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'd pack anything that you don't need in until the autumn. So things like out of season coats , duvets, books.

Yes - start now - never too soon.
We moved my MIL from a basement in her other dc house to an apartment. When did she pack (healthy & well OAP)? She didn't. We me running for boxes, kids boxing up all her stuff, husband carrying to new place. Sounds like a nightmare? It was!!

13 days!!!

I would be in a panic too.
I started packing 6 weeks before my last move. Rented storage for a month and put a large amount in there - stuff we didn't use a lot- things from the attic, christmas trees, books, pictures, spare bedding, rugs, kitchen equipement I didn't use much of, tools, much of our clothes, toys, small bits of furniture, garden furniture and toys.

So on moving day we had only the essentials, big furniture, beds, enough equipmment for last few days in our old house and to be functional as soon as we arrived at the new place.
The following days and weeks was easy to decant the storage unit and set up as we needed.

13 days is cutting it fine.

Of course your DH doesn't feel the need to get started, he knows you'll do it! Tell me he's at least taking care of the children while you're trying to clean or pack.

I'm not so sure that he 'expects' me to do it all, more that he genuinely believes we can get it done in a matter of days. I just don't think that's even remotely feasible, hence me now flustering and toddling off to do bits on my own, regardless of his 'ahhh it'll be alright' attitude.

He is in with the children while I do stuff, but I do have to keep stopping to sort out our youngest (1 year old) who's still breastfed and only really settles/calms down with me!

Write a plan of what you will do over the next 10 days. Pack a room one day, deep clean another the next etc. Get DH involved.

Pack up everything apart from the essentials.

Have a declutter if you've not had one in a while.

Write on the boxes what's in there.

Use sandwich bags for keeping stuff like cutlery together.

I was amazed at how much crap we had when we moved!

We did a big declutter last month - got rid of lots of things we'd been hoarding in the loft, mostly broken things that we'd never gotten round to taking to the tip. I was quite brutal with some of the stuff I threw away, but I think dh kept a fair bit, so I'm leaving the (mammoth) task of sorting the loft out up to him.

If he chooses to do it a couple days before the move and finds himself running out of time, then that's on him!

Starting 2 weeks later than I would have

Tbh I started packing up unused items in my 2 bed flat as soon as I got my offer accepted. Things like books, CD’s, DVD’s, trinkets/ornaments, irregularly used kitchen gadgets, etc.

The thought of trying to pack up the last 6 years of my life in a hurry was causing me more stress and anxiety than the purchase itself.

He's a serial procrastinator and very much has the general attitude of 'it'll all work out' - I'm a worrier and an over planner though!

It all works out for him because of your worrying and planning. Tell him to pull his socks up.

You could suggest that you could keep the children out of the way for a week before and for the day of the move- to make things easier for him.
Take the kids and go stay with a friend, rent a caravan, stay in a hotel.

I would downright refuse to be a victim of his laissez-faire attitude.

With our last move I started seriously packing the day we accepted the offer. Actually I had already packed rarely used kitchen things, and thinned out ornaments, even while the house was on the market. If you have professional movers they often have a packing service too. They did most of the kitchen and breakables the day before we completed. It was worth paying for. Label boxes with contents and the room they are destined for.

Oh God, there's still stuff in the loft

@PotteringAlong

13 days and nothing packed?! I would be having a heart attack! Pack all the stuff you don’t need, pick a room and leave the boxes there. Make sure the boxes are labelled. Have the stuff you need for moving day in the boot of your car (stuff like bedding etc).

It will take longer than you think. Start now!

This.

Pretty much think of it as camping in your home. Work on cutting down to the minimum of clothes, crockery and cutlery etc. Pack everything thing else.

Only pack items from eg kitchen into the kitchen boxes. When we packed, random items ended up in boxes for different rooms in order to fill space without making boxes too heavy. Due to this unpacking took over a week. 😫

If he chooses to do it a couple days before the move and finds himself running out of time, then that's on him!

Also falls on you though OP.
Him "running out of time" means everything else lands in your lap.

Yo need to sit down and make a plan. Are you both working?
You also have children to take care of- and all that entails.
Make a list of what needs to be done-
How much time you can allocate.
Having extra childcare may help.
Allocate certain tasks.
Make sure you have enough boxes and packing materials.
Do you have somewhere you can store stuff- parents? Friends garage? even for a few days- you can start to move things out now as packed boxes take up a lot of space when you are trying to strip a place and continue living.

Insist on a meeting with your OH.
If he won't cooperate I would stay elsewhere until after the move.

I started packing 4 weeks before we moved and moved stuff into storage.

I couldn't have left it any later than that.

I agree with you it is worth starting. The suggestion of winter coats and other winter wear seems a good place to start.

Are you having professional movers or more a man and van deal? If the former I'd be seeing if they can still book you in to do the packing too. Best money you can spend.

Definitely start now. I moved last my. Took me 5 wks to pack completely & deep clean

I would just start ruthlessly packing now. Just get a load of packing boxes, shoppers/IKEA bags/bin liners and start going cupboard by cupboard, room by room. Have a dedicated bit of your bedroom or each room where you start stacking bags and boxes. 13 days is a very short time if you are also looking after 3 kids. Definitely time to tell your DH to pull his finger out now too. Good luck with your move OP!

@ItsBuisnessTime

I'm not so sure that he 'expects' me to do it all, more that he genuinely believes we can get it done in a matter of days. I just don't think that's even remotely feasible, hence me now flustering and toddling off to do bits on my own, regardless of his 'ahhh it'll be alright' attitude.

He is in with the children while I do stuff, but I do have to keep stopping to sort out our youngest (1 year old) who's still breastfed and only really settles/calms down with me!

Leave him with the baby whilst you pack - every time he sits down, he gets the baby plonked in his lap and you go and do another box.

He'll soon work out that packing now is better than wrangling a screaming child whilst you do it all.

God I hate moving house. I feel seriously stressed just reading this.

@Nancylovesthecock

God I hate moving house. I feel seriously stressed just reading this.

Totally.

OP: start packing now! It'll take all the available time.

First time we moved we thought we didn't have much stuff and it wouldn't take long. We started three days before we moved and ended up working into the night to finish in time. Luckily we didn't have children then.

Last time we moved work paid, and we had the packing service. It was amazing.

I hope there won't be a next time, but if we ever had to move I would definitely pay someone to pack if I could possibly afford to.

I'm just waiting for my shopping to arrive, then I'm going to start packing up bits and pieces in my kitchen, and cleaning the cupboards in there too.
Luckily, both our master bedroom and our DC's bedroom dont have a great deal in them - literally just clothes and some flat pack furniture (both bedrooms came with built in wardrobes so we really only have beds in there!) which we'll dismantle either the night before the move, or on the morning of.

Our lounge doesn't have masses in it either - one small storage unit of toys and a couple of sea grass baskets filled with superheroes and duplo! So I have virtually nothing to pack in there, but I do have a fair bit of cleaning and paint touch ups to do!

I do think I could realistically pack everything to a pretty organised standard within a few days, I just want to make sure I leave myself at least 5 or so days for the painting, cleaning of the carpets, bleaching the bathroom, giving the oven and thorough clean etc etc!

I've written out a little list and feel better seeing it broken down in to stages!

We hired a skip although with a flat I guess it’s not possible. I tipped out all toiletries onto the bed and my god I had a huge amount! Used them liberally.