Choosing between a 20ft and a 40ft container
The starting point for any overseas house move by sea is deciding whether the volume of belongings justifies a 20ft container, a 40ft container, or a shared groupage service where a portion of a container is booked rather than the whole unit. A 20ft container offers an indicative internal capacity of around thirty three cubic metres and is generally sufficient for the contents of a one to three bedroom home, particularly where furniture is modest in scale, whereas a 40ft standard container offers roughly double that capacity, around sixty seven cubic metres, and suits a three to five bedroom household or a move that includes a vehicle alongside furniture and boxed effects.
Getting this decision right matters because booking too small a container leads to items being left behind or a scramble to book a second unit at short notice, while booking too large a container wastes money on space that is never filled. A useful approach is to work room by room through the property being vacated, listing major furniture items and estimating box counts for smaller possessions, then cross-referencing that list against typical volume guides that removal companies and freight forwarders use. Where the estimate falls close to the boundary between a 20ft and a 40ft unit, it is generally more cost-effective to step up to the larger container rather than risk a second shipment.
Estimating volume room by room
A structured room-by-room survey is the most reliable way to estimate shipping volume, and it is worth doing this exercise honestly rather than optimistically, since underestimating volume is the single most common cause of last-minute container changes. For each room, list large furniture items individually, noting approximate dimensions, and separately estimate the number of standard tea-chest or box-sized cartons that smaller items, books, kitchenware, clothing and decorative objects will fill once packed. Garages, lofts, sheds and outbuildings are frequently underestimated in this process, since tools, garden equipment, bicycles and seasonal items accumulate volume quickly despite feeling individually insignificant.
As an indicative guide, a typical three-bedroom semi-detached house with a standard three-piece suite, dining furniture, bedroom furniture for three rooms, white goods and the usual accumulation of boxed items often fills somewhere close to a 20ft container, while a four or five-bedroom detached property with a similar furniture density typically requires a 40ft container. Households with unusually large furniture, multiple sofas, several wardrobes, or substantial exercise or workshop equipment should budget for volume above these indicative benchmarks. Where possible, having a removals surveyor visit the property in person, either physically or via a video survey, produces a far more accurate volume estimate than any generic room-based guide.
Packing materials worth investing in
The materials used to pack a container have a direct bearing on how well the contents survive several weeks at sea, during which the container will be lifted, stacked, subjected to vibration on rail wagons or lorries, and exposed to temperature swings that can cause condensation inside the steel box. Double-walled cardboard cartons in a range of sizes, including smaller cartons specifically for books and dense items so that boxes remain liftable, are the foundation of any move, supplemented by wardrobe cartons with a hanging rail for clothing that would otherwise crease or need re-ironing on arrival. Bubble wrap, packing paper and foam corner protectors are essential for glassware, crockery, artwork and framed items, while furniture blankets protect larger pieces from scuffing against each other during transit.
For electrical items, retaining original packaging where it still exists provides the best fit and cushioning, and where it does not, generic electronics cartons with foam inserts are a worthwhile investment for televisions, monitors and audio equipment. Silica gel or moisture-absorbing products placed inside boxes and around the container generally help mitigate condensation risk, which is a genuine concern given that a sealed steel container travelling through varying climates can experience significant internal humidity changes. Mattress bags, sofa covers and plastic sheeting to protect upholstered items from any moisture ingress are similarly inexpensive relative to the value of the items they protect, and skimping on packing materials to save a modest sum is one of the most common regrets reported after a move.
Loading order and building a stable stack
The order in which items go into a container has a substantial effect on how well the load survives the journey, and a good loading plan generally follows the principle of heaviest and most robust items at the bottom and rear, working forward and upward toward lighter, more fragile items near the door. White goods such as washing machines, fridges and freezers, along with flat-pack furniture, wardrobes laid on their sides, and other large rigid items typically form the base of the load, since they can bear weight without being crushed and provide a stable platform for cartons stacked above them.
Boxes should generally be loaded with the heaviest cartons lowest and lightest, most fragile cartons highest, and every gap between items filled with smaller boxes, cushions, or packing material so that nothing can shift during transit; a well-loaded container should have minimal empty space anywhere within it, since void space is what allows items to move, topple and collide when the container is subjected to the pitching and rolling of a vessel at sea. Mattresses and soft furnishings are often used to line the container walls and fill awkward gaps near the roof, doubling as both protection and space-filling material. Fragile and high-value items are typically loaded last, nearest the door, both for protection and so they can be identified and removed carefully on unpacking.
Bracing, dunnage and securing the load
Once a container is loaded, the contents must be braced so that the entire stack behaves as a single stable mass rather than a collection of independent items free to move against one another. This typically involves timber battens or dunnage bars wedged across the width of the container at intervals, lashing straps securing furniture to purpose-built anchor points within the container, and cardboard or plywood sheeting used to create flat, stable surfaces between layers of differently shaped items. Professional loaders will also use void-fill materials, such as inflatable air bags or additional cartons, to eliminate any remaining gaps once the main stack is complete, since even small unfilled spaces can allow enough movement over a multi-week voyage to cause damage.
The final barrier, immediately inside the container doors, is usually a dedicated bracing structure, either a timber frame built across the full width and height of the opening or heavy-duty strapping anchored to the container's own lashing points, designed specifically to prevent the load from shifting forward against the doors when the container is opened at destination. This is a genuine safety consideration as well as a protection measure, since a poorly braced load can spill out, sometimes with considerable force, the moment the doors are unlocked. Professional loading teams photograph the completed bracing before closing and sealing the container, both as quality assurance and as a useful record for insurance purposes.
Preparing a full inventory and valued list
A comprehensive inventory, prepared before loading begins, is one of the most valuable documents in an international house move, serving multiple purposes simultaneously. It provides a numbered, itemised record of exactly what has gone into the container, which is required for customs clearance at destination in almost every country, it forms the basis of the sum insured under a marine cargo insurance policy, and it gives the owner a practical checklist against which to verify that everything has arrived and nothing has gone astray during transit. Each carton should be numbered and its general contents noted, for example kitchen items, books, or children's toys, while individual furniture items and higher-value possessions should be listed separately with a brief description and an estimated replacement value.
A separate valued inventory, sometimes called a valued list, is generally required by insurers and should list higher-value individual items, such as jewellery, artwork, electronics, musical instruments and antiques, with their own estimated replacement cost, since these items materially affect the sum insured and may need to be highlighted for particular care during packing and handling. Keeping a copy of the inventory separately from the shipment itself, ideally digitally as well as on paper, ensures that the record survives even if the physical paperwork inside the container is misplaced. Many countries also require this document, or a simplified version of it, to be submitted in advance to customs authorities before the container is permitted to be cleared on arrival.
Prohibited and restricted items to leave behind
Every destination country maintains a list of items that cannot be imported as part of personal effects, and some of these restrictions are consistent across most jurisdictions while others are specific to particular countries and can catch movers by surprise. Common prohibitions include firearms and ammunition without specific licensing, illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia, pornographic material, certain plant material, seeds and soil due to biosecurity rules, and some food items, particularly fresh produce, meat and dairy products that may harbour pests or pathogens. Aerosols, flammable liquids, gas cylinders, paints, solvents and other hazardous materials are almost universally restricted from standard household effects shipments because of the fire and safety risks they pose in a sealed container.
Beyond outright prohibitions, many countries impose restrictions or additional documentation requirements on items such as alcohol above certain quantities, tobacco, ivory or other protected wildlife products, cultural artefacts, and certain medications, and it is worth checking the specific rules for the destination country well before packing begins rather than discovering a problem when the container is being loaded or, worse, when it arrives at customs. Batteries, particularly lithium batteries in bulk, and full gas canisters for barbecues or camping equipment are frequently overlooked items that fall foul of hazardous goods rules. Our freight desk can provide a destination-specific list of prohibited and restricted items well ahead of the move so that nothing unexpected needs to be removed from the container at the last minute.
Shipping a vehicle alongside household effects
It is common for a house move to include a vehicle, and where volume allows, loading a car within the same 40ft container as household effects can be more cost-effective than shipping the vehicle separately, though it requires careful planning around loading sequence and weight distribution. The vehicle is typically loaded first, driven or winched into the container and secured using wheel chocks and lashing straps anchored to the container floor, after which household goods are loaded around and, where the container height allows, above the vehicle using a purpose-built platform or simply stacked cartons in the remaining space toward the roof of the container.
Certain preparations are required before a vehicle is loaded, including reducing the fuel tank to a low level as required by shipping line and port regulations, disconnecting or securing the battery, removing loose items from the interior and boot, and photographing the vehicle thoroughly to create a condition record before it disappears from view for the remainder of the voyage. Not every destination permits combined loading of a vehicle and household effects in the same container due to local customs procedures that treat vehicle imports and personal effects imports as separate processes, so it is worth confirming this with the freight desk at the quotation stage rather than assuming it will be straightforward everywhere.
Weight distribution and container limits
Containers have a maximum permitted gross weight, and while household effects rarely approach this limit on volume alone, a move that includes a vehicle, substantial quantities of books, or heavy furniture such as solid wood pieces or a piano can bring weight into consideration alongside the more commonly discussed issue of volume. Overloading a container is not simply a safety issue during loading but can also create problems at ports, where weighing is mandatory before a container is permitted to be loaded onto a vessel under international verified gross mass regulations, and a container found to exceed permitted weight can be delayed or rejected outright.
Beyond the total weight limit, distribution of weight within the container matters for safe road and rail transport of the loaded box before and after the sea voyage, since a container that is heavily weighted toward one end can behave unpredictably on a lorry or be difficult to lift evenly with crane equipment at the port. Professional loaders generally aim to keep weight reasonably balanced from front to back, with the heaviest items positioned centrally and low rather than concentrated at either end, and this consideration is one of several reasons why professional loading, rather than a purely do-it-yourself approach, tends to produce a safer and more reliable outcome for a move of any significant scale.
Customs clearance and documentation at destination
Once a container arrives at the destination port, it must clear customs before it can be released for delivery or collection, and the documentation prepared before shipment plays a direct role in how smoothly this process runs. Most countries require the detailed inventory, a copy of the passport of the person importing the effects, proof of residency status or a visa in the destination country, and sometimes a letter confirming employment or relocation, particularly where duty-free import of used personal effects is being claimed under rules that typically require the goods to have been owned and used for a minimum period before the move.
Delays at customs are most commonly caused by incomplete or inconsistent documentation, an inventory that does not match the actual contents of the container, or the inclusion of prohibited or restricted items that trigger inspection, all of which reinforces the importance of accurate preparation before the container ever leaves the country of origin. Some countries also levy duty or tax on certain categories of goods, particularly new items, multiple units of the same item, or vehicles, even where personal effects generally qualify for relief, so it is worth understanding the destination country's specific rules in advance rather than assuming that all household goods will automatically be treated as duty-free.
Unpacking and settling in at the new property
On arrival, the container is typically delivered to the new property on a lorry for kerbside unloading, or in some cases contents are transferred to a smaller vehicle where a full-size container cannot access the destination street or driveway. Before unpacking begins, it is worth checking the container seal number against the number recorded on the shipping documents to confirm it has not been tampered with in transit, and photographing the container and its seal before opening the doors provides a useful record should any dispute arise later. As items are unloaded, checking each numbered carton and furniture item against the original inventory helps confirm that everything shipped has arrived and allows any damage or discrepancy to be noted immediately.
Any damage identified during unpacking should be recorded in writing and photographed straight away, with damaged items and their packaging kept rather than discarded until any insurance claim has been resolved, since disposing of evidence before a surveyor has had the opportunity to inspect it can complicate or undermine a claim. Unpacking a full container is a substantial task, and many households choose to have professional unpacking included as part of the service, which typically includes placing furniture in designated rooms and removing packing debris once contents have been checked off against the inventory, leaving the new property genuinely ready to live in rather than simply full of boxes.
Speak to our freight desk about your move
Packing a container for an overseas house move successfully depends on accurate volume estimation, appropriate materials, disciplined loading and bracing, thorough documentation, and a clear understanding of destination-specific customs and prohibited items rules, all of which benefit enormously from experienced guidance rather than guesswork. Whether the move involves a 20ft container for a smaller household or a full 40ft unit including a vehicle alongside furniture and personal effects, planning each of these elements properly before the removal date arrives makes a measurable difference to how smoothly the shipment proceeds and how the contents arrive at the other end.
If you are planning an overseas relocation and would like a written quote covering container size recommendations, packing materials, professional loading, insurance options and destination customs guidance, please contact our freight desk. We can talk through your specific inventory, advise on whether a 20ft or 40ft container best suits your volume, and set out clearly what is required at both ends of the journey so that your move is planned around accurate information rather than assumptions that only become apparent once the container has already left the country.
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We book vehicle, container and air freight movements out of the UK every week and file the customs entries in house. Send the dimensions, the destination and the date you need it there, and we will price it properly in writing.