Moving house - packing tips?

I found it took much longer than I had anticipated and we had way more stuff than I realised. We got some boxes from the company who moved us, the chap we dealt with said everyone always underestimates how much stuff they have and he was forever going back to them with more and more boxes! So I'd make sure you have plenty of boxes and start now! Make sure you label them up too so you know what's in them without having to open them again to check.

Happy moving!!

As Flossie said, I bet you dont realise just how much stuff there will be to pack. I took all afternoon one day just decluttering the dining room and packing 3 large boxes with stuff to get the house ready to put on the market! It will take time, a lot of it. When we moved from our 1 bed flat in Surrey to where we are now I didnt think packing would take long at all, afterall, whats in a 1 bed flat?! It took me 2 weeks on my own to pack it up.

So Id say my top tip is leave LOADS of time to pack it if youre doing it your self. When we move (hopefully soon) then we have factored in the removals company coming in the day before and packing everything for us, its worth the extra £300!

WEES.

Allow loads of time. label each box with contents & room.

Keep first night clothes, bedding, kettle, mugs & bisctuis in the car.

Are you doing the moving yourself? Does it include furniture? Rope in friends and pay them with pizza & beer

Make lists when packing stuff in boxes and label them.

Keep the lists so you know what you've already packed and in which box. May seem obvious...

We are doing the move ourselves, although I'm really not sure how wise this is!

Deffo label everything thats in the boxes and write on each one which room its going to go into. Keep a 'kitchen' box with essesntials in like the kettle, toaster, cutlery, mugs, a couple of plates, tea, coffee, sugar etc as youll need them close to hand. Also pack yourselves a suitcase with essential clothing in for a few days.

I always use loads of those flat fruit & veg boxes from the supermarket for books as they stack up well and you can (just about) lift them when full, which you can't with big boxes if they're full of books.

Get loads of boxes, lots and lots of gaffer tape to make sure the bottoms are fixed properly, and label each one on the top and the side.

As has been said, keep the stuff you'll need straight away in a box on the top, or take it with you. Mugs, drinks etc and phone numbers for gas/electricity/phone/water etc and a pen and paper to note down meter readings.

Just noticed you're talking about "on the day" don't for the love of god leave it until the day you move to pack, just don't ? I'd start now.

I'd second this, given that you are moving yourselves. Is it not possible to perhaps get a company to do it for you? I know how much hard work it was for us (just generally stressful and busy) and we had someone to move us, they were brilliant - even dismantled wardrobes/beds and put them up again at the new house, they charged about £250 which was very, very reasonable.

This has made me laugh, I remember Mr Flossie saying he would just pack up his garden shed contents on the morning of the move.... I managed to persuade him to do it the week before - it took 2 of us a day and a half - thank goodness he saw sense in the end!

After the number of moves we have made over the last 4 years the next one is going to be done by someone else, although H wont allow anyone else to pack for us (if I could I would get this done too) its a ruddy nightmare! Lists are good I think taking one area at a time as well can help and add at least a day extra to how long you think it will take.

Oh God no, not packing on the day, I'm not that mad! We've packed about 20% already, it;s just so tedious, I was hoping someone would say there's a packing fairy that will sort junk/charity/stuff to keep, clean and pack and move everything for me, obviously not though!

As soon as we put our place on the market last November we started sorting stuff out to throw away / give to charity / sell / freecycle. I wanted to make sure that when we do move we dont move stuff we dont want / need. This is mainly because we will be downsizing from a 4 bed with attic rooms to a 3 bed, we just wont have the space to fit un-necessary stuff!

The packing fairy is out there but she charges! We are booking a team of packing fairies to sort our stuff out as theres just too much stuff for the two of us to do.

Definitely label all boxes and make lists!

I'm going to sound like some kind of mad woman however when I moved house, I made lists of which items were in which box (and then as we were storing them at various places, also made a list of which box was at which location.) Additionally, as I used a lot of different types of boxes, I also made a note of what kind of box (crate, cardboard, plastic tub.) Each night, I'd type up my list in access (word or excel would have done but I love access!) It was quite a lot of work, but it was soooo worth it when we had moved house and H needed to know where something was and I was able to locate the item immediately.

Hmmm - might have to be doing this all over again in a few months if H's job moves.

Good luck xx

Hello,

Try any professional packers and movers for shifting your stuff, they will do it without taking much time with least chances of damage. packing and moving of heavy items as well as of fragile item is very tricky, professional packers use pods to pack and move the stuff, as a result most of the articles are transferred without damage.

Regards,

sarah_9

Mobile Storage

This is how I am like when moving, I turn into the spreadsheet queen! I have a list of rooms in the new house and what furniture is going into each room with copies for the removal men as well as myself - and I colour code the boxes, so all boxes with red cross to kitchen etc. I pack books and bed linen in the same boxes as books are way to heavy to go into a box on their own. I also pack linen and kitchen crocks together to stop breakages.

We will be doing a move again at some point, I have already decluttered so that the place looks good when people come to view - I love going to the tip and getting rid of stuff so we have got rid of loads!

Make sure all the boxes have a label on and make sure you have loads of newspapers as well. We wrapped anything breakable in newspapers and packed out the boxes with it too. A bit of a PITA at having to clean stuff afterwards but better than breaking stuff.

Oh and make sure you start now, it took me at least a week to pack our old place up (a one bed house), and I was on maternity leave at the time (actually this is probably why it took so long).

Get Pickfords (or equivalent) in. Pack, move and empty boxes. Unfortunately they don't put away in new home. You will be done in physically and emotionally by the sorting and throwing out process.

I have more books than linens but that's a tip I'm remembering!

I took a photo of the inside of book boxes etc and then had an excel sheet with contents of the boxes (could just write books here as i had the pictures) oncethe boxes were numbered

Get rid of loads - its feels really good and saves unpacking at the other end. Charity shop/freecycle/ tip if not other option

Box for the kettle, mugs, tea bags etc - essential and first to unpack!

A tip we were given is take the clothes out of the wardrobe on their hangers, lie flat on a duvet and then fold duvet up (and tie it closed). Then when you get to the other end, unfold duvet and you can hang your clothes straight back up again!

Congratulations!

We're moving on Weds and are getting someone else to pack and move for us... that's my tip ? It's not too late to book!

Me too - exactly the same!

Mind you, the moving surveyor said pack on the 15th, load on the 16th, unload on the 17th, unpack on the 18th. Just shows how much junk stuff we have ?

In the meantime I'm here, at a coffee shop, online to while the time away instead of sorting and packing as when there are viewings at our house, we're supposed to vacate. It's a right PITA to have to keep the house tip-top and tidy all the time ?

Also on the move when you take your last meter readings we took photos too just in case there was a query on it or we lost the paper it was on. As others have said have a box with the kettle, tea, coffee etc I would also have a small 1st aid kit nearby as when we move hubby always manages to cut himself somehow. I got out of our last move as I'd just had our son the week before by C-section and couldn't lift and as we were moving 100+ miles I got to turn up at the new house & ended up just supervising the unpacking. Hope your move goes well.

We're paying for someone to come and pack for us - they should be here in just over 2 hours! In the meantime I'm killing time here until my MIL comes to take me and the cats to the cattery as Simon had to have the car to do Amelia duty - she's staying at the ILs and we're on the nursery run but as I've got the removal men coming I can't do it!

My top tip, as others have mentioned, and if you can afford it, is to get a company in to pack, load and unload. We did that for the first time when moving to Denmark and I have to say they were worth every penny.

However, we have just moved again, and whilst we hired a company for the actual move, I did all the packing. So here's my fresh top tips.

1) Start early. We moved on Friday and started packing the Sunday before. It sounds like a long time, but you won't believe where that time goes.

2) Take it a room at a time. Ideally, allocate a room which is going to be the one where all the packed boxes end up and start there. This at least means you can live in the early stages without tripping over boxes.

3) Mark all boxes with its room destination in the new place and the key headliners. I've got quite a good memory so whenever H has asked for something I've been able to remember what I packed it with and find it. If you haven't got that good a memory, then write it all down.

4) Make sure you pack a little bag of stuff which you are going to need for the day of the move and the few days after. For example, I packed a couple of tops, underwear, towels and washbags for both me and H in a little holdall. Also put any essential medicine in this one.

5) As others have mentioned, use things to wrap around delicate objects and glasswear. Also, use cushions and pillows etc to fill up boxes of books but without adding to the weight of the box.

6) When packing the kitchen, keep aside a couple of plates, mugs (these can be used for hot and cold drinks), cutlery so that you have something to eat off. We actually have a picnic set which we used, in fact it's been used for moves more than it has for picnics!! ?

7) Not technically a packing tip but linked to 6., meal plan for the few days prior to the move so that you can a) use up some of the food in your cupboards and b) know what things in your kitchen can and can't be packed. One pot cooking is very good for this time of the move.

8) Again, technically linked to packing but treat yourselves to a take-away on the night prior to the move, afterall you'll have packed all the kitchen stuff by now!

Good luck with your move!

Another tip ...

Allocate a 'no-go' room where you can dump stuff you don't want the movers / packers / friends / go-fers to go. A small bedroom perhaps, or a bathroom. So anything you come across you don't want packing or touching can be put in there .. handbags, overnight washing stuff, passports, documents .. anything.

It's an invaluable tip as even if you're moving yourself, you know that room has stuff in you can lay your hands on immediately and no-one else will mess with.

This article from Three Men and a Truck helped me when I was trying to plan out everything before a move. They've got a lot of helpful articles and guides on there too - definitely a good resource for anyone that's planning a move.

Hi Everyone, I am a new member as well. It has been a pleasure being part of this community. My name is Harry And I live in Holborn.

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