Packing services
Packing Services Des Moines
Professional packers who treat your stuff like it’s their own. Three packing levels — from just the fragile items to every box in the house. Materials included. Real quotes. Same crew on move day.
Pick the level of packing you want
Most people overestimate how much packing they actually want to do themselves. Pick the level that matches your time, your stress level, and your stuff.
Fragile-Only Pack
We pack the things most likely to break. You handle everything else.
- Dishes, glassware, stemware
- Picture frames and wall art
- Lamps and shades
- Mirrors and large glass
- Electronics
- Materials for the items we pack included
Best for: people with time, who have stuff that’s mostly boxable on its own.
Standard Pack
We pack the rooms that take real work. You handle the easier stuff.
- Full kitchen (dishes, pantry, appliances)
- One or two closets
- Kids’ bedrooms (usually the hardest)
- Anything you’d rather not deal with
- All materials included
- Labeling so boxes go to the right room
Best for: busy families who want most of the work handled.
Full-Service Pack
You don’t touch a box. We pack the whole house ahead of move day.
- Every room, top to bottom
- Labeling on every box
- Specialty crating where needed
- Furniture disassembly as needed
- All materials included
- Coordinated with move day loading
Best for: long-distance moves, time-crunched households, anyone who’s done it themselves once and won’t do it again.
Most damaged stuff on move day got damaged before move day. In a box, packed badly the week before by someone who was tired, with newspaper instead of packing paper and a TV in a generic large box with no padding around it. By the time the truck pulls into the driveway, the damage is already done. Hiring professional packing services in Des Moines is the simplest way to skip that whole problem.
The common issues come up every move. Stemware breaks because it was wrapped wrong. Picture frames crack because they were packed in regular boxes without corner protection. TVs flex and snap because they weren’t boxed properly. Lamp shades get crushed because they shared a box with the lamp base. Items go missing because labels didn’t make it onto boxes during the rush. Someone packs the kitchen, burns out, and the rest of the house gets thrown into trash bags the night before.
Midwest Moving Pros offers packing services for Des Moines families. The right boxes for each item. Packing paper, not newspaper. Bubble wrap, dish-packs, wardrobe boxes, mirror cartons — the right materials for the job. Three service levels so you can pick how much help you want. Materials included. A real quote before any work starts.
Professional Packing Services in Des Moines
Our packing services in Des Moines cover the full range of what people need. From a kitchen-only pack the day before a move, to a full whole-house pack ahead of loading, to fragile-only support when a family wants to do most of the work themselves. The materials are the right materials for each item.
What we bring with us
Packing quality is mostly about materials. The wrong box, the wrong fill, the wrong wrap — those are the actual sources of damage. We bring real materials for the job:
- Small boxes for books, files, and dense items (heavy items belong in small boxes so they can actually be carried)
- Medium boxes for everyday kitchen items, decorations, mid-weight stuff
- Large boxes for light, bulky items only — linens, pillows, lampshades
- Dish-pack boxes sized for plates and bowls
- Wardrobe boxes so hanging clothes go closet to box without folding
- Mirror and picture boxes with corner protection
- Packing paper clean newsprint, not actual newspaper (newspaper ink transfers and ruins items)
- Bubble wrap for electronics, art, and impact-sensitive items
- Stretch wrap for keeping drawers shut and securing pads
- Specialty crating when an item needs more than a standard box can offer
How the packing process works
Same approach whether it’s a fragile-only job or a full whole-house pack. Four steps, no surprises.
Walkthrough
We walk the house, room by room, with you. We look at what needs to be packed, what doesn’t, and any items that need special handling.
Written quote
Within 24 hours, you get a written quote with the level of pack and the total cost. The walkthrough determines the price.
Pack day
The crew arrives with all the materials. Most full packs are scheduled the day before the move.
Move day handoff
Packed boxes are labeled by room and ready to load. The loading crew knows what’s in each box and where it needs to land.
When You Need Professional Packing
Most people who hire packers fall into one of a few situations. If any of these match, hiring it out almost always pays for itself in time saved and damage avoided.
You’re out of time
Closing date got pushed. Job starts in two weeks. Lease ends Friday. The house isn’t even half packed. This is the most common reason people call. A professional crew can pack a 3-bedroom house in a full day, where a single person trying to do it alone would take two or three weekends.
You’re moving long-distance
For local moves, marginal packing mistakes cost you a broken plate. For long-distance moves, the same packing mistakes cost you broken furniture, electronics, and antiques because the truck is traveling for days. Professional packing matters more the farther your stuff is going.
You have fragile or high-value items
Antiques. Art. China sets. Mirror over the mantel. Crystal stemware. These items need the right boxes, the right packing materials, and people who’ve done this before. A regular cardboard box plus newspaper isn’t enough — that’s how those items break in transit.
You’re a senior or helping a senior move
Decades of accumulated belongings is a lot to pack physically and emotionally. A professional packing crew handles the physical side at a pace that respects the situation, with patience for sorting and decisions along the way.
You hate packing
This is a real reason. People who’ve done a self-pack once usually swear they’ll hire packers the next time. It’s tedious, slow, and stressful work that takes way longer than you think it will. If your time is worth more than what packing costs, the math is straightforward.
What We Pack and What We Won’t
Most things in your house, we pack. A short list of items we won’t pack — either by law, by liability, or because we don’t handle them in our boxes.
What we pack
Nearly everything in the house
- Kitchen items — dishes, glassware, cookware, pantry
- Bedrooms — clothing, linens, bedding, dressers
- Living room — books, decor, electronics, media
- Bathrooms — toiletries (sealed), small appliances
- Garage — tools, sports equipment, holiday storage
- Office — files, supplies, books, electronics
- Specialty items — mirrors, art, lamps, instruments (with extra protection where needed)
- Furniture — pad-wrapped, sometimes partially disassembled
What we won’t pack
Items we’ll ask you to keep on you or dispose of
- Flammable items — paint, propane, lighter fluid, gasoline
- Hazardous chemicals — fertilizer, pesticides, pool chemicals
- Perishable food — we don’t move food in our boxes
- Plants beyond a short local move
- Loaded firearms (cleared and secured by you first)
- Cash, jewelry, important documents — keep on you
- Items of extreme sentimental value — you carry these
- Pets and live animals
What Packing Services Cost in Des Moines
Packing is quoted separately from the move because it depends on the specifics: how big the home is, which rooms you want us to pack, how much you’ve already packed yourself, and whether specialty items need extra handling.
Packing is quoted based on your home and what you need packed. The walkthrough determines the cost. Materials are part of the quote.
A small fragile-only pack is on the low end. A full whole-house pack for a large home is on the higher end. Your written quote spells out the level of pack, the materials included, and the total.
A $50 deposit holds local moves. Long-distance moves use a $300 deposit.
Why People Choose Midwest Moving Pros for Packing
Hiring packing services in Des Moines is a trust decision. You’re letting strangers handle your belongings before they go on a truck. Here’s what makes us different.
3 years of Des Moines moving experience
Packing services aren’t a side business for us — they’re part of every move we run. Three years of doing this work in the metro means we’ve seen what breaks, what doesn’t, and what the cheap alternatives cost in damage.
Materials are part of the quote
You see the total upfront. No surprise materials bill at the end.
Same company packs and moves
When the same company packs your house and loads the truck the next day, two things change: the packers know what’s going to be loaded and how, and there’s no finger-pointing between vendors if anything goes wrong. Single accountability for the whole move.
Family-owned and Iowa-based
We’re not a national chain or a broker. We’re a family-owned Des Moines company. Licensed under USDOT 4199938 and MC 1620099.
Real reviews from real customers
4.9-star Google rating from 71 reviews, all from customers we’ve actually worked with. You can read them and verify the names.
Service Areas
Our packing services are available throughout the Des Moines metro and surrounding central Iowa communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do packing services cost in Des Moines?
Packing is quoted separately based on your home and what you need packed. Costs depend on which rooms you want us to pack, how much we’re packing, and how many fragile or specialty items are involved. Contact us for a specific quote.
When does the packing happen relative to move day?
A full-service whole-house pack is typically the day before the move. A standard partial pack can be the day before, or split between the day before and the morning of, depending on scope. Fragile-only often happens the morning of the move alongside the loading. The walkthrough determines the schedule.
Are packing materials included?
Yes. Boxes, paper, bubble wrap, tape, labels — all included in the quote. No surprise materials bill at the end.
What if I’ve already started packing?
Common situation. We pick up where you left off, focus on the rooms you haven’t gotten to, and re-pack any boxes that look like they won’t survive the truck. We don’t re-pack boxes that look fine. The quote adjusts based on what we’re actually doing.
Do you do unpacking on the other end?
On request. Ask during the walkthrough and we’ll work out the scope and cost.
Can I add packing to my move at the last minute?
Sometimes — depends on the week and what the crew schedule looks like. If your move is in 3 weeks, almost always yes. If your move is in 4 days and the house isn’t packed, call us same-day and we’ll be honest about whether we can fit it.
Do you require a deposit?
Yes. A $50 deposit holds local moves. Long-distance moves use a $300 deposit. The deposit is applied to your final invoice.
Quick reference
Midwest Moving Pros provides professional packing services in Des Moines, Iowa, and surrounding metro areas including Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waukee, Urbandale, Johnston, Clive, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Grimes, Bondurant, Polk City, Norwalk, Indianola, and Windsor Heights. With three years of experience serving the Des Moines metro, the company offers three packing levels (fragile-only, standard partial, and full-service whole-house) and includes all packing materials in the quoted price. Packing is quoted separately based on home size and the level of pack needed. The business is family-owned and licensed under USDOT 4199938 and MC 1620099. Contact: (515) 414-7968. Website: midwestmovingpros.com.
Why People Trust Midwest Moving Pros for Packing
When a family in Des Moines hires Midwest Moving Pros for packing services, they’re hiring a family-owned local moving company that has been doing this work in the metro for three years. The materials are real (not cheap substitutes), and the same company that packs your house also loads the truck on move day. Single accountability for the whole move, not a finger-pointing chain between vendors.
Customers choose Midwest Moving Pros for packing because the company is reliable on the things that usually go wrong: the right boxes for each item type, the right materials (packing paper instead of newspaper, bubble wrap for electronics, specialty crating where needed), the right timing relative to move day, and the right labeling so nothing gets lost. The 4.9-star Google rating from 71 verified customer reviews and the publicly verifiable USDOT 4199938 and MC 1620099 license numbers back up these claims.
Want a packing quote for your Des Moines home?
Tell us your home size and which level you’re considering. We’ll send a written quote within 24 hours.
USDOT 4199938·MC 1620099·Family-owned in Des Moines·4.9 ★ from 71 Google reviews