27 framed pieces, 9 boxes. Tick things off as they go
in the cart — it saves on this device.
Still to buy
$107.70
Boxes
9
Pieces
27
Measure frame depth before you buy. These boxes are only 4″ deep, and
that — not the face size — is what decides how many pieces share a box.
If these are chunky gallery frames at 1.5–2″ only one layer fits per box:
standard boxes 2 and 3 will not close, and boxes 5–8 hold two mid-size pieces
each instead of four. That is six more standard boxes (+$41.70).
15 of these sizes are estimates, not measurements. Everything marked
≈ is one of the mid-size pieces, recorded at 20×16 because
the only thing known about them is that each is smaller than Penn (large) at
26.5×20.5. Even at that ceiling every one still fits a standard box, so this
affects how many boxes you need, not whether they fit. Four to a box assumes they
are near 20×16 and thin.
4 foam corners, a 17 ft strap and a buckle -- enough for ONE picture. This one goes on Amsterdam, the only piece alone in its box. Adds about 2 inches to width and height; fits frames up to 2.2 inches thick.
MARGIN ONLY. The Duck roll arriving in Cambridge is 12 in x 175 ft = 175 sq ft, and the job needs about 180 sq ft at the ratio the original 40 ft roll implied for 12 pieces. One U-Haul roll (24 in x 40 ft = 80 sq ft) is the cushion. Its 24 in width also covers the big pieces in one pass, which 12 in cannot.
FIRST LAYER ONLY -- the sheet that touches the glass. About 34 sheets covers all 27 pieces, so 100 is triple what is needed and 200 is paper you would have to move or bin. Newspaper does the void fill.
$16.951 × $16.95
Still to buy$107.70
What goes in each box
Rotate, tile, then stack. The boxes are far bigger than most of the pictures
— a 37×27 face is 999 sq in and a mid-size picture is 320 —
so the trick is filling one, not fitting one.
Rotate. Every picture may turn 90°. Match its long edge to the
box’s 37″ and its short edge to the 27″. All
27 pass that test.
Tile. Small pieces sit side by side in one layer like a jigsaw —
box 4 takes four of them that way, in two rows.
Stack. Big pieces take a layer to themselves, and layers stack through the
4″ depth. The depth is the real limit, never the face.
Then fill the gaps. Crumpled newspaper until nothing shifts when you tilt
the closed box. A picture with room to slide arrives corner-first.
Large box48-1/4" x 4-5/16" x 32-11/16"
Amsterdam alone. The Picture Packer Kit adds about 2 inches to width and height (U-Haul's own figure, verified 2026-09-08), so at 36 x 24 it needs 38 x 26 of interior -- more than the 37 x 27 standard box has on its long edge. This is measured, not estimated.
Amsterdam 36×24
How they sit: One layer, one picture. Amsterdam sits in the Picture Packer Kit, which adds about 2 in each way, so its real footprint is 38 x 26 inside a 48 x 32 interior -- 10 in spare along the length, 6 across.
Standard box 137" x 4" x 27"
The two 21 x 27 bedside pieces. Identical size, so they pair with no wasted space. Lay them with the 27 inch edge along the box's 37 inch length.
Side of bed 1 21×27Side of bed 2 21×27
How they sit: Two layers, one picture each. They cannot share a layer at any rotation: 21 + 21 = 42 and 27 + 27 = 54, both wider than 37. Turn each so its 27 in edge runs along the box's 37 in length -- 10 in spare lengthwise, 6 across.
Standard box 237" x 4" x 27"
The two mid-size pieces, 28 x 21 and 26.5 x 20.5. Similar footprints stack flat against each other.
Over desk A 28×21Penn (large) 26.5×20.5
How they sit: Two layers, one picture each. 28 + 26.5 = 54.5 and no rotation gets the pair under 37, so they stack face to face rather than sitting side by side.
Standard box 337" x 4" x 27"
Boat plus the two 16 inch pieces. Princeton and Over desk D sit side by side across the 37 inch width.
Boat 25×19Princeton 16×16Over desk D 14×16
How they sit: Two layers. Boat (25 x 19) takes the first on its own. Princeton and Over desk D share the second, side by side: 16 + 14 = 30 across the 37 in length, both only 16 tall.
Standard box 437" x 4" x 27"
The four smallest. Laid out in one layer with paper between them so nothing slides.
Penn (small) 16×10Over desk B 13×10Over desk C 12.5×8.5Gavin 11×9
How they sit: ONE layer, all four, tiled in two rows. Top row: Penn (small) 16 x 10 beside Over desk B 13 x 10 = 29 wide. Bottom row: Over desk C 12.5 x 8.5 beside Gavin 11 x 9 = 23.5 wide. Together 29 x 19 in a 37 x 27 face -- about 8 in spare each way. This is the box that shows what these boxes are really for.
Standard box 537" x 4" x 27"
4 of the 15 mid-size pieces. At an estimated 20 x 16 they go two side by side in a layer -- 16 + 16 = 32 across the box's 37 inch length, 20 up the 27 -- and two layers deep. Sizes are ESTIMATES; measure before you rely on the grouping.
How they sit: Two layers of two. Turn each picture so its 16 in edge runs across the 37 in length: 16 + 16 = 32, leaving 5 in. At 20 in tall in a 27 in height, nothing fits the 7 in strip left over -- which is why it is two per layer, not three.
Standard box 637" x 4" x 27"
4 of the 15 mid-size pieces. At an estimated 20 x 16 they go two side by side in a layer -- 16 + 16 = 32 across the box's 37 inch length, 20 up the 27 -- and two layers deep. Sizes are ESTIMATES; measure before you rely on the grouping.
How they sit: Two layers of two. Turn each picture so its 16 in edge runs across the 37 in length: 16 + 16 = 32, leaving 5 in. At 20 in tall in a 27 in height, nothing fits the 7 in strip left over -- which is why it is two per layer, not three.
Standard box 737" x 4" x 27"
4 of the 15 mid-size pieces. At an estimated 20 x 16 they go two side by side in a layer -- 16 + 16 = 32 across the box's 37 inch length, 20 up the 27 -- and two layers deep. Sizes are ESTIMATES; measure before you rely on the grouping.
How they sit: Two layers of two. Turn each picture so its 16 in edge runs across the 37 in length: 16 + 16 = 32, leaving 5 in. At 20 in tall in a 27 in height, nothing fits the 7 in strip left over -- which is why it is two per layer, not three.
Standard box 837" x 4" x 27"
3 of the 15 mid-size pieces. At an estimated 20 x 16 they go two side by side in a layer -- 16 + 16 = 32 across the box's 37 inch length, 20 up the 27 -- and two layers deep. Sizes are ESTIMATES; measure before you rely on the grouping.
How they sit: Two layers, two then one. Same pairing as boxes 5-7 with one slot spare. Put the sturdiest piece alone in the top layer and fill the gap beside it.
Every piece, largest first
Piece
Size (in)
Wall
Clear.
Amsterdam
36 × 24
—
8"
Over desk A
28 × 21
Over desk
6"
Side of bed 1
21 × 27
Side of bed
6"
Side of bed 2
21 × 27
Side of bed
6"
Penn (large)
26.5 × 20.5
—
6.5"
Boat
25 × 19
—
8"
Mid-size 1
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 2
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 3
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 4
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 5
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 6
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 7
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 8
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 9
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 10
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 11
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 12
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 13
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 14
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Mid-size 15
≈20 × 16
—
11"
Princeton
16 × 16
—
11"
Over desk D
14 × 16
Over desk
13"
Penn (small)
16 × 10
—
17"
Over desk B
13 × 10
Over desk
17"
Over desk C
12.5 × 8.5
Over desk
18.5"
Gavin
11 × 9
—
18"
Packing
Paper against the glass FIRST, bubble over the paper. Bubble left directly on glass can print onto it in a warm truck, and it marks frame finishes.
Frames travel on edge, never flat with weight on top.
The box is only 4 inches deep. That depth, not the face dimensions, is what limits how many pieces share a box.
The 15 mid-size pieces pack two to a layer, two layers to a box. If any of them is wider than 21 inches on its short edge, two will not sit side by side across the 37 inch length and that box holds half as many.
The Picture Packer Kit protects ONE picture and fits frames up to 2.2 inches thick. It is on Amsterdam. Every other piece rides on paper and bubble against the frame beside it, which is what stacking two to four in a box means.
NEWSPRINT NEVER TOUCHES GLASS OR A FRAME FINISH -- the ink transfers, and a week under pressure in a warm truck is exactly the condition that makes it transfer. Clean packing paper is the first layer against the glass; newspaper is void fill only, once the piece is already wrapped. This is the same rule the movers' INVENTORY.md states for the pro-pack, and it does not change because the packing is being done by hand.
Bubble coverage is TIGHT, not comfortable. 27 pieces need roughly 180 sq ft at the 6.7 sq ft per piece the original plan implied; the Cambridge Duck roll is 175 sq ft and a 12 in width wastes more at the overlaps than a 24 in one. That is why one U-Haul roll is still on the list.
HOW THEY FIT, in one rule: ROTATE, TILE, THEN STACK. Every picture may turn 90 degrees, so compare its LONG edge to the box's 37 in and its SHORT edge to the 27 in -- that is the test build.py runs, and all 27 pass. Small pieces then tile side by side in a single layer like a jigsaw (box 4 holds four that way). Big ones take a layer to themselves. Layers stack through the 4 in depth. The face is almost never the constraint: a 37 x 27 box is 999 sq in and a mid-size picture is 320.
THE EMPTY SPACE IS THE DANGER, not the fit. A picture with room to slide arrives corner-first against the box wall, and every one of these boxes is far larger than the pieces in it. Fill every gap with crumpled newspaper until nothing shifts when you tilt the closed box. That is why small pieces are grouped rather than given a box each.
Already have
Scotch Heavy Duty Shipping Packing Tape, 1.88 in x 27.7 yd — Ordered from Amazon on 2026-08-11. One roll is plenty for five boxes, so no tape needed.
Duck Brand Small Bubble Cushioning Wrap, 12 in x 175 ft, perforated every 12 in — TWO rolls bought, and they are in DIFFERENT STATES. One ships to Cambridge, due Wed 2026-09-09 -- that is the one that matters, because the pictures get packed in Cambridge. The other shipped 2026-09-04 to Palo Alto and cannot help pack anything. Count only the Cambridge roll: 175 sq ft. Order numbers are in this record, not on the page.
Newspaper, a lot of it — Free void fill -- crumpled in the bottom of each box, in the gaps beside the frames, and between wrapped pieces. It does NOT replace packing paper against the glass. See packing_notes.
Worth knowing
The 15 'Mid-size' pieces are NOT MEASURED. Theo said only that they are mid-size and each smaller than Penn (large), 26.5 x 20.5; the 20 x 16 in this record is an estimate standing in for a measurement. Every one of them still fits a standard box even at the 26.5 x 20.5 ceiling, so the box COUNT is what the estimate affects, not whether they fit -- four per box assumes they are near 20 x 16 and thin.
Frame DEPTH is not recorded anywhere. The mirror boxes are 4 inches deep, so if these are chunky gallery frames at 1.5-2 inches, only one layer fits per box: standard boxes 2 and 3 will not close and the four mid-size boxes hold two pieces each instead of four. That is 6 more standard boxes (+$41.70). Measure the thickest frame before ordering.
The bubble arithmetic assumes the original 40 ft roll really was sized right for 12 pieces -- it was described as 'about right with little to spare', which is an estimate, not a measurement. If the mid-size frames turn out chunky, wrapping eats more.
CONFIRMED instance of the online-vs-in-store gap: the 70-sheet packing paper bundle is listed online but was not on the shelf on 2026-09-08. Treat every other price here the same way -- they were read from uhaul.com on 2026-09-07, and the shelf is the authority.