To think moving ourselves is a crazy idea.

[havingiraffe]

Planned move date is around middle of August. Haven't started any packing or even decluttering yet. We currently live in a large 3 bed with garage and massive loft full of stuff moving to similar sized 4 bed. We don't have much furniture, no wardrobes for example. Most of our furniture we do have is cheap IKEA crap but we do have a couple heavy oak living room furniture items and massive corner sofa. I feel like we do have a lot of stuff though as we both have hobbies that come with lots of kit and we also have a 3 year old....oh and I will be 5 months pregnant at the time of the move. It about a 5 hour drive to our new house (moving from Midlands to Borders Scotland) so looking at a 2 day moving plan.

My husband is baulking at the quotes coming in for a removal company. Cheapest has been £1300 and that's us doing all the packing and breaking down beds etc. His plan is hire a couple of sprinter type vans and move ourselves with the help of a couple mates. We moved ourselves 8 years ago from a 1 bed unfurnished flat to here but I think he has massively underestimated the amount of stuff we have accumulated since then. He also thinks if we can't fit the furniture in we can just dump it as it's not worth the cost of moving it.

I don't disagree that this will be cheaper (although if we have to replace most of our furniture with new it won't save us money but we get new furniture iyswim) but I think it is completely impractical, friends can be unreliable and it's a big ask, having a little one and getting anything done is difficult (and she won't be in childcare at that time) and I'm going to be having kittens about getting everything packed and loaded within the timeframes. My husband doesn't have the best time management skills, I can just see us up all night the day before the move and then on the day frantically trying to stuff things into a van with the buyer waiting for key handover!!

Just need a reality check am I right in thinking this is just not possible!!!

How do I persuade my husband?

If you can afford it, pay it, it was the best money we have ever spent. I think the quote you’ve had is reasonable for size/distance. It would prob only be another £300 to get them to pack you as well and they provide all the materials needed.

Veteran mover here, get the professionals in! Having moved whilst pregnant, and with a newborn as well as having toddlers in tow, I know that your main job will be looking after your little one, keeping her safe and out of the way will be very time consuming.

The cost is a lot, but considering the length of the drive it is worth it. Getting the movers to pack as well generally costs about £250 on top of the moving cost, and as pp said, should be factored into the cost of buying a house.

Oh, and make sure the movers are registered with BAR, we had a company cancel on us at 10pm (via email) a week before the move date, from North Scotland to Southern England! Luckily for us, the second choice company came to my rescue! If BAR registered, then there would have been a lot less stress for me. Lesson learnt!

Given the distances involved and the fact you have a small child and are pregnant then DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS YOURSELF.

The first time I moved I had very little stuff so we did it ourselves.

The second time was across town, no kids involved, still not a huge amount of stuff so we did it ourselves with the help of FIL and BIL.

But the last time we moved we had accumulated quite a bit of stuff and had a small child. We were only moving a short distance but we had a removal firm (Pickfords). They were great. Came in the day before and did all the packing. Very professional. Worth the money.

I have no idea where this '£1500 sounds reasonable' is coming from. We moved house 3.5 years ago, it took the removal men 2 journeys (tho only a 5 mil distance,) because of the amount of stuff we have, and they charged us £550. This was only early 2015. We also had a loft packed to the rafters, and a garage full of stuff; LOADS of general stuff, that had taken us 25 years to accumulate. Hence, the 2 journeys.

So £1500 is a LOT for a 3 bed house (if you are doing everything, packing everything up, breaking down beds etc...) Unless you are going from John O'Groats to Paris, I can't see why it should be £1,500. Are you getting the quote from a huge company? If so, try a local (small) company.

Get some more quotes, and be warned, doing it yourself is DAMN HARD WORK!.

He's lost his mind or he's a tight arse who isn't being completely unreasonable.

YOU cannot help.
Your 3 year old cannot help.
Your friends will not want to help in the middle of their summer holiday, if they'll even be around.
Your husband isn't organised enough to pull this off. You know that. It will fall to you and you can't do it.

Tell him no. You should have an equal vote in this, and frankly, your vote is the sensible vote: you can't lift and shift boxes; you are pregnant and have a 3 year old to watch.

How would he feel if the 3 year old got hurt because you were both too busy and distracted to keep an eye on him?

How would he feel if he guilted you into doing more than you should, or you kept doing more and more because there's just so much and he's so stressed, and something happened to your pregnancy? Honestly, ask him how he would feel.

Pay for movers. Tell him to pay for the fucking movers.

Surely the saving won’t be that great even if you did it yourself.
Van hire for 2 vans and petrol for the trip. Maybe the need to hire a sack trolley to move larger items. Feeding and watering the helping friends and paying their petrol money to get home again.

Sounds like the saving would be a couple of hundred pounds at best.

I moved myself. It was easy. I had a small car and was moving from a furnished 1 bed rented place. I had nothing in a loft or garage. I had no furniture other than flatpack, I had no white goods. New place was 3.5 miles away and I had a couple of weeks to do it in. I broke only one picture frame. It took many carloads (about 14).

You have a whole family's stuff and you have a long journey between the two houses. You won't have any slack in your schedule.
Assuming a fairly easy Midlands to Scottish Borders journey (Stoke to Gretna - not necessarily your two locations) you'd be looking at a 2 hr 38 min drive.

If your move is from Warwick to Berwick- upon-Tweed you'd be looking at a 4hrs 48 mins drive. A round trip of nearly 10 hours without pitstops.
Your friends could let you down.
At 5 months pregnant and with a 3-year old to look after you'll be limited as to what you can do, and on long journeys you'll be needing toilet breaks.

We did it ourselves (me and DP) from 1 bedroom flat with only 3 pieces of not so big furniture with the help of a couple of friends and it was a nightmare. I was pregnant as well.

We moved again (last Saturday) from a 2 bed flat and with a baby and we paid a removals company to do the heavy work, it was soooo much better, I wondered why we hadn't paid for this service the previous time, it is so worth it!. We didn't pay as much as it was only 1.5 hours away and they didn't do the packing but still, with everything you've got I don't see how you can do this by yourselves (and with a baby and you being pregnant!), you will need an army of friends to help out!

I did start packing up 2 weeks before the day we moved, there is always a lot of stuff that you can put away easily because it hardly ever gets used, like winter clothes now, spare duvets, sheets and towels, all the books from bookshelves... plates and cutlery and other kitchen appliances I packed most of it and left only the basic to survive. You will probably have a lot of stuff to throw away or to give to charity shops. I think you can do quite a lot of packing if you start doing it 2 or 3 weeks beforehand and you still have time for that, but I do think that you also need a removals company.

I’ve used four removal firms and one time man in a van.

All have given us problems save the man in a van - that was straight forward- even last move when we paid for packing.

The packing was shit though - we also had to store thing - a lot was broken and several things never made it here. We got completely messed around by them.

It's still better than times I've moved myself with help - and that was just me moving.

If you do end up doing the packing - (and after last time I may consider it again as truly was dire packing not the dream experience others insisted, it would be) start early and you will need way more boxes and other storage and bubble wrap than you image - and it will take longer even after massive decluttering and more time than you think as outside possibility.

If you have time, ask around for recommendations on top of price considerations as clearly not all firms are equal.

Do not move yourself.
Last time I moved house, the people I was buying from moved themselves. They were just moving round the corner (to another house on the same road), but they massively underestimated the work involved in loading and unloading vans. It was a nightmare. I eventually got the keys at 10.30pm. I was not impressed.

I have moved countless times. I would NEVER move this amount of stuff in one go. I am from an ex forces family, so have ninja packing techniques and I declutter every six months. I decided to do the last move myself it was an absolute nightmare. I lost loads of stuff between peoples house, storage, new house etc, broke stuff in trying to cheap out. I think the quote is really reasonable. I would get it booked summer is a busy time for moving before schools go back. You would be really suprised how much stuff you have. I hired a Sprinter to do 'the last bits' and needed two additional journeys. You are going to get stressed being pregnant and not being able to get stuck in. Bite the bullet I say. There is time and effort in 'just dumping' furniture anyway.

First time I moved I did it myself with parents help and a transit van - hard work. Second time I used movers but packed myself - hard work. Last year we moved 300 miles, so 2 day move, used movers and packing service - so easy and best money I've ever spent.

Damaging a van from most hire places will cost about £750-£1000 in excess. Add on fuel and van charges as well as physical labour and the price of 300 cups of tea your better paying for the removal people.

We've always packed and moved ourselves we've gone from a 2 bed to a 3 bed, we then went back to a 2 bed and now in a 3 again. It took multiple trips using a large sprinter van each time. And it took us a full weekend each time. We were only moving down the road and only had a child for the last move. If you've got a loft full of stuff get the removal people. Your going to be shattered doing everything with a child in tow.

No way in hell. I haven't moved myself since I was a penniless teenager moving into my first houseshare. Because I'm an adult now and my peace of mind and physical health are worth far, far more than £1300.

BTW did you only get quotes from local companies? I used AnyVan for my last 3 moves, quotes were very competitive, just make sure they are fully insured and have good reviews. I did have to buy my own boxes though.

£1300 sounds a good deal to me. In fact, a bargain compared to the fines he’ll get for dumping/fly-tipping stuff...😀

£1300 is a bargain.

I have just done my 11th move. It was completely stress free and I went out for brunch.

I have finally learnt. Get someone to pack and someone to move it.

e.g. my dining table wouldn't fit through the door and I start away panicked. The removalist just looked at me strangely - took off the door, unscrewed the (heavy steel) table legs and 15 minutes later was in my dining room and all was well.

Tell your husband to listen to the random stranger on the internet who has moved 11 times because SHE IS RIGHT. Packers and removers is money VERY well spent.

(but do spend lots of time decluttering and getting rid of stuff before the packers come in)

We tried to move with some cheap guys and two Luton vans. DH massively underestimated our stuff and one van had to do 2 trips, we were late handing over keys. Really it is a false economy and DIY move of a family home with young DC is insanity.

I did a small but long distance move with the help of a relative who hired one of those big vans and drove it for me. It didn't work out well. The most memorable part was when we tried to get the sofa-bed down the stairs and it got completely jammed. Relative had to saw it in half and then take the 2 halves to the tip. So we lost a nice sofa-bed for starters. Then other stuff got broken / damaged. And it was very hard work and time consuming.
DO NOT DO THIS!!! What you may be able to do though is get a cheaper quote. Try phoning up small removal companies, which can be a lot cheaper. And do all the packing yourself. You can find free cardboard boxes out on the street in town on commercial recycling day. Start packing now.

I have moved house nearly every year for the last five years & am planning my FINAL move for next week.

Get the professionals in, I’ve done it both ways a couple of times each, would never move myself again.

I now just factor the removal costs into the budget of moving / buying costs - completely non-negotiable essential in my book!

Your dh is being unrealistic, how are you going to look after your child and look after yourself. He has to grit his teeth and pay.

OP PLEASE PLEASE show this thread to your DH. He is completely and utterly wrong.

We moved 100 yards when we had a 12 month old and I was 6 months pregnant and we got movers. DH sulked about it for ages but I put my foot down and just booked them. Even he admits it was the right thing to do.

Like you, we'd moved ourselves into that house with a hired transit van - not even with a couple of mates (I will never know how I managed to get a particular wardrobe up the stairs) but seven years, one wedding and 1.5 children later, there was no way we could have moved ourselves out.

You have to get movers, it's a totally false economy not to.

That's batshit.

Pay people!

We moved from a 2 bed to a much bigger 3 bed house about a mile away. I was 7 months pregnant. There were 3 pretty capable adults plus very pregnant me doing it with one van.

Hands down one of the most stressful and shit days ever.

If you're moving 5 hours away everything will have to fit in one van plus your cars. It will have to be a bloody big van!

Pay the removal firm. Pay them whatever it costs.

We've done it a few times. Very, very hard work! Over estimate how much time you'll need & double it. (-:

Plus heavy shit is really difficult to move, particularly if you're not used to lifting. Can get quite injured!