyone puts books in a big box once. And almost nobody is told that packing for storage and packing for a move are two different jobs.
We sell the moving supplies Payson Utah households need at 820 W Utah Ave, in the same place as the truck and the storage unit. This page is mostly the advice rather than the shopping list, because the list is the easy half.
How Many Boxes You Actually Need
The question behind most moving supplies Payson Utah searches is simply how many boxes to buy, so here is the answer first. These are working estimates. They assume a normally furnished home without a full garage or a workshop — if you have either, or if you have been in the same house more than about eight years, take the next band up.
| Home | Boxes | Also expect to need |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 bed | 20–30 | 3 rolls tape, 1 mattress cover, 5 lb paper |
| 2 bedroom | 40–60 | 5 rolls tape, 2 mattress covers, 10 lb paper, 6 pads |
| 3 bedroom | 60–90 | 8 rolls tape, 3 mattress covers, 15 lb paper, 12 pads |
| 4 bedroom | 90–130 | 10+ rolls tape, 4 mattress covers, 25 lb paper, 12+ pads |
Box Sizes, and What Goes in Each
There are only five you need to think about, and the rule connecting them is that heavy things go in small boxes. It sounds backwards until the first time someone tries to lift a large box of hardbacks.
Small — about 1.5 cubic feet
Books, tools, tinned food, records, anything dense. A small box full of books is already near the sensible weight limit, which is roughly what one person can carry down stairs without thinking about it.
Medium — about 3 cubic feet
The workhorse. Kitchen items, toys, small appliances, files, the contents of most drawers. If you buy one size in bulk, buy this one.
Large — about 4.5 cubic feet
Bulky and light only: linens, pillows, cushions, lampshades, winter coats. The moment something dense goes in a large box it becomes a two-person lift and a crush risk for everything beneath it.
Dish barrel — about 5 cubic feet, double-walled
The second wall is the point. It is what stops a stack collapsing inward onto your grandmother's plates. Plates go in on edge like vinyl records, never stacked flat, with paper between each one.
Wardrobe — with a hanging rail
Clothes go from the rail into the box and back onto a rail. Excellent for a local move, less so for long-term storage, where they consume a lot of floor area for the volume they hold.
Supplies, truck and unit at one address
Pick everything up in one stop. Storage from $67 with the first month free.
Packing for Utah, Specifically
Most packing advice is written for humid climates and quietly gets two things wrong here.
Do not seal wood airtight in plastic. Utah County swings close to 70 degrees between a summer afternoon and a winter night, and a sealed plastic container has nowhere to put the moisture that condenses when it does. Cardboard breathes. Plastic does not.
Dust is the real enemy, not damp. Cover upholstered furniture with pads or cotton sheets rather than plastic sheeting, which traps whatever moisture is there against the fabric.
Three more things the temperature swing changes. Take batteries out of anything that stores with them in, because a leaking cell ruins the device around it. Candles and anything wax-based will slump in an unconditioned unit through July and August. And vinyl records, photographs, instruments and electronics all belong in a climate-controlled unit rather than in better packaging — no box solves a 70-degree swing.
Packing for Storage Is Not Packing for a Move
A move is packed to be unpacked within days. A storage unit is packed to be stacked, left, and searched months later by someone who has forgotten what is in it. Three differences follow.
- Uniform box sizes. You are paying for floor area and the height comes free, so the only way to use it is to stack. Stacks need boxes of matching footprint. A unit packed in six different box sizes wastes a third of its volume.
- Label the side, not the top. Once a box is in a stack, the top is invisible. Write on the side that will face the aisle, and write what is in it rather than which room it came from — in six months the room means nothing.
- Leave a walkway. A unit packed wall to wall has to be emptied to find anything. Leave a corridor down the middle and put the things you expect to want within reach of it. Our small unit guide and large unit guide show what fits with a walkway allowed for.
What's Worth Buying, and What Isn't
An honest list of the moving supplies Payson Utah movers should and should not spend on — including the parts that cost us a sale.
- Worth it: furniture pads. The item people skip most and regret most. A scratched dresser cannot be un-scratched.
- Worth it: unprinted packing paper. Newsprint ink transfers onto finished wood and light fabric, and it transfers worst onto the things you wrapped most carefully.
- Worth it: mattress covers. A mattress dragged bare through a doorway picks up everything on the frame, and it is the one item you cannot easily clean.
- Worth it: more tape than you planned. Every box bottom should be double-taped. A roll covers fewer boxes than anyone expects.
- Skip: dish barrels for everything. You need them for china and glass, not for the whole kitchen. Ordinary mediums handle pans, utensils and appliances perfectly well.
- Skip: specialty boxes for televisions if you kept the original carton. The box it arrived in is better than anything sold to replace it.
- Skip: buying bubble wrap in bulk before you know what needs it. Paper handles most fragile items; bubble wrap is for corners, screens and things with protrusions.
One Stop Instead of Three
Supplies, the truck and the unit are at the same address on Utah Avenue. You buy the boxes when you collect the truck, load at the house, and unload straight into the unit without a detour.
Full detail on the trucks, sizes and towing is on the U-Haul truck rental page.
Storage Sizes and Rates
| Size | Type | Rate | Roughly holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5x5 | Indoor | $67 | About 20–30 boxes plus a few small items |
| 5x10 | Indoor | $72 | A one-bedroom packed properly |
| 10x10 | Indoor | $115 | A two-bedroom home including appliances |
| 10x15 | Drive-Up | $143 | A three-bedroom home |
| 10x20 | Drive-Up | $174 | A four-bedroom home |
Who We Serve
Location
PACA Self Storage
820 W Utah Ave
Payson, UT 84651
Phone
Office Hours
Monday–Saturday
9:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
Gate Access
Extended daily hours
for all tenants, with a personal keycode. 24-hour access available by written request and approval.
Moving Supplies FAQs
What moving supplies can I pick up in Payson?
We carry the standard U-Haul supply range at 820 W Utah Ave — boxes in every size, packing tape and dispensers, unprinted packing paper, bubble wrap, mattress and sofa covers, furniture pads, stretch wrap, markers and labels. Stock moves quickly at the end of a month, so if you need a large quantity of one thing, call (385) 327-5740 ahead rather than driving over on the day.
How many boxes will I actually need?
As a working estimate: about 20 to 30 boxes for a studio or one-bedroom, 40 to 60 for a two-bedroom, 60 to 90 for a three-bedroom and 90 to 130 for a four-bedroom. Households with garages, workshops or a decade in the same house run well above those numbers. The estimate that fails most often is the one made by looking at rooms rather than at cupboards.
What size box should heavy things go in?
Small ones, always. A small box holds about 1.5 cubic feet, which is roughly the largest volume of books you can lift comfortably. The single most common packing mistake is books, tools or tinned food in a large box — it becomes a 90-pound object that nobody can carry and that crushes whatever sits under it. Keep any box under about 50 pounds and you will not regret it.
Do dishes and glassware need special boxes?
For anything you would be upset to lose, yes. A dish barrel is double-walled and holds roughly 5 cubic feet, and the extra wall is what stops a stack collapsing inward. Plates travel on edge like records, never stacked flat, with paper between each one. Glasses get paper inside as well as around them, because the crush usually comes from the inside out.
Are wardrobe boxes worth the extra money?
For a short local move, genuinely yes — clothes go straight from the rail into the box and back onto a rail, and you save an evening of folding at both ends. For long-term storage they are less compelling, because they take up a lot of floor area for what they hold. If a unit is going to sit for a year, folded clothes in sealed boxes use the space far better.
Should I use plastic bins instead of cardboard?
For long-term storage, plastic bins are better for anything you want protected from dust, and Utah is a dusty place. But do not seal wooden items or anything with a finish airtight in plastic — when the temperature swings, and here it swings a great deal, moisture can condense inside a sealed container with nowhere to go. Cardboard breathes; plastic does not. Use plastic for hard goods and cardboard for anything wooden or upholstered.
What should I never pack in newspaper?
Anything with a finish or a light-colored fabric. Newsprint ink transfers, and it transfers worst onto exactly the things people wrap most carefully — white china, upholstered chair arms, polished wood. Unprinted packing paper costs very little and solves it entirely. Newspaper is fine as void fill at the bottom of a box where nothing touches it.
How is packing for storage different from packing for a move?
A move is packed to be unpacked within days; a storage unit is packed to be stacked and searched. That changes three things. Use uniform box sizes, because mismatched boxes stack badly and waste the height you are paying for. Label the side of the box rather than the top, facing the aisle. And leave a walkway down the middle — a unit you cannot walk into is a unit you have to empty to find anything in.
Should I buy more boxes than I think I need?
Yes, by a comfortable margin. Running out at nine in the evening with half a bedroom on the floor costs you an hour and a trip; having six spare boxes costs very little. Ask at the counter about the return policy on unused, unopened boxes when you buy — most U-Haul locations take them back, and it is worth knowing the terms before you decide how many to take.
What do people always forget to buy?
Tape, and then more tape. A roll covers fewer boxes than anyone expects once you are double-taping the bottoms, which you should be. After that: a marker that actually writes on cardboard, mattress covers, and furniture pads for anything with a finish. The pads are the one people skip and regret, because a scratched dresser cannot be un-scratched.
Get the boxes and the unit in one trip
Moving supplies, U-Haul trucks and storage from $67 — first month free.
U-Haul is a registered trademark of U-Haul International, Inc. PACA Self Storage is an independent authorized U-Haul dealer. Supply range and stock vary; call to confirm availability before traveling for a large order.
