Kelowna Packing Services Done Right: Inside Two Small Men with Big Hearts’ Expert Approach

Packing a home looks easy until you actually have to do it. That truth is something Kerry Wallace learned early on while working with Two Small Men with Big Hearts Moving in Kelowna, a city where lake views, hillside homes, and anything but flat driveways keep movers on their toes.

“People think packing is just putting things in boxes,” Kerry says. “But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, and you only really learn that from doing it over and over.”

In Kelowna, packing services have become a bigger part of the job in recent years. With a mix of retirees downsizing, families upgrading, and seasonal residents moving in and out of lakefront properties, many customers want help not just with lifting furniture but with safely boxing up everything they own. Kerry is one of the few long-time packers in the Kelowna branch, and he’s seen firsthand how much difference experience makes.

“There’s only a handful of us here who’ve been doing packing for years,” he explains. “Lately I’ve been doing a lot more of it, and it really shows how important the details are.”

Those details can be surprisingly specific. One of Kerry’s favourite examples is dishes, something almost everyone gets wrong when packing on their own.

“You never lay plates flat in a box,” Kerry says. “You wrap them and stand them on their edge. That’s the strongest point. If a box gets dropped and everything’s flat, you destroy the whole thing.”

It’s the kind of tip that sounds obvious after you hear it, but most people never think about it until a box opens at the other end and there’s nothing but shards. Packing services exist largely to prevent those moments, especially during longer moves or moves involving stairs, elevators, and narrow hallways common in older Kelowna apartment buildings.

Packing jobs also tend to reveal just how much stuff people actually own. Kerry laughs when he talks about estimates that don’t quite match reality.

“You show up thinking there’s a certain amount to pack, and then you walk in and realize it’s way more,” he says. “A kitchen alone can be forty to fifty boxes, depending on the size. People really underestimate that.”

One job in particular still stands out. It was booked as a standard move with packing included, but when the crew arrived, the scale of the job became clear immediately.

“We pulled up with one of the biggest international trucks we have,” Kerry recalls. “It’s about thirty-six feet long, front to back. And even then, it was obvious this wasn’t going to fit everything they wanted packed and moved.”

The situation became tense when the customer insisted everything could be done within the original timeline. Kerry tried to explain how long packing actually takes, especially when it’s done properly.

“I told them how many boxes a kitchen usually takes and showed them the amount of stuff they had,” he says. “I even took pictures to document it. I always try to cover my tracks and be fair about it.”

In the end, it was the only packing job Kerry ever walked away from.

“The customer was rude and unrealistic,” he says. “You can’t just rush packing and expect it to work out. That was the first job I ever left, and it wasn’t a decision I made lightly.”

Most of the time, though, packing jobs run smoothly, especially when expectations are clear from the start. Kerry believes a lot of issues could be avoided with better upfront conversations.

“When people call to book, there needs to be more time spent asking questions,” he explains. “You’ve got to know the size of the kitchen, the layout of the place, the driveway, the building access. Kelowna driveways aren’t flat like other places. Some trucks can’t get down them, and that changes everything.”

Kelowna’s terrain adds complexity not just to driving but to packing logistics. Homes perched above the lake often have long staircases, tight turns, and limited parking. Condos downtown might have elevators that require bookings or rules about keeping doors closed, which slows things down.

“All of that affects how many people you need,” Kerry says. “For packing and moving, especially in apartments, three guys is ideal. One in the truck, one in the elevator, one up top. It saves time and keeps things moving.”

That efficiency matters because packing isn’t just about speed. It’s about protecting belongings, respecting the customer’s home, and making sure the move day itself doesn’t spiral into chaos.

“A proper packing job makes the whole move smoother,” Kerry says. “When it’s done right, unloading is easier, nothing’s broken, and the customer isn’t stressed out wondering where everything went.”

In a place like Kelowna, where moves often involve downsizing, long-distance relocations, or navigating tricky properties, packing services can be the difference between a manageable move and a nightmare. For Kerry, it’s all part of the job, one box at a time.

“Packing takes patience,” he says. “But when you open those boxes at the other end and everything’s intact, that’s when you know it was worth doing it properly.”

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