When do you start packing when you buy a house?

[grannyinapram]

We have just had an offer accepted on our first home. We will be moving from rented so we haven't done this before.
Should we start packing now? There is no chain but we need to wait for surveys and other bits and bobs that take time. Should we wait incase something happens with the survey or they change their mind and don't sell? I'm not sure.
We will start decluttering tomorrow but what about actual packing?

We have been in this position before but we lost the mortgage (coronavirus 🙄) So I don't want to start packing and then end up having to unpack where we are again.

You need to agree with your seller if you want to exchange and complete on the same day or separate. I exchanged weeks before I completed. Others do it in one go. But as someone said above you're months from moving if you've just had offer accepted

Prep a "utilities" list.

Council tax details
Bank details
Gas/elec
Water
Car tax
Dig out DVLA paperwork
Vet number (any pets chipped)
Etc

List all companies, account numbers etc.

Then when you move in you have the list to had to ring round and get accounts switched to your new address

Donkey’s years ago, when we sold our first flat in London, we packed ourselves and were still doing it the night before the move. At around midnight I opened a cupboard and found it jam packed with more stuff than we knew what to do with. DH actually started to have nervous giggles.

Don’t do it that way.

I’ve just literally moved yesterday, it was touch and go but we did it in 5 weeks 4 days and moved from a five bed 3/4 reception roomed house having exchanged on Wednesday, I had done some packing but seriously don’t leave it too late, we completed less than 24 hours after exchange in the end and it was frantic

@grannyinapram

We are moving from a 2 bed flat with one sitting room to a 3 bed house with 2 reception rooms so there will be plenty of space BUT I don't want to fall into the trap of bringing rubbish with me to dispose of later.

If you're anything like us you'll chuck a load of stuff away now and then when you're unpacking in your new home you'll chuck a lot more away, Why on earth did we bring that?? We started packing stuff like books, posher crockery, and unseasonal clothes. It could take three months to complete though.

Get some moving quotes - often it's not that much more to have everything packed for you - so apart from your decluttering you do nothing. Absolutely nothing. And they start packing up they day before you move.
BTW have you got solicitors? If not can I recommend Fidler & Pepper. You can get a quote online and you pay exactly what they quote!!! Plus they have really clear jargon free language and you can track it all from your phone.
www.fidler.co.uk

I generally start packing the day before but I live on my own, don't have much stuff and don't have kids so it's always a very easy process.

I take quite some time to declutter though, even if I review my possessions quite frequently (I have very little storage on purpose), I still always end up with having more stuff than I need.

A thing that a friend taught me is to have a box with the essential for the first 24h.
Soap, clean clothes, towel, a lamp, a plate, a set of cutlery, a frying pan, A KETTLE, coffee, bedding, duvet, pillow, dog food, this kind of stuff...
Was a game changer for my two last moves.
I arrived in my flat at 3am (was moving from abroad), left my stuff in the van until morning and just went inside with that box and my dog.

Broadband is the thing to watch. You often need to start the set up process 3-4 weeks ahead... So you might go a week or so without broadband.

Don’t pack but start doing a major declutter.
Books you’ll never read or read again, excess kitchen junk, linen cupboard, bathroom excess, use up pantry stuff, cushions that are a bit tired, clothes you’ll never wear again. So annoying moving things to a new house and unpacking stuff that you regret not getting rid of before.

I have just completed on a sale of a 1 bed flat. The conveyancing took 6 months! I started packing last July with a view of completing within 8 weeks, we completed at the end of Feb.

I'm not really sure of the reason why it took so long, I think the solicitors were just super slow

Congratulations! I’ve just moved from a rented 2 bed to our first home, also a 3 bed, so I know how it feels!

Declutter and make a rough inventory of everything you’ll need to pack now, but don’t actually pack yet. It’ll likely be a few months before you can move (although it can vary massively) and if you pack stuff now you’ll just be living amongst boxes and getting frustrated not being able to remember what you have/haven’t packed. We started properly packing about 2-3 weeks before and that was just about right. No matter how early you start there will be a last minute rush at the end though!

I went around and took pictures of everything we were going to need to pack which really helped when getting estimates from movers and planning how many boxes we needed. But you will also definitely forget something so however much you think you have, add another 20% or so on top of that!

You will also always need WAY more boxes than you think, so order loads of those (lots of small boxes is much better than fewer big boxes) and buy loads of packing tape - you will almost certainly run out! I also ordered some enormous storage bags from JoJo Maman Bebe which were so handy for packing clothes in.

Good luck! You will almost certainly have at least one very very stressful day coming up where you’ll think the whole thing is about to fall through, but it almost always all works itself out in the end.

Watching with interest as hopefully moving and wondering how to declutter in thed midst of lockdown when things are too good for the dump.

To add, because the process took so long we exchanged and completed on the same day. Luckily there wasn't a chain for me or the buyers

I'm also a first time buyer and had an offer accepted in November... Still haven't started packing.

What we have done is slowly declutter. Started with the attic, the back yard, and the mountains of outgrown kids clothes I've been selling. Made about £500 but I've lost the will to live and now moved on to charity bags, I bought those big zippy storage bags from Home and Bargain and I'm using them for putting charity shop stuff in and I'm hoping they will reopen before we move.

We have been to the tip a few times, queue is 2 hours plus long each time so glad we've started now.

We've decided instead of paying removal company we will be making sure we have an overlap with our rental, so we've saved enough (hopefully ) to pay two lots of council tax and rent and mortgage for the first month. Then we can paint the new house first, get new bedroom carpets, build furniture and then transfer books and clothes and kitchen stuff last. So that is why we haven't packed anything yet, I think if we declutter it's the quickest bit.

Packers! My tip is always packers! Often doesn’t cost that much in the context of removals. Would never have dreamed of it, but we had to use them a couple of moves ago due to work commitments and would now never do anything else. They come in like a swarm of bees the day before you move and wrap up all your stuff and load it straight in the van, leaving you time to clean once they’re done (and in our case go to work!)

My only word of warning is remove a thing you don’t want them to pack - they packed our kitchen bin complete with rubbish and then all our stuff was in storage for a month (not envy)

Decluttering wise I've used a mix of Olio app for giving away (much better success rate of people picking up compared to local free to you Facebook group).

For selling I've used Marketplace for big items, and Vinted for clothes, books, games and toys. But Vinted were offering 99p postage for sellers via Hermes and that seems to have stopped which is why I have moved on to building up bags for charity. Stuff was flying with the 99p postage and it was much easier to post than eBay.

My last move, it took 5 weeks to declutter, pack & clean. if you can afford it pay for a packing service & a cleaner.

I move a lot and packing/unpacking is the only step of the process I’m actually good at.

Start packing everything that’s not essential to every day life now. Like a PP said, decorations, photos, clothes you’re currently not using, shoes and coats except for 1-2 pairs. Start eating through your pantry. Then if you need to complete with very short notice, you only have a handful of suitcases with what’s left of your clothes and kitchen to pack, which can easily be done in an evening.

If you can afford it, keep the rental for a week after you move. Then there is not so much pressure. I’ve always tried to overlap rentals and it helps massively.

We accepted an offer in October 2020, exchanged last week. I’d hold off on packing just yet if I were you.

I agree with costing up how much it is for the removers to pack. We've done it (too many times!) and it was always cheaper than I'd expect. Although my tip is don't pay for them to unpack in your new house. Ours unpacked onto flat surfaces and then the house just felt cluttered whereas the second time they left the boxes in the right room and we unpacked them when we were ready and it was cheaper. Don't forgot when you're costing it up you don't need to pay for any boxes,tapes, wrapping etc. Congratulations on your new home!

I think it depends on the size of your house and how messy you are.
If we were now in the position of having sold, we would make it a priority to clear out the loft, shed and garage. Lots of trips to the dump, to declutter cupboards etc.

Then, I would prioritise setting aside the funds to be able to have packers in the day or two before completion.

Decluttering ruthlessly first.

Give each room a number.
Box each room per number asap.

Go to new house and number each equivalent room with a sticker.

Direct all boxes to their room.

Keep all the XXX boxes for the kitchen with kettle/loo roll/tea towels etc.

Preparing early will make a big difference.
Good luck.

Think I'd have to ask DH.

Pay removers to pack for you. Feel free to declutter but don't worry if you don't (since all the charity shops are shut I'm not sure where you are going to put things).

We accepted an offer in Oct 2020 all set to exchange last Friday so started packing. Hold up with solicitors paper work meant exchange didn’t happen was meant to be Monday but instead our buyers pulled out Monday with no explanation given.

So now I’m having to unpack the boxes I had packed. My advice is sort and declutter but don’t pack until the last minute as this week has been soul destroying