Managing your inventory is an important part of the Stardew Valley experience. Chests become indispensable for storing everything as you accumulate more and more resources and trinkets. But what happens when you want to reorganize your space or give your farm a makeover? You might find yourself asking how to move chests in Stardew Valley. Can it be done? Does it take any extra work? Read on to find out.
How to Make a Chest
First off, let’s talk about crafting a chest. Making a chest is as simple as gathering 50 wood and then heading into your crafting menu. Once created, you can place the chest almost anywhere: In your house, on your farm, in the mines, and even in town.
However, do be aware that NPCs will destroy chests if they’re placed along their common paths — more on that later. For now, just be sure to place them in safe areas away from common foot traffic.
How to Move Chests
It’s simple enough to move chests in Stardew Valley. However, it’s going to depend on what version of the game you’re using.
If you’ve got the v1.5 update installed, then all you need to do is hit the chest with empty hands ten times. Doing so will move the chest one square in the direction you hit it.
If you haven’t installed the v1.5 update, it’s a bit more complicated. Prior to the update, the game doesn’t have a built-in option for moving chests with items still inside. Any time you move a chest, you’ll have to replace all of the items it previously held within.
Moving chests without having to reorganize items is a feature that many Stardew Valley players have hoped for. However, until such a time that the developer implements such a system (if ever), there is at least a method you can use. It takes a little effort, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll be rearranging your farm in no time!
Here are the steps on how to move chests in Stardew Valley before the v1.5 update:
- Empty the Chest: The first step in moving a chest is to empty it. Yes, this means you have to find space in your inventory for all the items. If your inventory is already full, consider creating temporary chests to hold items in the meantime.
- Break the Chest: Once the chest is empty, use your pickaxe to break it. The chest will then return to your inventory.
- Place the Chest in a New Location: Now, navigate to the spot where you want to move the chest. Open your inventory, select the chest, and place it in the desired location.
- Refill the Chest: The final step is to put back all the items into the chest. Open the chest and transfer the items from your inventory back into it.
This method works the same way regardless of whether you’re playing on PC, console, or mobile.
The Chest Monster Bug
While we’re on the subject of moving chests, it’s important to note a certain bug that’s come to be known as the Chest Monster Bug.
This bug occurs when you try to place a chest where an NPC walks. There’s an issue that results when items are placed along NPC pathways. If you place a chest in a location NPCs typically pass through, the chest will disappear, along with any items inside.
There’s only one way to avoid this problem: When choosing where to place your chests, make sure it’s not in the path that any NPCs follow. Otherwise, you might lose a big chunk of your overall inventory.
Some players are reporting that the bug has been fixed in more recent updates. But it’s worth keeping in mind, especially if you’re playing an older version of the game.
How to Optimize Chest Inventory
Moving chests around provides an excellent opportunity to reorganize your resources. Instead of simply dumping your goods in the nearest container, consider grouping items of the same type (like crops, minerals, and artisan goods) together in specific chests.
This makes finding your important items much easier, allowing you to spend more time planting crops, tending to your animals, or building relationships with villagers. You can even change the color of the chests, giving a color code for individual item types.
Moving chests in Stardew Valley might seem tedious, but it’s a fundamental part of managing and maintaining your farm. There’s no way to keep every item you need in your personal inventory, so don’t be afraid to rack up on storage options. Even if your stock isn’t meticulously organized, keeping a few storage chests nearby will dramatically lighten your workload.
