packing up my house for move.

[BooyHoo]

starting tomorrow.

any tips?

[RantAboutToStart]

Pack the kettle, mugs, tea/coffee, milk, washing up liquid and tea towel last.

Label all boxes with what room they will go into , not which room they came from - not necessarily the same as I discovered in our last move.
Also, write a brief description of what is inside on the box.

Pack an overnight bag for the kids so at the end of a long day you are traipsing around looking for that special teddy, nightlight, pjs or whatever.

[dumbelina]

I numbered all the boxes and had a notebook, 1 page per box where I wrote the box number at the top of the page and a very brief summary of what was in the box. We found this useful for ages after the move as there are always a few boxes that go straight into the loft / garage as they don't need immediate unpacking (if ever!) it really helped for tracking down things.

[BooyHoo]

ooh good tips so far. we dont move until the 1st of july but i am packing as much as possible beforehand so the kettle etc will be in very regular use before moving day!

good idea about teh notebook with a page per box, and teh overnight bag.

[whomovedmychocolate]

I am also packing up ready to move. But we are getting the removals companies to pack for us. We are at the 'clearing out anything we can possibly part with and taking it to the tip/charity shop. So I will be camping out on this page.

Print out the floor plan of where you are going, or draw it big and draw out where the big furniture is to go and then stick it to the doors so when your removals company are unloading, they can put it in the right places.

[BooyHoo]

it's just going to be family and friends helping me move in a rented van but good idea about the floor plan. i dont think i could cope with a removal company packing for me. i'm a really private person. i hope to have everything pretty much packed before teh day so anyone who is helping me move just has to lift boxes without having to pack anything.

[whomovedmychocolate]

I'd like to pack our house but frankly, it's too bloody big to contemplate. And also, really, everyone has pants and there's very little titillation value in putting them in a box and moving that box onto and off a van

In that case, lots of boxes with less in them - fill half the box with stuff and top with bedlinen/towels. Makes them easier to lift and protects the contents.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Also figure out where you are going to get a meal during the day. We have identified a Harvester near our new house which does take out so everyone can get a meal packed up and taken to the house when we get hungry. Or take an instant BBQ and snorkers/bread for quick sandwiches.

[BooyHoo]

well i am only moving half a mile away so i think i will make-up a large picnic hamper and a cool box, leave it in the kitchen of teh new house and then we can just grab lunch/drinks when we are ready for it.

[EveryonesJealousOfGingers]

WMMC wtf are snorkers?!?! We are getting the removals men to pack for us too as it's only about £200 more expensive, so we are taking the easy route! We moved ourselves in to our second floor flat with a van and some family members to help us (ouch) but have gained a DD and a lot more heavy furniture since then so there's no way we're doing it ourselves this time!

I have already started doing charity shop donations and have a 'to be ebayed' pile displayed attractively on the bedroom floor, much to DH's delight

We haven't been in to measure up for furniture yet but when we do I like your idea of a big floor plan for the removals men.

DD will be staying at Grandma's while we move which I think will make it a LOT easier.

[EveryonesJealousOfGingers]

Booy that sounds like a plan - so you can take the tea making box and the cool bag straight to the kitchen, vital to oil the wheels of the moving machine! What's your new place like?

[whomovedmychocolate]

Sausages = snorkers.

We used our printer to double the size of the estate agents floorplans and went from there.

We have two kids and a escapologist cat to contend with - packing is just too much to add to the mix. We will also have grandma and grandpa helping with the kids on the day hopefully. But we want them to be around, in the playroom at least.

Another tip have the children's stuff last on the van so it's first off so they can be settled in one room while everyone else is busy. Also take a loo roll in the kettle box. Some bastards people take even the loo roll with them and you arrive desperate for a poo and have to hunt for it.

[BooyHoo]

new place is very nice. a young couple own it and they have it decorated really well. it is a 3 bed terrace. well actually my current house is aswell but has a different layout which makes it feel alot smaller although alot of the space is wasted. new house is what i call "the right way round" , i.e living room smaller and at the front and kitchen bigger at the back looking out onto the garden. i don't get why my current hosue was built the wrong way round!!

whomoved you are right about the loo roll. i remember cutting a kitchen roll in half when i moved in here as i forgot where i had packed the toilet rolll!!

[BooyHoo]

p.s are my 'control issues' showing yet

[vintageteacups]

don't pack just books in a box - mix books with other lighter stuff or they'll be a mare to carry. Same goes for other heavy stuff.

Use towels to wrap stuff and use waste paper bins/laundary baskets to store stuff.

When you take apart the beds and shelves, put the screws,alan keys,other bits into a named sealed bag/box with lid and tape them to the piece of furniture they come from.

Buy spare curtain hooks to pop in your handbag so that once you're there, you know where they are if you need extras for the new windows.

Print off a list of change of address letters to send to companies like car insurance/banks/tax credit etc.

Buy a pack of cans of soft drinks and pizza for removal men so they don't have to go off to the shop mid-pack.

Put paracetamol in your handbag; you're bound to get a stress headache!

[kingbeat23]

Start as WWMC is by going thorugh ach room methodically and assessing needs vs wants. Then move onto gettng the packing materials. Notebook, boxes, cardboard, newspaper, pens.

Pack least important things that you never use, yet find you "need" and can't throw away. Make a numbered list and do this in each and every room. Start with least used rooms and least used items.

Newspaper for all crockery items. bubble wrap is bollox.

Handy tip for taping boxes. On the bottom of the box, 1 strip of tape horizontally across split, 3 long strips slightly overlapping each other over the split in the box. one piece either side that will hold the bottom of the box AND the sides at the same time. all you need. 6 strip per box bottom. oddly anal i know, but used to be a packer and this is the strongest way of building the boxes from books to plates....(and now i've shown you MY control issues!!! :) )

[BooyHoo]

trying to picture sticky tape placement!

[kingbeat23]

the 1st strip goes across middle of the box kind of holding it together and giving it strength and holds the split together so there are no gaps. It goes horizontally to the split in the bottom.

2nd strips go across bottom of box sealing it shut overlapping each other to give more strength and support.

3rd and 4th sections go at each end of box overlapping bottom and sides of boxes then you can just fold it shut...

managed to have the heaviest box imagined filled with all my books, cds, photos, and dvds. Fucking heavy, but still in one piece today holding all the bits of crap i can't find places for in my storage cupboard!!

I clearly having packing issues, am going away in 10 days and have been mentally packing my suitcase since the beginning of may!!!

[Icouldabeensomebody]

If you don't do take aways, have some food ready that you can just put in the microwave or, if the weather is hot, a picnic. By the evening you will be paralysed with fatigue, and grumpy, hungry children will not help.

So, pack the microwave last, along with the kettle etc.

[BooyHoo]

ok, so the first strip goes on at a right angle to the split making a cross shape?

strips 2, 3 and 4 go from one end of the split to the other but not directly on top of each other, just overlapped a bit?

strips 5 and 6 go on where the base of the box meets the two sides covering the join teh base and side makes?

[kingbeat23]

absolutely and up the sides a bit too, then you have a flappy-over bt that you tape down and hey presto, off you go to an all singing-all dancing-book-cd-dvd-cast iron frying pan carrying box.

[BooyHoo]

oh confused now. where should the flappy over bit be?

[kingbeat23]

strips 5 and 6 - coz youre taping the bottom of the box to the side if you start at the sides and across the bottom of the box and then up the side again you will fold the sides in and have it all sealed nicely, firmly and no gaping holes.

1 1
1 1
1__1

kind of that shape

i cant ACTUALLY belive i have just typed that!!!

[kingbeat23]

that didnt look like that in the preview, but then i NEVER preview posts, so it must all be going a bit odd. lets try again.

1 1
1 1
1 1
1__1

[kingbeat23]

arrrgh...it doesnt work!!!!!!!!!!right a big u shape then.

[BooyHoo]

ah yes, i see what you mean. so just tape all teh joins?