✨ How to Calculate Cubic Feet for Moving (According to an Alien Llama Overlord)
So, you’re moving. Again. Because life is chaos and rent is due. You’ve got a couch, a fridge, and 47 boxes of stuff you swear you “might need someday.” But now the moving company is demanding to know: “How many cubic feet is your crap?” And you respond with the only answer that feels right: “What even IS a cubic foot, and why does it sound like a rejected Harry Potter spell?”
🌌 What Even *Are* Cubic Feet?
Let’s pretend for a moment that we live in a world where logic reigns. In that fantasy land, cubic feet are a measure of volume — the amount of 3D space an object takes up. Think of it like this: if you trapped your couch in a clear gelatinous cube (don’t ask why), how big would that cube be? That’s cubic feet.
Imagine stacking 12-inch rulers like Tetris blocks in all directions until your soul gives up. That’s how moving companies think. Welcome to the cube dimension.
🧱 The Sacred Formula of the Box Priests
Here it is, handed down by the ancient Order of the Flat-Pack Furniture Builders:
Cubic Feet = Length × Width × Height
Each measurement must be in feet. Not inches. Not meters. Not anger. Feet.
✨ Example: The Sofa of Doom
Your sofa is 84 inches long, 36 inches deep, and 30 inches tall. First, convert inches to feet (divide by 12):
- 84″ = 7 ft
- 36″ = 3 ft
- 30″ = 2.5 ft
Then multiply: 7 × 3 × 2.5 = 52.5 cubic feet
Congratulations! You now know your sofa’s true cosmic footprint.
🧙♂️ Cubic Feet Cheat Sheet for the Terminally Confused
Let’s face it, you don’t want to measure everything. You’re too busy wrapping your cat in bubble wrap “for safety.” Here’s a handy chart:
| Item | Approx. Cubic Feet |
|---|---|
| Box of light shame | 3 – 4 |
| Queen-size sleep rectangle (mattress) | 60 |
| Couch of forgotten pizza crusts | 50 – 60 |
| Fridge (contents not legally edible) | 35 – 40 |
| Washing machine with sock dimension | 25 – 30 |
🏛️ Why Cubic Feet Actually Matter (Even If Nothing Else Does)
Okay, so here’s the cold truth wrapped in packing paper:
- Moving companies charge by cubic feet. Not emotional attachment, not weight, not number of tears shed during packing.
- Too little truck = instant regret. Too much truck = echoes and shame.
- Knowing the volume of your furniture makes you sound competent, even if you’re crying into takeout on the floor.
🚑 Emergency Moving Tip
If you can’t measure, just describe your stuff like this:
“I have a fridge, a bed, 12 boxes of vintage anxiety, and a cat tree taller than my ambitions.”
Most movers will nod silently and write it down.
🧬 TL;DR for the Spiritually Exhausted
- Convert inches to feet (divide by 12 or chant it softly to summon math gods).
- Use Length × Width × Height (in feet, not feelings).
- Use the chart. Trust the chart. Become the chart.
- Tell the movers your cubic feet total. Pretend to be in control.
- Move. Survive. Repeat in 6 months when rent goes up again.
Bonus: Want a printable checklist that smells faintly of cardboard and existential dread? Leave a comment. Or scream it into the void. I might hear it.