Best house moving tips?

[cowardlylionhere]

I need some serious pointing in the right direction. I have a week til I move and am completely daunted by the task of packing. It's just me and 3 dc, so I already feel I'm living in chaos. I've tried to make a start today but untidiness and disorganisation make me feel on edge (I know...) so having to stop sorting paperwork and leave it til the morning has stressed me out even though I know I just need to sleep. I can't seem to decide where to start. I've been doing the mountain of paperwork as I thought it was best to sort it all here rather than cart it all with me. But I know I'm going to do this with each and every single thing I come across. I'm dreading sorting the toys and books. Is it best just to bung everything in and be more choosy as I unpack? My tactic of tackling one room at a time isn't going to work while the dc are still on half term I don't think. I'm sure it'll all be fine in the end, I'm just worried that a week will fly by and I'm going to be rushed and stressed. I'm intending to just chuck clothes, bedding, toys in bin bags. And have thought of packign the last box to include things we'll need right away, so toilet roll, washing up liquid, teabags, the kettle, gin, that sort of thing How do other people cope with moving house when you have dc? I'm at the point of giving up.

Eyes firmly in the sand! I think you may all be picturing my grandad as a frail old man. He's a 6 foot something strapping carpenter and I'm quite physically strong. No white goods apart from the tumble dryer but that's not too heavy and he's bringing one of those little wheeled trollies to help get that down. We're mainly talking about beds that will collapse down, 2 wardrobes, several bookcases which will again collapse, a cot, a dining table, a tv unit and a couple of chests of drawers. And many many assorted books and toys. My place is very small and I am quite good at periodically clearing clutter (thank you NCT sales...) so I don't have a great deal of stuff. Still daunting. I'm glad it's gone well for you mogwai, this time next week I'm going to be absolutely crapping myself. As far as the cleaning goes, my landlord is a legend and told me not to worry about it. They have 5 dc so I think they understand! I'll of course leave it clean but they said not to worry about jobs like in the fridge and oven, the bath and that kind of thing as they're not gettign tenants immediately and will do all that themselves.

That's brilliant :) not long now!
Have you got enough boxes and everything? I got a back of them on eBay for quite cheap

I once read a very good advice when it comes to packing and moving your items. Have a no packing zone. This is a place where you put items which you don't want your movers to pack. For example, your shoes or business suit. Imagine this situation: you arrive at your new home and you have to go to work the very next day. Unfortunately your suit is somewhere inside one of the numerous boxes, but your movers had no way of knowing you will need it so soon. So, that's why it's nice to have a no packing zone. :)