This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Packing a nursery for a move is tricky because the room never stops working. Your baby still needs to sleep, eat and get changed every few hours while everything around them goes into boxes. The fix is a packing order. What you can live without leaves early, what you use every day leaves last, and those same daily pieces come out first at the new place.

Here's how to pack a nursery for moving so the room keeps working until the last day. For the rest of the house, including movers, timing and planning moving day around feeds, see our realistic packing and timing plan for moving with a newborn.

The nursery packing order at a glance

3–4 weeks out: pack what your baby won't miss

In short: anything decorative, seasonal or the wrong size can go now.

• ☐  Take down wall art, frames and shelves. Patch nail holes now if your lease requires it.
• ☐  Sort outgrown clothes into donate, store and keep piles before packing, so you don't move clothes you'll never use. If you're unsure how much to keep, our guide to how many clothes a newborn actually needs can help you trim.
• ☐  Box the next size up and write the size on the box, such as "NURSERY – 6–9M." If your baby is near the top of their current size, keep a few next-size outfits out.
• ☐  Pack spare blankets, quilts and glider pillows.
• ☐  Pack books and toys, leaving out three to five bedtime books and a small basket of favorites.
• ☐  Gather keepsakes into one small box that travels in your car: the baby book, hospital bracelet, ultrasound prints and the growth chart, after one last height mark.

Keepsakes are the one category to keep off the truck. They're small, easy to lose in a stack of identical boxes, and impossible to replace.

The week before: shrink the nursery to a few days of life

By the end of this week, the room should hold only what you'll use before moving day.

• ☐  Pack the rest of the closet, keeping out three to four days of outfits and sleepers.
• ☐  Pack clothes one size per box or bin, so unpacking can go size by size too.
• ☐  Move hanging clothes on their hangers: bundle 10–15 together and pull a tall trash bag up over them, or use a wardrobe box.
• ☐  Keep out two crib sheets and two changing pad covers. Pack the rest.
• ☐  Pack backup diapers and wipes if you're moving nearby. If you're moving far, use up what you have and buy a fresh pack near the new house.
• ☐  If you're leaving the area, choose a new pediatrician now and ask for your baby's records to be sent.

Label every nursery box on the top and two sides with "NURSERY" and what's inside. A roll of colored tape used only for nursery boxes helps movers spot them. On moving day, tape a matching sign on the nursery door at the new house so boxes land in the right room.

Moving morning: what to pack last

In short: the crib comes apart after the last sleep in the old house and goes on the truck last, so it comes off first.

1. Photograph the crib from each side, then snap a photo at each step as you take it apart. These become your reassembly instructions.
2. Bag every bolt, washer and the Allen key in one zip-top bag. Label it with the crib's name and tape it firmly to the headboard, or put it in the open-first box.
3. Save the manual. If the paper copy is gone, find the model number on the crib's label and save the manufacturer's PDF to your phone.
4. Bag the mattress in a mattress bag to keep it clean and dry.
5. Pack the sleep gear as soon as your baby is up: monitor, white noise machine, night light and sleep sacks go straight into the open-first box.
6. Ask the movers to load the crib and mattress last. If you're moving yourself, stack them nearest the truck door.

If a bolt goes missing, get an exact replacement from the manufacturer rather than a hardware-store substitute. A crib with missing, loose or broken parts shouldn't be used until it's fixed.

If the truck won't arrive the same day, as with a long-distance move or a stop in storage, the crib won't be there for night one. Bring a play yard or portable crib in your car, with only the pad that came with it and a sheet made to fit it. Safe sleep basics don't change in a new house: back to sleep, a firm flat surface and nothing else in the sleep space. The AAP's sleep guidance on HealthyChildren.org covers the details.

The open-first box: your moving checklist for nursery items

This is one bin with everything for three to four days of sleeping, changing and dressing. It rides with you, not on the truck. A clear plastic bin beats cardboard here, because you can see what's inside at 2 a.m. Label it "OPEN FIRST – NURSERY" on every side.

Sleep

• ☐  Two fitted crib sheets, plus a play yard sheet if you're bringing one
• ☐  Two or three sleep sacks or swaddles
• ☐  White noise machine, night light and their cords
• ☐  Baby monitor, mount and cables
• ☐  Cordless temporary paper shades if the new windows are bare

Changing

• ☐  Diapers and wipes: count what you use on a normal day, multiply by four, and add a few extra in case of delays
• ☐  Diaper cream
• ☐  Changing pad (or a travel pad if yours won't fit in the bin) and both covers
• ☐  Diaper pail bags or small trash bags

Clothes

• ☐  Three to four days of outfits. For a young baby, plan on two or three per day, since spit-up and blowouts add up fast.
• ☐  Sleepers or pajamas for each night
• ☐  Socks, a hat and one layer suited to the weather at the new place
• ☐  Burp cloths and bibs

Our capsule approach to packing baby clothes works well for this set. Pick pieces that all mix and match, so any top goes with any bottom.

Feeding and care

• ☐  Bottles, nipples and a bottle brush, plus formula or pump parts if you use them
• ☐  Any medicine your pediatrician has recommended, a thermometer and nail clippers
• ☐  Baby wash, two towels and a few washcloths
• ☐  Your pediatrician's phone number and a copy of your baby's records

Comfort and tools

• ☐  The bedtime books and favorite toys you kept out
• ☐  Screwdriver, box cutter and the crib hardware bag if it isn't taped to the crib
• ☐  Sliding or self-closing outlet covers and a furniture anchor kit

Unpack first: setting up the nursery in your new house

In short: check the room, build the crib, set up changing, then open the box. Everything else can wait.

1. Check the room before furniture goes in. Look for corded blinds, uncovered outlets, window locks, heaters and anything the last occupants left behind. Add sliding or self-closing outlet covers (small plug-in caps can be pulled out and choked on), and remove corded blinds or secure the cords well out of reach.
2. Choose the crib spot. Keep it away from windows, blind cords, heaters and shelves, with nothing hung on the wall above it.
3. Give the floor a quick clean where the crib and changing area will go.
4. Build the crib using your photos. Then check it: tighten every bolt, push on each side to make sure nothing wobbles, and confirm the mattress fits snugly with no gaps at the edges. Take the mattress out of its moving bag and throw the bag away, then add a fitted sheet and nothing else.
5. Set up the monitor with the camera and its cord at least three feet from the crib.
6. Set up the changing area. If you use a dresser or changing table, anchor it to the wall before you load it. Tip-overs become a real risk once babies start pulling up on furniture.
7. Unpack the open-first box: white noise, night light and sleep sacks first, then changing supplies, medicine, the box cutter and any leftover crib hardware within your reach but out of your baby's.
8. Get one drawer or closet section ready with three to four days of clothes, so getting dressed doesn't mean digging through boxes.

Then stop. A working crib, a working changing station and a few days of clothes are enough for night one. Keep the bedtime routine exactly as it was, with the same order, sleep sack and white noise, so the new room has familiar cues.

Unpacking the rest of the nursery

Over the next week or two, unpack by size and save the walls for last.

• Closet: Open one size box at a time. Hang the current size where it's easiest to reach and the next size beside it. Throw away the plastic bags from your hanging clothes as you unpack, out of your baby's reach. Outgrown clothes don't come back into the room. If you use closet dividers, hang them on the rod before the clothes so each size already has a spot. Our Newborn Closet Divider Set ($28) is 1/8-inch etched birch wood and covers newborn through 24 months.
• Furniture: Anchor bookshelves and dressers as they go in, not later.
• Walls: Hang decor once furniture is in place. Use secure hardware, keep it out of reach, and never hang anything above or beside the crib.

Bring the height marks with you

Door-frame marks stay with the house, so record them before you go. Photograph each mark with a tape measure in the shot. Then write down each child's name, the date and the height, measured from the floor. That record lets you copy the marks onto a chart at the new house.

If you already have a canvas chart, take one last mark before it comes down and write the date and old street name beside it. Roll it loosely rather than folding it, and keep it with the keepsakes in your car. If it still arrives creased or damp, here's how to fix a growth chart damaged during a move.

When you rehang it, use a tape measure so it sits at the same height off the floor as before and your old marks still line up. Choose a wall away from the crib and a secure hook.

If you're starting fresh in the new house, a canvas chart is the portable version of the door frame. Our Canvas Kids Growth Chart ($44) is 100% cotton canvas that hangs from a silver grommet, starts at the 6-inch mark so it clears the baseboard, and comes with a fabric-safe pen. It ships in 7–10 business days, so order it at least two to three weeks before you want it on the wall.

Canvas Kids Growth Chart

$44.00

View the Canvas Kids Growth Chart

The whole plan comes down to one rule: what your baby uses every day is the last thing to leave the old house and the first thing to work in the new one. Get the crib, the changing station and the open-first box right, and the rest of the nursery can come together one box at a time, on your schedule.

Frequently asked questions