How do you pack up and move things when you sell your house?

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This seems quite silly but I don’t know how to do it. We have 1DC age 18months, will be closer to age 2 I expect by the time we move.

Me and DH both work full time. I have 1 day annual leave left but could probably take a day or two of unpaid leave if it had to. (Leave year doesn’t reset until after the moving date).

We have pets in the garden.

Our house sale and the buying of the next house is moving along nicely but I’ve never had to move out of one house and into another house on the same day before.

How far ahead do you start packing? Should we hire a storage unit for a month or two to take some pressure off moving on one day?

I don’t think we can afford to pay people to move and pack us, I have family with vans so we’ve always used them in the past if we need to love big furniture.

I’ve heard that house sales often don’t go through until the afternoon, this seems even worse!

Just looking for other people’s experiences. Do you do all the packing in evenings and weekends?

And yes I think AIBU for not knowing how to do this.

We started packing about a month before in evenings and weekends. I think we probably did take a few days off just before, but I don't really remember. I have plenty of AL though and dh is self-employed, so we have a lot of flexibility.

We've always moved ourselves, just shoved in a box truck/friend's van with help from said friend. The packing bit is quite easy. It's the moving from point A to point B in 1 day that can be tricky. If you have the option for storage, that may be sensible if it's cheaper than movers.

I also got some zipped bags from
ikea and eBay - search for laundry bags on the latter - and all bedclothes just into those and out the other side. Bought floral zipped storage bags for kids from home bargains and put kids clothes in them.

eugh I hate moving can’t believe I have to do it again!

Get the packers. They're worth it.

Just pay a removal company to do it and all you need to do is pack the kettle, a few mugs and tea / coffee, and a toilet roll! Worth every penny as they will pack it so that boxes can be lifted and things don't get broken. You also won't be living in a half packed house for weeks before you move.

We moved recently with a 2yo and I was heavily pregnant.
Arranged a removal company to pack, move and assemble beds etc at the new house. I think it was about £800 or something like that (cash). Absolutely worth it, I can't imagine doing it ourselves.

As you pack write on the boxes and coloured stickers on furniture but also put which room to go in.Use marker pens then on a large piece of card write down each room where the furniture goes.Ie blue on the box to blue room could be the main bedroom.That way the correct boxes go in the correct rooms otherwise you will be lugging boxes around.The removal men then don’t have to keep asking where to put stuff.Declutter now be ruthless.Pay for removal company worth every penny.Good luck.Clean around as you go when packing.It doesn’t have to be spotless.

Start calling movers and get quotes.

Buy a huge stack of paper plates and cups, and boxes of plastic cutlery.

Pack all your dishes and cutlery, in small boxes.
Keep insulated mugs for hot drinks.
Keep baby stuff.

Pack all your baking gear and kitchen appliances used for baking.

Pack all spare bedding and all summer and light clothes, and summer footwear. Pack all evening wear, 'best' coat, anything else you rarely wear.

Pack books, music, art, knick knacks, photos, candles, everything that is decorative.
Pack garden tools, BBQ, any garden furniture or decor you're taking with you.

Pack your Christmas decorations.

As you pack, decide what you'll get rid of.

Pack your jewellery and important papers in a very clearly marked box.

Pack throw blankets, cushions, soft items, and most cuddly toys. Pack all but one or two towels, one bath mat

As the moving day approaches, pack all but necessary changes of clothes for work and whatever you need for home/ packing/ sleeping. You can survive in limited clothing for the last week.

Keep a special box for baby's favourite toys.

Last things to go are large furniture items, beds, any white goods you're bringing with you, lamps, toaster, kettle, teapot, coffee machine, TV, laptops, things like your loo roll, kitchen towels, broom, mop, cleaning supplies, house plants, etc.

Mark your boxes with what's in them and what room in your new place you want them put.

Hire movers.

I’ve moved loads & mostly found it easy, but I carry no baggage. Could you get someone to look after the kids & pets, & take some time off work? Get 3 quotes & choose the best one for you. Some removals supply packing boxes in different sizes, & tape. I began with cupboard as they were smallest, then bathroom, kitchen …. Throw anything away that you don’t want, offer to neighbours, put it outside your home & see if anyone wants it, or call in the charity shop & they will come & take it away. Luckily I was able to move into an empty & place fill up the bathroom & kitchen with stuff to get a head start. I expected it to cost £1000s, it didn’t. Pack as soon as you can, it will just take over as you open a cupboard or drawer & you’ll either pack it or sling it. You gotta be brutal here. Don’t forget to write which room the box goes into, or even what’s in it. The last move was the most stressful, we put it off once as we didn’t know where to start & the thought of sifting through MrO’s collections filled me with absolute horror. If it weren’t for that it would’ve been plain sailing. We spent 2 days in the loft. Don’t forget to let everyone know you’ve moved, you can do it in person, over the phone, & inform RM so they can forward your mail at a cost. You can do this online. I spent days on the phone doing this, just to check & double check. You got this!

Start packing now. It will give you chance to sort through and chuck stuff you no longer need which will make your life easier.

We moved locally a few years ago when DS was 4.

We put a load into storage locally and then hired a single van ourselves. We packed up the big furniture the night before and then put valuable in the morning of the move.

DS went to nursery as normal. We had hoped to move before he finished but it dragged on and we didn't get keys till mid afternoon.

We then could move the stuff in the van in and got the rest of stuff out of storage over the weekend as and when we were ready rather than trying to do it all in one go.

It was cheaper, easier and more importantly much less stressful than doing it all in one day. Fuck that shit.

I usually start packing minute I know I'm moving. Bit by bit is better and I also do room by room. I buy a ton of cardboard boxes and labels that say 'kitchen' 'dining room' from Amazon and box up everything and stick the relevant stickers on each box. For delicate items I literally have labels saying keep upright/fragile
Then when the removal people come I give them a floor plan of new house and tell them to put the relevant boxes into each type of room. Much easier imo,

Get a removal company. You will never regret paying out for it. Pull the cost out of the deposit and stick it on the mortgage.

It was a while ago but we used a packing service, it was £200 and the move was just over a £100. It was so stress free that would always be my option now.

Having moved many times, these are my top tips:

• get a removal company
• exclude packing your smalls from the scope of work. You do NOT want a strange man or woman handling your knickers and bra
• same for baby stuff. The removal guys don’t (and can’t be expected to) wash their hands enough
• leave children with grandparents for at least one night, if possible
• get a takeaway recommendation in your new area for your first dinner in your new house
• have water bottles and a couple of packs of biscuits ready for the removal people
• empty your freezer as much as possible before your move date. Anything you can’t use give your friends or relatives close by to store for you
• pack toilet paper and hand towels etc in your car to take with you
• tip your removal guys properly. It’s back breaking work, and they deserve it (especially if it’s a super hot day and no air con)

However, my single biggest tip, ever, is DON’T ACCUMULATE STUFF in your new house.

The Amazon room labels are genius!

also: borrow a tape gun if possible.

Put the dogs in kennels (or send to relatives they know) the day before, overnight, and the whole day of moving day.

Make sure you inspect and repair any fencing and gates to the garden before you spring your dogs.

Pay for packing. Its worth every penny.

My other tip would be to do the deep cleaning 3 to 4 weeks before. Things like cleaning the shelves of the kitchen cupboards or moving the bed and cleaning the skirting board. On the day/day before you just want to be hoovering and light dusting. There won't be time for anything else.

If you are packing - pack and mark up boxes in terms of where they will be in your new house not where they are now. Spending time thinking about rooms in advance is so worth it. Especially the kitchen cupboards./drawers. It means you unpack really fast.

It's worth having a box of nice stuff to hand. For me that was the kitchen table cloth and a vase and flowers. And a fake plant for the kitchen window sill. And toilet rolls!

But you have a baby. It's so hard. If you have packers then you do nothing till the Wednesday eve before you move on a Friday. When you start marking up stuff you don't want packing the next day.

Another vote to say start saving for a packing and removals firm now. I once helped a friend and family who were in your position, even took a precious day annual leave. Two adults, three kids, pets. They had done nothing at all in preparation, buried their heads thinking they were only moving a mile away, how hard could it be. Luckily they had a wide friendship circle and more and more people turned up as they day went on and the panicked phone calls went out.

Decluttering and organising in advance becomes easy if you get in the mindset of “do I want this item enough that I am prepared to pay someone to pack/store/move it and then deal with it at the other end”. I successfully managed an international move on that basis, although most domestic moves won’t need to declutter as severely as I did in that case.

This! They're experts and do in two days what would take you weeks.

exclude packing your smalls from the scope of work. You do NOT want a strange man or woman handling your knickers and bra
same for baby stuff. The removal guys don’t (and can’t be expected to) wash their hands enough

Our packers just taped up the drawers and moved as a whole.

We recently moved house, a couple of weeks before Christmas. We have a DS aged 21 months, a cat, a rabbit and a guinea pig.

I would recommend packing bit by bit, when you have a spare hour here or there. Personally we started with the areas we don't use as much eg shed garage loft. Then you aren't looking for things you need which you've already packed away!

Clean as you go as it can be difficult to get a whole house immaculate at the last minut

Personally we used removal people, I think it would have been 100 times more stressful. You can start looking around and comparing differenlookinanies to get quotes, they do vary massively.

We exchanged and completed same day, didn't complete until 4pm so we were sat in a car park whilst the removal firm were sat outside the new house with our stuff until we could get the keys.

It will be stressful but the more you can do the day before the better!

Best of luck !

Definitely arrange childcare for the day of the move and preferably overnight before and after if you can! This was a life saver for us

Sorry, not sure what happened with m post

Round here £1000 will have your entire house packed, moved and unpacked.
Our movers came the day before and packed up the lorry.
They came back early morning to empty the house. We cleaned behind them (ds was at school).
They just wait near the new house until you complete and turn up with the keys.
They then unpack everything under your direction

Also if the movers pack it's all insured if you pack it isn't!

Evenings and weekends mostly, my husband did a lot of the packing whilst I looked after our son or we’d do an hour or so once he was in bed. We probably started 2-3 weeks before we moved. We pushed the bed in the master bedroom against the wall. Packed away the clothes in the wardrobe first (other than what we needed up until us moving) then took the wardrobe apart (we needed to to get it down the stairs anyway) that gave us a decent amount of space to stack the boxes until moving day. We did use a moving company on the day, mainly because we didn’t want to ask people to take a day off of work to help us. The movers arrived around 9am I believe and had us out by 11am then we had a few hours to wait then we got the keys to the new house around 1pm-ish I believe.

At your age, we just hired a large truck. DP & I both had the correct licence to drive the BIG vans/trucks/lorries. We were forever helping friends move due to being able to do this. So when we moved we had help to load the vehicles. Amongst our group of friends, certain friends would always opt to stay home & have all the 'helpers' kids over to play. Personally I'd suggest letting toddlers/young children put some of their things in a box and into a van/car and take it out at the other house & have a grandparent/friend/whoever they love/trust play with them for a bit, maybe go out into the garden with a ball, have drink & biscuit (other snack are available). I think it helps them accept the move (as well as putting familiar duvet cover on their bed etc). I think although it's easier having grandparents take them off for a few days, it's better to have them around the move.

Then I moved overseas.. & life was very different.

so it can very much depend on your situation Even as far as vans going back & forth. If you have plenty of hand to help with loading & unloading, the vans can move very quickly. Obviously this works better if you're 2 streets away not two hours away!!

in YOUR situation I would start with another round of decluttering. Last time you were just concentrating on doing it for photos. This time focus entirely what you need/want in your new house. Do you really want x in your lovely new house? If not, donate.. Do you really need 3 of xyz? If not donate!

you don't want to be taking stuff to 'think about' later, or at least as little as possible.

ask yourself how often you've used xyz since you decluttered for photos. A lot of stuff we keep is aspirational, be realistic about whether you'll actually use the item and also consider the cost of replacing v the cost/hassle of moving & storing the items. Donate now, replace if you need it can be a great way of minimising clutter.

Dana K White I think is great. Her you tube videos really make sense and help you think about 'stuff' differently. Even sentimental stuff.

once you've decluttered well, packing really shouldn't be a problem. But start soon. There's VERY little in our homes that we need day to day!

label boxes well. Coloured stickers are great for people helping you, but also write more detail on the box. No one regrets writing more!!

pets- totally depends on what pets you have. I think you said 'outdoor' (can't scroll back to check) but if my recall is right I'd hope that one of your friends/family can help you out with moving cages/runs etc. & either have the pets in your car in carriers or board them for a few nights if family/friends can't help.

judt remember it's only 24/48 hours of mayhem & high emotions! Once you're in, you're in!

BEDS - as others have said, get them made up at the new house as soon as possible. Just knowing it's there, waiting for you, is SO nice!

TLDR: start now, declutter again!! You can do it with friends & family with vans!