To ask how long it takes to pack a house?

[Chuckthefucklebrothers]

Well, a two bedroom flat, to be precise. I have 2 weeks to decorate & carpet our new place (3 bed house, although I don't get the keys til Tuesday), pack all our stuff & move. I'm doing most of this on my own - have had some offers of help with painting & have teenage DS & his mates to help with the actual move. I am also dealing with a very recent relationship breakdown so feeling utterly overwhelmed & panicky at the moment! I need to do this on a very tight budget & we need more furniture (neither me nor DS1 have a bed, for e.g.)
Help! Organise me please! (And maybe hold my hand a little bit)

I've packed a box!

Now to get to sleep before the chest-crushing, can't-breathe-make-it-stop panic sets in.

I'm a bit of a veteran of broken relationships, but I'm sure it's never been this hard before. Fuck knows how widows/widowers cope.

Holding your hand you are on your way to a new life you can do this

Gumtree
Freegle
Salvation Army and Charity shops for furniture

Use this as a good time throw away and downsize pack a room at time we did the old keep charity shop bin

Have you tried shiply for removal quotes? You would be surprised as to how affordable some of the quotes can be.

I am currently packing down, or I am meant to be and I totally suck out at it. Rope as many willing helpers in as possible is my tip. And yea, free cycle as much stuff as possible.

Congrats on new home and fresh start :)

Thanks Bumbum & Nessus. We are only moving a couple of minutes away, so I can do lots of trips in my car with clothes, boxes etc. have enlisted the help of DS's boss, who has a large trailer, for the big stuff. Just hope it isn't raining!

Was woken by a panic attack last night - horrible. I'm on medication for anxiety, what sort of state would I be in if I wasn't?? I've started judging sleep the way I did when DS2 was tiny - 'well I got 4 hrs unbroken sleep so I should be ok today...'

My parents are coming round today, hopefully to be supportive rather than tell me off!

Try to get some help for a dump day & be very ruthless about what you throw out. Your children's old school reports? Dump. That knife you've never used but might be useful if you ever have a massive loaf to slice? Dump. The sandwich toaster that you hate using because it's a witch to clean....you can probably tell that these are all things I've ditched when unpacking again!

Get as much help with the painting as you can; have a painting party with pizza & beer as a reward at the end. It'll be so much easier if you can sort this out while it's still empty.

As well as making sure you have kettle; mugs; tea at hand I also had a separate bag with phone chargers etc in it. All that electrical stuff that you'd hate to be without.

Freecycle can be great. Some people are old like me & find eBay a struggle so they'd rather just find a good home for their items that is hassle free. I got a fantastic fridge/freezer but you do have to be quick.

Moving isn't easy in the best of circumstances but this will be a new chapter for you & yours. Good luck!

Dump day is tomorrow! DS1 is under strict instructions to sort out all his shit tools & bits of bike that are currently scattered far & wide, otherwise, if it looks like scrap to me, I'm binning it! Went through the kitchen a while ago, so that's done. Have 2 cupboards full of useless shite that hasn't seen the light of day in 4 years miscellenia that needs sorting out. And the shed. Oh dear lord, The Shed!

I've just filled in the Shiply quote form, just out of procrastination interest, thanks Nessus.

I'm still reeling from the post that said 'It can be done in a morning'!

Oh goodness

I think I am more like you, Zillions...I've been packing consistently since the beginning of December and I'm still not finished.

Keep running out of boxes though. I think because we have been here so long and had to buy everything because there was nothing that worked when we arrived...so I have a lot of furniture and cooker and fridge and washing machine, and all the stuff you need for a baby and all the stuff I have kept from child to child...and all the DIY equipment and bits of wood and paint and so on.

It seems endless.
I think we are moving in June so at least we have a bit more time

Nearly there though

Good luck OP x

Good luck! You are doing well chuck!

A day using the removals company packers (for couple hundred quid), forever if I do it myself because-i-feckabout-getting-distracted-and-look-at-everything

Thanks Rooners.
Just got a quote for 225 quid on Shiply - not as much as I expected & may be worth it just for the reduction in hassle. Will have better idea of how much i can afford once i have a price for carpet & know what value decorating vouchers i will be getting. I have a huge sofa bed that had to be dismantled to get through the door when we bought it - I'm assuming profession movers would have experience of this??

Thanks lemous.
Bunny, I think you are entirely accurate!

Spend the most you can afford on carpet. At my last check-out inventory it was noted as 'spotless'. That's because it was wool & looked good as new once I'd attacked the ink/plasticine stains! I couldn't stretch to 100% wool when I moved but even so it still looks good. Way, way easier to paint again later than it is to clear everthing out for new carpets.

I'm so excited on your behalf. At the moment it's a PITA but it will be like a fresh start.

I decluttered and that took about a week ( didn't know I was moving but will factor this into it)

It did take me 3 days to pack, I had a 4 month old a 3 year old a surviving on little sleep.

Just to make you smile really.... my mum is not very good at decluttering and in the loft there are leftover rolls of wallpaper which are from the house they lived in 25 years ago!!

When my parents had their new kitchen I was amazed at the "stuff" that came out of the cupboards - 1970's vintage yoghurt maker, nine thousand plastic tubs with mismatched lids, and a tin of something with no label, but it cost 29 and a half pence from asda!!

Cheers Sextowel, going to go for midrange carpets I think, the cheapest look like a really bad idea! Any idea how much underlay & fitting cost? I'm going to a carpet shop with measurements on Wednesday, I could just wait & see

Forty, you are a hero! I did some more packing & decluttering last night, getting there... Also had a look at finances, as long as my sums aren't wildly inaccurate, we should just about be ok.

Aww, Rach - sounds like my mum! I think I inherited my mum's clutter-collecting tendencies but the good thing about living in a too-small flat is that it has forced me to learn how to be ruthless. I would have tempted to open the 29 & a half p tin - just to find out! My money would be on fruit salad

I know i keep recommending online sources but it is where the savings can be had! I got cloud 9 underlay for a bargain price on e b a y. 60 sq metres for approx £140 and grippers for about £12. Only buy carpet buy from the shop I would say.

Good on you for getting more done yesterday. I am going to try and take a leaf out of your book this coming week.

i bought a moving box set from argos (for 1-2 bedrooms) not enough boxes but was worth buying rather than trying to find boxes

i also use those nylon stripy bags, they hold so much great for toys, zips break easily but you can bin them after

i packed in 2 days :)

and the council are picking up stuff for free as long as it it is boxed/bagged they will pick up most things

sorry have seen thread has moved on

Good luck Nessus & thanks for the tip!

Freudian, thanks - funnily enough, my mum brought round some of those stripy zippy bags, thinking they would be handy for clothes, toys etc!

they are great i did not bother to fold my clothes just chucked them in with hangers on. great for pots and pans and other crap homely goods you collect along the way

i am moving today :) (have moved few bits over already)

Ooh, Freudian - good luck! Hope you will be very happy in your new home... Happy unpacking!

We payed for a packing and moving service. I understand your budget is tight but it is actually surprisingly affordable and totally worth it in terms of stress reduction.

I've moved from a 3 bed house in two days! It was in a rush but i did it, with 2 ds. Im in the middle of moving house now, from a 3 bed to 2 bed flat. Ive packed most of my stuff in bin bags, hired a skip for stuff i no longer need. Its easier for me than selling it.
Im moving the big stuff first, an the stuff we use. Then when older ds is at school i'll be popping back with little ds an suitcase to pack up bits an clean a room each day.