to ask how the feck to pack a house

[GarlicCrackers]

So I have reached the grand age of 33 having never packed a house properly to move because mum always does it and quite frankly if you get in her way when she's doing it, she'll 'ave you.

The second she knows one of her children are moving, she's volunteered her services and she's there like a shot. Now...she's very good at packing, she's very efficient and she loves it, strange woman that she is.

I on the other hand, am utter ADHD chaos, I throw things in ikea bags, bin bags, transport things in asda crates, pack the minute before I need to leave.

We're having a mild mannered bust up because I think moving books in a bag is acceptable and she does not. Bearing in mind the new house is a literal 5 minutes away.

Furniture is going to get moved by men with van Saturday 29th and I'm going to chuck everything else in the car as I please because I have another week left of my tenancy. To which she says "you don't have a clue do you". Well no I don't, but that's how I live.

However she's annoyed me so much over such a silly issue that I'm determined to show her wots wot and pack like a Goddess.

So, help, help! Help me adult and prove to my mother that I don't need her efficiency.

Where do I start? Two bedrooms to pack - so myself and the child. Home office, kitchen full of every useless piece of shit I'll never use and generic clutter

Do I need boxes? What do I use to pack? Am I giving up before I've even posted this? Probably...

Get a huge black marker and write on the boxes the room they need to go in.

Eat humble pie and ask your Mother.

@Lollirocks I'm a sadist who actually really enjoys this stuff 🤣

Honestly, get rid of everything you don't love/need/use.

I am an adhd minimalist and it has enabled me to (just about) manage my stuff.

Small boxes for heavy items like books. Or if you only have big boxes, line the bottom with books and then put soft/light stuff on top like soft toys, duvets and pillows. Clothes, keep them on hangers! Just gather a bunch of hangers together (with the clothes on), tie together with elastic band or tape and then put in a bin bag to protect the clothes. When you unpack, rip the bag off and hang straight up. Obvs bubble wrap or wrap in newspaper any breakables. Try and pack boxes by room and label where they need to go.

When you get to the new house make your bed up first, then plug in the kettle and make sure you have all you need to make a hot drink. Make sure you have your clothes ready for the next couple of days. The rest can get done as and when you feel like.

My mother already knows she is right, she also knows I will admit it in about two weeks after trying to prove her wrong, its fine we have a good relationship. We're just chalk and cheese. I am chaos, she is order!

N.B I am reading and making notes, I got distracted asking for boxes on FB. Look to have a few I can collect tomorrow and brewers decorators centre manager said I can go grab some from there. I have 1 week.....

So far my list of what I need is: good tape, boxes, sharpies, bubble wrap, possibly packing paper

It takes far longer to do the kitchen than anywhere else so you need to start on it first and allow yourself at least twice as long as you think it will take.

The reasons are that there is a lot of stuff in there, especially if you have loads of cupboards, and much of the contents being crockery and glass, is fragile and requires individual wrapping and packing carefully, which takes ages to do.

Packing most other things, for example clothes or books is much quicker and easier as with clothes you can take bundles out of drawers, or grab the hangers off the rail, roll them up and throw them into bags if you are running out of time and in a last-minute panic. Books and papers are similar in that you can quickly grab a handful of books or a bundle of papers and quickly into boxes without having to sort or wrap each one individually.

I agree with a couple of PPs - apologise to your mum so she will do it for you!

But I also understand if you don’t want to take that option. I’ve moved A LOT and consider myself an awesome packer so my advice is as follows.

1. Tidy the whole house up as if the Queen were coming to visit (or anyone else you want to impress for that matter). Starting from one organized point makes life so.much.easier!
2. pack an essential bag or suitcase for each person in the house - clothes, books, toys, make up etc to keep you going whilst packing, moving and unpacking.
3. pack everything else!
4. start with hanging clothes - tie or tape coat hangers together, put massive bin bags around the clothes and move as a bundle. Or buy a wardrobe box but they are really expensive and break too easily.
5. bedroom drawers - empty contents of one drawer into a bag, put it into a box, empty second drawer into a bag, put into a box. Depending on your sizes, you should aim for one box per chest or drawers or set of shelves etc.
6. 2 schools of though when you get to sheets and towels - use them for cheap padding around lamps etc or just pack in a box for easy unpacking. I lean towards the second, however…those boxes can get bloody heavy so try to mix it up a bit. I have used giant laundry bags before as well as special packing bags. All have lost handled or zips due to the weight. Don’t overpack!
7. kitchen - however long you think it will take, it will take twice as long. Plan on takeaways while moving. It makes life so much easier than trying to meal plan. Much as you have already packed a suitcase of clothes etc for use during the move, pack a box of kitchen and household essentials - kettle, toilet paper, a few mugs, tea and coffee etc,
8. kitchen part 2 - Wrap knives in teatowels and lots of duck tape to prevent any cuts. Wrap cling film around your cutlery tray so you don’t have to unpack that. Plates are less likely to break if they are stacked on their sides rather than one on top of the other. Unpacking in the kitchen will be messy so I advocate a squeeze it in wherever you can approach. Don’t o worry about a box of glasses and box of bowls - wrap and pack in whatever space there is available as it doesn’t make a difference when you unpack at the other end.
9. kitchen part 3 - stop shopping and eat as much as you can before you move. I use grocery bags to move any unused food like tins, herbs and spices etc. the grocery bags may or may not end up in a box or laundry basket depending on how we are moving.
10. living areas are very easy after all of that!

last piece of advice - particularly when packing a van, try not to have eleventy million different size boxes. Ideally you want 2 or maybe 3 different sizes. A small box for heavy items like books, a large box for awkward size items like lamps, and everything else in medium boxes. Trust me - it makes much easier.

good luck!

Did this recently- have sworn on all things that are holy NEVER to do a DIY packing job anytime soon.

I packed room by room: all clothes went into high duty bin liners. Ditto shoes, handbags, towels and bedding. I went to Costco and Lidl and nabbed their boxes and packed books, the kitchen and anything else I could get into them. We saved a fortune this way but lost hours in stress and energy. Never again. I wish I'd had your mum to help me.

Forgot to add: YOU DEFINITELY NEED YOUR MUM'S EFFICIENCY. Swallow your pride and ask her.

Have 30% more boxes than you can possibly need. You’ll use them.

If you have an idea near year go get lots of the big blue bags for cushions, bedding, cuddly toys, clothes ect. All the bulky but light stuff. Wheely suitcases are great for books, easy to stack and doesn't matter how heavy they get.
Have a kitchen box with kettle, tea, milk biscuits that you take first.

I hate packing so I’m on team “get mum in to do it for you”

But if you want to proceed with the madness here you go. Pack a bag like you are going on a two week vacation. Then the correct ratio is 2 bin bags to every one box packed. This is at the beginning towards the end it should be a 3:1 ratio.

Pack by geographic location of the old place and mark the boxes as such. Hall closet, corner of bedroom, pot cupboard, junk drawer. This will make finding stuff a whole lot easier.

When packing your choices are: toss it or pack it. It’s not fix that missing button, organize it, decide you should leave it out ‘just in case’ or anything else

Good Luck!

Don’t bother with packing paper- i nabbed free papers off the bus/train stations. Just a few at a time so I wasn’t too greedy but my mom grabbed some each time she got the bus too 🙂

I have adhd too and I have packed a lot of houses. Always last minute but always managed it as adhd hyperfocus kicks in.

Anyway, boxes, markers and bubble wrap/newspapers.

Start with a room and do one cupboard/wardrobe etc at a time. Have a few boxes ready for filling and a bag for charity and a bag for the bin. Last time I moved 3 years ago, I took 17 bags to charity. Great opportunity to declutter - be ruthless!

Clearly mark the room on the box and when finished, write what's in it. Pack them the way they are stored in your home so it is easier to unpack.

My clothes in the wardrobe, I just put them in my car with the hangers in (I also just moved round the corner).

And yes, you'll end up with some random bags (that I still haven't unpacked 3 years on).

Do it with your mum or a friend as it is more fun and with adhd more likely that you'll stay in the room and on task.

(I didn't do this but do it now with chores and that is set myself a list and a timer and I end up working faster and staying on task).

The best thing we did was to number each box and make a spreadsheet. Also write on the box where it needs to go in the new place