Would I be mad to try and pack up our house myself?

[plipplops]

We're moving in 2 weeks (just exchanged contracts), completing on a Thursday. Previously we've always had the removal people pack everything up for us and it's pretty effortless.

For complicated reasons, the removal co will now need to pack up our stuff maybe on the Monday/Tuesday into boxes, then we'll move on the Thursday.

If it's going to be a 3/4 days of disruption, rather than them sweep in Wednesday and pack us up to move Thursday, should I just take a couple of days (Tue/Wed) and do it myself? Would save maybe £550 which we can afford but money is a bit tight.

4 bed semi, 2 teenagers, reasonable amount of stuff but not bonkers? Autistic DD who is going to struggle with the move in any case, so I'm half wondering whether us doing it rather than having strangers in the house might be better.

Would really appreciate any thoughts....Thanks!

This is the thing.
Moving is an utter nightmare. Therefore if you have the funds to pay someone to take a little bit of the stress away then I'd thoroughly recommend it.

They usually come a couple of days before and just box things up and label it. We watched a film and went out for lunch whilst they did it!

If you get packers in then your DD doesn’t need to be there while they’re in. You can pretty much leave them to it and just delegate one person to stay home and keep them plied with tea and bacon rolls. Could you get a cheap hotel for that night so she doesn’t have to go back home to a packed up house?

She'll be at school most of the time (especially if they can blitz it all in a day) so yes we can hopefully shield her from a lot of it.

She's excited to move but is terrified of not having her bedroom (very much her safe space) to come home to. We've lived here her whole life so it's going to be a difficult adjustment, and we're keen to remove as much stress as we can x

ive always wanted to use packers but never been able to afford it.

I used to pack myself. Until I used the movers packing service.
Now I would never pack myself again.
It's a game changer.

I think paying the m

Is there by any chance a cleaning service that movers offer too? I love the idea of just being able to walk away from the chaos.

Most cleaning companies do this- they charge extra for it though. I did do this once and it was lovely not having to do it BUT I did feel like the extra money was a scam because an empty room is easier and quicker to clean than a full one. I do find doing it myself oddly satisfying too.

I think paying them to swoop in and pack is still worth doing. They are machines, I know I work at snails pace compared to them. How confident are you that you'll get it all done in time if you DIY?

OP I think a lot of people have been focused on mn competitiveness of the "I packed up a six bedroom house and carried everything to the new place myself using a shopping trolley when I had two broken legs and nine children under five" variety (who knew that competitive packing was a thing?) rather than thinking about your actual situation. Given the choice of a few days' disruption vs a couple of weeks of stress and physical work on top of presumably paid work+ normal household tasks, starting now, I think you're best off choosing a few days ' disruption even if they end up coming earlier than the Wednesday. Just put what you'll need in the days before and after the move in suitcases or even in a couple of very separate and very clearly labelled boxes. Then you can focus on preparing your dd (and yourself!) for what will be a big but hopefully eventually happy change in your situation.

I love packing. Going through everything. Sorting it out room by room. If someone packed my stuff it would all come with us and half of it should definitely go to charity or the tip.

I couldn't imagine not knowing what was in my boxes but I suppose that's how OH lives (and he seems happy.)

Do they compensate you for that? How does that work?

Also how much do movers cost? Would love if people had said what size house and how much it cost.

Pack yourself - it's a great way to go through everything and get rid of the rubbish/tat as you go. Rather than strangers packing every single thing for you to have to sort out in the new house.

We last moved in 2018 from a large 2 bed mid terraced house (inc stuff in the loft/garden) to our current house, which were a few miles apart. The packing part was about £600 including the boxes etc. This was/is SW London so it was peanuts in terms of the % cost for the overall move. Friends have moved since from a larger house (detached 3 bed plus garage in addition to loft/garden) and had quotes of around £1k.

I will never move ourselves again, the packers are worth their weight in gold.

It's fine. Weve always packed us in a week or so (whilst working full time). On one occasion I packed my dad (who had dementia) and was moving from 4 bed house to 1 bed flat _ so not everything came but I arrived Saturday lunchtime with a 2yo & 4yo and was completely done when the van arrived 8am Monday. This included stopping to cook and to sort out various friends if his who dropped in to say good bye.

I can't see you'll not be able to pack in the time you have.

I've moved loads of tines and always packed myself. No way would I fork out for someone to do it for me.

I packed a three bed with study and playroom mainly in my own. Ex didn’t help except with his limited stuff and my partner only stepped in when furniture needed to be taken apart (ex very handily ran the battery out on the cordless and left without informing us) good job partner had a spare charged battery. I also ended up doing the school runs and cleaning from top to bottom. The removals guys were amazing and couldn’t believe ex just took off like he did. I however could 🤦🏼‍♀️

I packed up a 4 bed house myself after my divorce. Was stressful but totally doable: I had been slowly packing and decluttering ever since we'd accepted the offer on the house though which helped.

I've always packed up myself. Twice as a lone parent inc dismantling furniture. Most carrying down the stairs loading it into a van myself and out the other other end.
Had help with cooker, fridge etc. Bed and mattress bulky stuff

I've always packed myself and I'm doing so now!

I think you can do it if you start now. I always declutter as much as possible and donate the stuff I don't want or get a skip. Then I pack as much as possible. I always pack an essential box with tea, coffee, kettle, cat food etc and a suitcase with bed linen for each better, a couple outfits each, towels, pyjamas and toiletries so you can manage until you unpack properly. I keep all the important documentation in my work bag. These 3 items, the cat and anything really fragile go with me in the car.

Professional packers most certainly do exist. They came to us first, took photos of every room, inside every cupboard and sideboard, inside every drawer even the garden sheds, greenhouse and garages. We moved out for 48 hours staying at rented cottage while we moved the animals including two horses ourselves. When we turned up at the end of the weekend everything had been unpacked and in as close as possible a replacement position as could be. Even ambiguous items like boxes of half-charged batteries, old keys, assorted writing paper envelopes, spare greeting cards etc. We had disposed of some furniture and replaced some with some new items which had been delivered to the movers in advance. The finishing touch was the beds being made with new linen the packaging from which had been taken by the movers with the rest of the recycling.

I did ours last November and with 3 babies and a teenager running about. Hubby did the heavy bits I did the rest. We always do our own

What happens with houseplants? I have dozens of large houseplants, some of which would be easily damaged. How do movers deal with those? And for that matter, how about large potted plants from outside?

well no. My company's relocation package made it compulsory to get packers in. It makes the people who are moving so much more productive at work in the weeks around the move, less distracted, and means they have to take so much less time off for it.

It was a revelation and we all said we'd never move house without them again. So in my circles most people now get packers in!