Room-by-room moving inventory
Walk through your home once and count what is really going on the truck — by hand, or by dropping in photographs of your rooms and letting us read them. Volume, weight, the truck it fills and what a mover would legally owe you if it all disappeared are recalculated with every change. Your list stays in this browser and no account is needed.
Start from a home this size, then correct it124 items across 11 rooms · last updated September 10, 2026
Moving inventory · Ohio · prepared on MoverScout
Or fill it from photographs
Walk through the place with a phone, take one picture per room and drop them here. We read what is in them and tick the items off this list for you, then you correct what the camera got wrong. Photographs are sent to be read and are not stored by us. Keep people, screens and paperwork out of the frame, and remember that no camera sees inside a cupboard.
What the photographs show
Untick anything the camera got wrong, correct the counts, then choose what to do with the list.
Living room
164 cu ft · 17 items-
Sofa or loveseat, two-seat 35 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Sofa, three-seat 50 cu ft each Measure the narrowest doorway before moving day. A standard three-seater needs about 33 inches of clear opening or it goes through a window on a hoist, at an extra charge.1 × 50 cu ft
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Sectional, per section 30 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Armchair 15 cu ft each1 × 15 cu ft
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Recliner 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Ottoman or footstool 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Coffee table 10 cu ft each1 × 10 cu ft
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Side or end table 5 cu ft each2 × 10 cu ft
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Television, up to 55 inch 12 cu ft each Screens travel upright, never flat. If you kept the original carton, say so in the estimate: a TV crate is a line item on most tariffs.1 × 12 cu ft
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Television, 65 inch and up 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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TV stand or media console 20 cu ft each1 × 20 cu ft
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Bookcase, up to three shelves 10 cu ft each1 × 10 cu ft
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Bookcase, tall 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Floor lamp 3 cu ft each1 × 3 cu ft
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Table lamp 2 cu ft each3 × 6 cu ft
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Rug, rolled 8 cu ft each1 × 8 cu ft
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Framed art or wall mirror, large 5 cu ft each Anything with glass over 40 inches needs a mirror carton. Broken glass is the damage claim movers argue hardest, because they will say it was packed by owner.3 × 15 cu ft
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Bar cart or drinks cabinet 8 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Grandfather clock 20 cu ft each The pendulum and weights come out and travel separately, or the movement is destroyed in transit.0 × 0 cu ft
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Piano, upright 80 cu ft each A piano is priced as its own job on most tariffs, not by cubic feet. Get it named on the estimate or expect a surprise on the bill.0 × 0 cu ft
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Piano, baby grand 105 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Dining room
45 cu ft · 5 items-
Dining table 25 cu ft each Legs off and a glass top crated. A loose glass top laid on blankets is how tops crack.1 × 25 cu ft
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Dining chair 5 cu ft each4 × 20 cu ft
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China cabinet or hutch 35 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Buffet or sideboard 30 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Serving cart 8 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Corner cabinet 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Kitchen
33 cu ft · 8 items-
Refrigerator, standard 45 cu ft each Defrost and dry it 24 hours ahead. A wet fridge grows mould inside a sealed truck in two days.0 × 0 cu ft
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Refrigerator, French door or side-by-side 60 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Chest or upright freezer 35 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Range or oven, freestanding 30 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Dishwasher, portable 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Microwave 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Small appliance: mixer, air fryer, coffee machine 3 cu ft each4 × 12 cu ft
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Kitchen table 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Kitchen chair or bar stool 5 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Kitchen island or trolley 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Pantry or free-standing cupboard 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Dish pack of crockery and glassware 5.2 cu ft each A dish pack is double-walled for a reason. Plates go on edge like records, never stacked flat.3 × 16 cu ft
Bedrooms
200 cu ft · 6 items-
Bed, king, complete 70 cu ft each1 × 70 cu ft
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Bed, queen, complete 60 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Bed, double, complete 50 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Bed, single, complete 40 cu ft each1 × 40 cu ft
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Spare mattress on its own 30 cu ft each Mattress bags cost a few dollars each and are the difference between sleeping on it that night and not.0 × 0 cu ft
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Dresser, double, with mirror 50 cu ft each1 × 50 cu ft
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Chest of drawers 30 cu ft each1 × 30 cu ft
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Nightstand 5 cu ft each2 × 10 cu ft
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Wardrobe or armoire 40 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Blanket box or cedar chest 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Dressing table or vanity 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Bedroom chair 12 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Kids and nursery
10 cu ft · 1 items-
Crib 25 cu ft each Photograph the bolts and the assembly order before it comes apart. Missing hardware is why cribs turn up unassembled at the other end.0 × 0 cu ft
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Changing table 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Toddler bed 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Toy chest 10 cu ft each1 × 10 cu ft
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Rocking chair or glider 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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High chair 8 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Stroller or travel cot 8 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Children's bookcase or storage unit 10 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Play kitchen, doll house or large toy 12 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Home office
51 cu ft · 5 items-
Desk, small 20 cu ft each1 × 20 cu ft
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Desk, large or L-shaped 40 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Office chair 10 cu ft each1 × 10 cu ft
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Filing cabinet, two drawers 10 cu ft each1 × 10 cu ft
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Filing cabinet, four drawers 18 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Desktop computer and monitor 6 cu ft each Back it up the week before and carry the drive yourself. Data is not covered by any moving tariff at any price.1 × 6 cu ft
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Printer 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Safe, small 8 cu ft each Over about 300 pounds a safe stops being furniture and becomes a specialist job. Declare the weight up front.0 × 0 cu ft
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Whiteboard or pinboard 4 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Closets, clothes and linen
79 cu ft · 13 items-
Wardrobe carton of hanging clothes 11 cu ft each One wardrobe carton swallows about two feet of a rail. Count your rails in feet and divide by two — it is the estimate people get most wrong.3 × 32 cu ft
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Box of bedding, towels or linen 4.5 cu ft each4 × 18 cu ft
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Box of shoes and accessories 3 cu ft each3 × 9 cu ft
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Free-standing clothes rail 8 cu ft each1 × 8 cu ft
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Linen cupboard or tall cabinet 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Bathroom shelving unit or cabinet 8 cu ft each1 × 8 cu ft
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Laundry hamper 4 cu ft each1 × 4 cu ft
Laundry and utility
21 cu ft · 3 items-
Washing machine 25 cu ft each A front loader needs its transit bolts back in. Without them the drum swings on the truck and the bearings go.0 × 0 cu ft
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Tumble dryer 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Stacked washer-dryer unit 40 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Laundry cupboard or sink unit 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Ironing board 3 cu ft each1 × 3 cu ft
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Vacuum cleaner 6 cu ft each1 × 6 cu ft
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Utility shelving unit 12 cu ft each1 × 12 cu ft
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Dehumidifier or water softener 12 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Garage, yard and patio
58 cu ft · 8 items-
Lawn mower, push 12 cu ft each Drain the fuel and the oil. Federal rules bar movers from carrying petrol, propane and lighter fluid on the truck, and a crew that finds a full tank on the day will simply leave it.0 × 0 cu ft
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Ride-on mower 60 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Snow blower 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Wheelbarrow 12 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Bicycle 8 cu ft each2 × 16 cu ft
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Workbench 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Tool chest, rolling 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Box of hand tools 3 cu ft each2 × 6 cu ft
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Step ladder 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Extension ladder 10 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Garden hose and long-handled tools 6 cu ft each1 × 6 cu ft
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Barbecue grill 20 cu ft each The propane tank does not travel with it. Nobody will take it, so plan to give it away.1 × 20 cu ft
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Patio table 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Patio chair 6 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Patio umbrella 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Deck box or outdoor storage bench 20 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Kayak or canoe 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Generator or pressure washer 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
Basement, attic and storage
75 cu ft · 14 items-
Plastic storage tote 4 cu ft each Totes stack badly and crack under load. Movers price them like cartons, so there is no saving in using them for the long haul.4 × 16 cu ft
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Trunk or footlocker 12 cu ft each1 × 12 cu ft
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Suitcase, large 6 cu ft each3 × 18 cu ft
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Box of holiday decorations 4.5 cu ft each2 × 9 cu ft
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Metal or wire shelving unit 12 cu ft each1 × 12 cu ft
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Treadmill 30 cu ft each Weighs 200 to 300 pounds and rarely fits through a turn in a stairwell in one piece. Ask whether the crew will take the deck off.0 × 0 cu ft
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Exercise bike or elliptical 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Weight bench and weights 20 cu ft each Load weight plates into small book cartons, six or eight at a time. A carton nobody can lift gets dropped.0 × 0 cu ft
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Pool table, slate 70 cu ft each Slate beds come apart in three pieces and need a table mechanic at both ends. This is never part of a standard estimate.0 × 0 cu ft
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Ping-pong or foosball table 30 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Aquarium, drained 12 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Sewing machine and table 15 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Musical instrument in a case 5 cu ft each1 × 5 cu ft
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Drum kit or amplifier stack 25 cu ft each0 × 0 cu ft
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Box of files and paperwork 1.5 cu ft each2 × 3 cu ft
Packed boxes
109 cu ft · 32 items-
Small carton, 1.5 cu ft — books, tins, tools 1.5 cu ft each The small carton exists because a big box of books cannot be carried. Fifteen inches of books weighs about 45 pounds.8 × 12 cu ft
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Medium carton, 3.0 cu ft — kitchenware, toys 3 cu ft each10 × 30 cu ft
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Large carton, 4.5 cu ft — linen, lampshades 4.5 cu ft each6 × 27 cu ft
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Extra-large carton, 6.0 cu ft — duvets, cushions 6 cu ft each3 × 18 cu ft
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Mirror or picture carton 3 cu ft each2 × 6 cu ft
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Lamp carton 4 cu ft each2 × 8 cu ft
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Television carton 8 cu ft each1 × 8 cu ft
Anything we missed
A workshop lathe, a gun safe, a stone garden table, a taxidermy elk. If you cannot find it above, add it with your own estimate: length times width times height in inches, divided by 1,728, gives cubic feet. Round up, because the crew has to wrap it.
Free · no obligation
Quotes from movers in Ohio
Two answers below and we pass your move to licensed companies from this page. No account, no fee to you.
Where these numbers come from
Movers have priced work off a cube sheet since long before anyone had a computer: a list of household items with the average space each one takes in a truck, packed and padded. A three-seat sofa is 50 cubic feet, a queen bed with its mattress and frame is 60, a wardrobe carton is 10.6. Add up the household and you have its volume. Multiply by seven pounds per cubic foot, the conversion the industry has used for decades, and you have a working weight.
Everything in this list is an average, and averages are wrong in both directions. Your grandmother’s oak dresser weighs twice what the number says. A flat-packed one from a chain store weighs half. What the total is good for is the shape of the job: which truck, roughly how many pounds, and whether the estimate you have been handed is in the right universe.
Volume or weight: which one your bill is built on
Inside one state, most moves are charged by the hour: a crew, a truck and an hourly rate. Volume still drives the price, because volume is what decides how many hours and how many people. This list tells you whether two movers and a 15-footer will do it or whether you need four and a bigger truck.
Across a state line, the tariff is built on weight and distance. The mover weighs the truck empty, loads it, weighs it again, and the difference is your shipment. You are entitled to be present at the weighing, and if the figure looks wrong you can demand a reweigh before the truck is unloaded.
This is where the number in front of you becomes useful in an argument. If a company quotes an interstate move by the cubic foot instead of by weight, treat it as a warning. It is the standard opening of the quote-low-then-raise-it routine: the volume is guessed low over the phone, the truck is loaded, and the price is recalculated on the driveway when saying no has become expensive.
The sixty-cent problem
Every interstate mover must offer two levels of liability, and the cheaper one is free because it is nearly worthless. Released value protection pays 60 cents per pound per article. Not 60 cents per pound of value — 60 cents per pound of the thing itself. A 40-pound television that cost $1,200 is worth $24 to the mover who breaks it.
The panel at the top of this page does that arithmetic on your own load. Full value protection is the other option: the mover repairs, replaces or pays the current value of what is damaged, and federal rules set the minimum declared value at $6.00 per pound of the shipment’s weight. It costs real money and usually carries a deductible. Whichever you pick, the choice is made in writing on the bill of lading before the truck moves, not after something is broken.
If you do have to claim on an interstate move, you have nine months from delivery to file it. The mover then has 30 days to acknowledge your claim and 120 days to pay it, deny it, or explain the delay in writing.
What an estimator adds that this list does not
A real estimate is this list plus the things that cost labour rather than space:
- Packing materials and labour if the crew packs for you, priced per carton and per hour.
- Long carry when the truck cannot park near the door, charged per 50 or 75 feet on most tariffs.
- Stairs and no lift, usually per flight above the first.
- Shuttle service when a full-size trailer cannot reach the street and everything transfers to a smaller truck.
- Bulky items: pianos, safes, slate pool tables, ride-on mowers and hot tubs are priced as their own jobs.
- Storage in transit when the dates at the two ends do not meet.
None of these appear in a cubic-foot total, and all of them appear on the final bill. Ask which ones apply while the estimator is standing in your hallway, and get the answer written into the estimate.
What to do with the printed sheet
Print it and hand the same list to every company you ask for a price. Three quotes against three different guesses about your belongings cannot be compared; three quotes against one written list can. It is also the fastest way to find out who is estimating seriously: a mover who looks at the sheet and asks about the attic is doing the job, a mover who quotes without reading it is guessing.
On moving day, the crew writes its own inventory and asks you to sign it. Check it against yours before signing, note anything already scratched or dented, and keep your copy. At the far end, tick items off as they come off the truck. That signed inventory sheet, and the photographs you took, are what a claim is decided on.
Working out the timing rather than the volume? The moving checklist and countdown turns your date into a week-by-week plan, and every task on it explains why it is there.
Which truck your load fills
Rental truck capacities are the published cargo volumes of the common sizes. We pick the smallest one that leaves about a tenth of the box empty, because nobody packs a truck to its last cubic foot and a badly packed load shifts. If you are hiring a moving company you do not choose the truck at all; the figure still matters, because it is the same volume your price is built on.
The third column is what the rental companies themselves say each size holds, and it is worth reading against your own total. Their descriptions assume a lightly furnished home. Ours do not: a fully furnished two-bedroom household on this page comes to more than a 20-foot truck will take, even though the 20-footer is sold as the two-bedroom truck. That gap is the single most common reason a self-move needs a second trip.
| Truck | Cargo volume | The rental company says | Your load |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-foot rental truck | 402 cu ft | A studio, or one room of a larger home | Too big |
| 15-foot rental truck | 764 cu ft | A one-bedroom home with modest furniture | Too big |
| 20-foot rental truck | 1,016 cu ft | A two-bedroom home | 83% full |
| 26-foot rental truck | 1,682 cu ft | A three-bedroom home, packed carefully | 50% full |
Above a 26-foot truck you are into two trips or a professional crew with a tractor-trailer, which is where most whole-house interstate moves end up.
Questions people ask about moving volume
How many cubic feet is a two-bedroom home?
Fully furnished, about 844 cubic feet on this page, made up of 112 separate items. A studio comes to roughly 384, a one-bedroom 519, a three-bedroom 1,300 and a four-bedroom 1,710. Those are starting points for a home with normal amounts of furniture in it, not a ceiling: the buttons above exist because your home is not the average one.
How much does a house full of furniture weigh?
Multiply cubic feet by seven. That puts a two-bedroom household near 5,911 pounds and a four-bedroom near 11,971. Real density runs between five and ten pounds per cubic foot, so a house full of books and oak lands above the estimate and a house full of flat-pack lands below it.
What size truck do I need?
Take your total and find the smallest truck in the table above with about a tenth of the box left empty. Our two-bedroom preset needs a 20-foot rental truck; three bedrooms and up is past what a 26-foot truck holds, which means two trips or a professional crew with a trailer.
Do movers charge by cubic feet or by weight?
Inside one state, usually by the hour, and volume decides how many hours. Across a state line, by weight and distance, verified on a certified scale. A company that quotes an interstate move by the cubic foot is quoting on a number nobody can check afterwards, and that is the standard opening of a price that grows once the truck is loaded.
How many boxes will I need?
The two-bedroom preset here comes to about 51 cartons of all sizes, including wardrobe boxes and dish packs; a three-bedroom home is nearer 64. Most people underestimate by half, and most suppliers take unused flat boxes back.
Can I do this from photographs instead?
Yes. Take one picture per room from the doorway, in daylight, and drop them into the box near the top of this page. We read what is in them, tick the matching items off the list and show you what was found before anything is added, so you can correct it. It sees furniture and appliances in the frame; it cannot see inside a wardrobe, count the boxes you have not packed or know that the sofa is a sofa bed. Photographs are sent to be read and are not stored by us.
Is this the same as an estimate from a moving company?
No, and nobody is bound by it. A real estimate comes after someone walks through your home or does a video survey, and it prices the things a list of furniture cannot see: packing labour, a long carry from the door to the truck, stairs, a shuttle, storage between dates. Ask for it in writing and ask whether it is binding, non-binding, or binding-not-to-exceed. That single question separates companies that intend to keep their price from companies that do not.
What is on this list that movers will not take?
Nothing on this page is banned, but several things on it have to travel empty or not at all. Petrol, propane, paint, lighter fluid and other flammables cannot go on the truck by federal rule, so mowers, grills and generators travel drained. Anything of extraordinary value has to be declared in writing before loading or it is not covered. Plants, perishables and pets usually travel with you.
Why the weight is worth knowing in Ohio
366 moving companies hold an active federal registration in Ohio, and 54 of them have been inspected on the road without a single crash on record. A load the size of the one you have just counted is a day of work and one truck for most of them, and the volume is where their price starts.
We also read 336 of the lowest-rated reviews left for 71 of those companies and sorted what the customers describe. Damage to belongings was reported in 152 of them, across 59 companies. A bill that grew after the estimate came up in 59 reviews, at 30 companies. Both are arguments about numbers that were never written down: what was being moved, what it weighed, what it was worth.
A printed inventory with a weight on it is not a guarantee. It is evidence, produced before the disagreement rather than after it, which is the only kind that helps. Company pages with enough reviews show the same breakdown for that company, with the quotes behind it, and this is our reading of what reviewers wrote rather than a verified fact about any company.
You know what you are moving. Now find out who moves it.
Send the list to licensed companies in Ohio and let them price the same inventory, or go through the directory yourself and check each USDOT number before you sign anything.
Cubic feet are industry averages for a packed and padded item, not measurements of your furniture. Weight is estimated at 7 pounds per cubic foot. Liability figures follow the federal rules for interstate moves; inside one state, the rules are your state’s. None of this is a quote, and no mover is bound by it. Your entries stay in this browser.