To start packing 13 days before move?

[ItsBuisnessTime]

We're (myself, DH, 3 DC's - 4, 3 and 1) moving in 13 days from a 2 bed flat, to a 3 bed house.

I want to start packing now, as so far, literally nothing has been done. I've started some minimal deep cleaning as life with three small children in a small environment equals chocolate finger prints everywhere and the occasional wall drawing, so I've been doing some touch up painting and skirting board/door cleaning etc to get the ball rolling.

However, in my mind, 13 days is quite a race to get our entire lives packed up and spotlessly clean our current flat, on top of looking after our three small children!

DH thinks we have all the time in the world, and I needn't start packing anything yet!

AIBU to just start? I planned to do the kitchen and the bathroom today - putting away things like the slow cooker, soup maker, a few utensils, stacks of plates and the majority of cutlery, pots and pans that never really get used etc. In the bathroom - just leaving out the essentials... you get my drift!

I ideally want most rooms packed up within the next few days so that I can properly clean everywhere, as going backwards and forwards between the kids demands and needs means I feel as though we don't actually have a great deal of time!

Sorry for the long post! Any veteran movers with an insight to when I should reasonably start packing and deep cleaning - please give tips!

I've cleaned the top part of our over yesterday - it's a glass topped electric stove and my god, it took me a god hour to scrape all of the crap from under the edges of the glass panel and get the oily, greasy residue off of the back splash! I realise that makes me sound like a less than clean person, I'm actually very house proud but life with three young Dc's means 'deep' cleans don't get to happen all too often! I'm dreading doing the inside of the oven and hoping some oven pride will do the trick!!

Op, if you can afford it, I would throw some cash at this. (Or if relatives want to buy you a moving present ask for money for cleaning or ready meals or a service wash.) Get the oven professionally cleaned, the windows cleaned, and pay cleaners to give everything a good professional swab down once you've moved out. You have loads on your plate already with your young family

Definitely start now and be ruthless - don't just pack everything to bring to the new house. Have a box for charity shop/bin. This is a great opportunity to get rid of old clothes, broken toys, ornaments that you really don't need etc. Having cleared our parents home after they'd died it was an eye opener. I have tried to reduce the amount of 'stuff' we have in ours. A lot of it is so unnecessary.

Best of luck.

Top tip: don't pack anything you don't want.
Have a good clear out. Hire a skip if necessary.

Break the tasks down so it feels more manageable. Break the day into hours. You can get a lot done in an hour. Otherwise it's overwhelming. Easier to think: I'll do an hour of packing, rather than I have to pack everything in 13 days.

I would start now. Pick out a room that's used the least, empty it and clean it.
As you fill the boxes, label each one with the room it needs to go into at the other end and stack in the empty room. As each room is boxed up you can clean as you go, keep the kettle, tea/coffee milk and cake/ biscuits in your car on moving day, you can then do a final clean when it's empty.

That's a good point from JimLaheysWhiskeyBottle

Would it be possible to get a baby sitter for moving day?

All the costs add up though I know.

I generally pack last minute but it's just me, no kids.
However, I start decluttering a couple a weeks before, even if I don't have much stuff there's always something to get rid of. And it feels sooo good.
So yeah, start decluttering now, you'll be able to start packing the stuff you won't need in the next two weeks in the process. It will make the packing away easier.

Don't forget to make DH take all the stuff you decide to throw out to the skip - that way he'll become more 'involved' sooner!

Well, we moved in 4 days (as in Landlord asked if we wouid renew contract into the same style house 3 doors down that had just been renovated) so we moved within 4 days, over my birthday, so we couid go on holiday from the new house.
It was a full on effort for less than 2 days - BUT we didnt need to clean the house we left.
While it isnt essential to start packing now, it will make things much smoother if you can get everything that isnt going to be used in the next 2 months boxed up. And even better if you can sell/donate/bin a mountain of stuff.

Goodness, what could the possible of downside starting a large task in plenty of time be?

I wish I hadn't started that job in good time to make it less stressful ...... Said no one ever

I started packing as soon as the offer was accepted ( no chain, expected to take 6 weeks), starting with ornaments, photos, etc and by the week before everything was packed except some clothes, kitchen stuff I would need, etc. The night before it then took an hour to pack the last few bits and made it so much easier, and easier to organise and unpack in priority order the other end. It makes sense to pack things as they aren't needed and prevent last minute rushing. Can also see when you are getting low on boxes and bubble wrap and have the time to resolve it.

We started over a month before we moved. Still not enough time as far as I was concerned.

I began packing about 6 months before we left - as soon as I knew we were moving. It's never too early - you can get rid of stuff you don't need and box up stuff you aren't using inside cupboards. Also get cupboards and other deep cleaning done.

I'd start now, yes.

There's a balance between efficiently packing everything in your path without thinking (the way packers work) and trying to pack, sort and clean.

If you can lose the kids somehow the day before (childcare, friends, family) I'd focus on any decluttering, making sure stuff is vaguely organised and then sweep through like a locust just packing everything into boxes from one end of the house to the next. As you're going smaller to bigger you have that luxury!

I'm moving house in 11 weeks and I'm panicking that I haven't started packing yet. This post has made me feel better!

Yes - start now.

I found it takes a lot longer than you think! I'd definitely start now.

On the day of the move itself, my mother will be having our 3 and 4 year old, but our 1 year old will be staying with us as he's a stage 1000 clinger thanks to him having not really seen many people other than us since he was born due to covid!

To be honest, I don't think the actual packing itself will take me too long, I reckon if cracked on, I could have the whole flat packed up within a few days (bar the essentials!). It's the cleaning that's weighing heavy on my mind!
I spent 4 hours cleaning in the kitchen yesterday, and only managed to get the top of the oven, the walls, skirting boards and backsplash done! Admittedly they all haven't had a good scrub in quite a while though!

I'm desperate to leave myself enough time to properly clean all cupboards, surfaces and do my best to paint over the kids wall doodles and sticky finger prints, and I also aim to thoroughly clean the whole flat so now alarm bells are ringing timewise!

YADNBU best get cracking!

The question is where are you going to put the packed stuff? Unless you have a lot of space or very sensible children as soon as you have boxes visible you will be spending all your time keeping the children out of the boxes. (I have a 5yo and a 2yo).

We're currently in a smaller modern 3 bed with stuff that has come from a big 4 bed and will be moving to a 5 bed (relocated to a cheaper area) at some point in the not too distant future.

We can't start packing because we have nowhere to put boxes that won't get climbed or heavily investigated... Anything in storage areas is already in a box. Could possibly put books into boxes on bookcases but then I have heavy things for kids to pull onto their heads.

I'd focus on deep cleaning then pack like a locust at the last minute.

13 days so only 1 or 2 proper weekends before moving

I'd be panicking! I'd be close to just bear essentials only being unpacked

I thought from the title you were worried you'd left it too late not that it was too early. Yeah definitely start now.

Book an end of tenancy clean. Even if you clean yourself, most rental contracts require you to pay for a professional clean anyway. 13 das is tight. It sounds like your DH may be procrastinating.

I started three months ahead and it was still busy

If you are renting is there an overlap?
When DS bought a house his tenacy had 3 weeks left when he completed so he was able to do the whole thing bit by bit.
Otherwise I would have been packing for months and at this stage I would be left with the absolute bare essentials for the next 13 days.

You really need to get cracking. As someone whose moved dozens of times it always takes longer than you think. Start by getting rid of anything you are definitely not taking, it makes life so much easier when it’s gone.

Now when ever I move I always leave myself a day to clean after everything has gone. It’s far easier to do in an empty house.

Have you asked how much it’ll cost to get the movers to do a full pack? Seriously - it cost way less than I thought it would be and made everything stress free. They packed EVERYTHING! I didn’t need to clear a bookshelf or pack so much as a spoon.

My top tip though is move the day before you exchange and get the moving company to store your stuff overnight. Sounds crazy but it actually didn’t cost any more as they don’t use the vans overnight.

We moved out the day before, stayed overnight in a cheap hotel and then I cleaned the house the next morning while it was totally empty.

We had 3 kids aged 1,4 & 7 & it was a total breeze.