Panicking! How do I get started with packing to move?

OrmRenewed · 2010-07-02T10:09:37+00:00

Not got a moving date yet but it will be sometimes in the first few weeks of August. I have been decluttering all the problem areas and have mainly sorted them out. Just a few more to do. We have removal men to do the downstairs packing but we are packing the upstairs ourselves. We can't leave it all this last minute but if I pack all the stuff into boxes we won't be able to move! Added to which the buyers want us to take down the bunk beds DH built - so that will have to be done in advance and the DC sleep on their mattresses on the floor I guess. Also how do I get the kitchen cupboards really clean before they are empty? And there won't be time after the removal is done. Help! That's it really. Help. There just seems to be so much to do and I don't know where to start.

ballstoit · 02/07/2010 14:32

Do you have anywhere else you could store boxes like a garage or shed. If not, I would be tempted to leave it until the week or 2 before and just call on all your friends/family/neighbours/anyone to help you pack at the last minute. The last thing you want is to spend the first few weeks of summer holidays falling over boxes of stuff, especially if your move ends up being delayed for any reason.

Oh,just a tip though, if your Dad helps you to pack or unpack, dont allow your DC to fall down the stairs and require a trip to A&E, because your Dad may end up unpacking half a box of erotic fiction, which should have ended up in your bedroom, on to the shelves in your kitchen,and then realise what it is and never be able to look yoou in the eye again. I'm sure that wont happen to you, but just in case .

Original poster

OrmRenewed · 02/07/2010 14:34

Oh dear ballstoit. Oops

Well we have a garage. Couldn't get much in it atm but clearing it is one of the things that we are aiming for next.

OP posts:

kickassangel · 02/07/2010 15:05

start ASAP it will always take longer than you think & be more stuff than you think. i speak as someone who has more experience than i wish, and I'm GOOD at it!

Start getting together cardboard boxes, and just pick a corner. pile them up neatly and LABEL them as you go. (fgs, don't write 'bedroom, misc' on it, actually list what is in there & from which room)

gradually reduce down til you have got the last few things - which should be about a couple of suitcases of clothes, essential paperwork, and enough crockery/cutlery for one meal, plus cleaning things.

How long will the movers take? if they're there more than one day, get them to do the kitchen first (except the stuff for one meal) then clean out the cupboards overnight. most firms know not to pack the vacuum til the last minute. or you can pay for cleaners to come in, if there's time.

last time we moved (a 3-stage affair, across to the US) i actually emptied out a room & just used that to put in everything that we needed to have with us, not in the lorry.

If you think about it, once everything's packed, it will fit into a lorry, which is LESS space than your entire house, so there comes a point when you have more room in your house, not less.

Original poster

OrmRenewed · 02/07/2010 15:28

Thanks.

Sounds hideous!

My problem atm is that we've actually packed a few boxes but they keep getting unpacked because people 'need' things

But I think nominating a room (or garage) as storage is a good one.

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ChippyMinton · 02/07/2010 16:02

I'm sure you have a good reason but why are your packers only doing half the house?

Original poster

OrmRenewed · 02/07/2010 16:06

Because I wanted a good reason to get my family sorting out their posessions and getting rid of some! I live with 4 squirrels who hate to part with anything. Telling them that if the contents of their bedrooms isn't packed it isn't going is helping to concentrate their minds. So far we've taken a car full to the dump and about the same to the charity shops. If we'd left it to the movers they would have packed it all up - junk and all! And we'd have been back to square one when we got to the new house.

Not to mention it kept the costs down. The costs of the move is freaking us out already.

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ChippyMinton · 02/07/2010 16:11

Sounds sensible. The last move we did, the movers had to order a couple of extra containers ( we went into storage for a few weeks) on the day because ther was so much stuff.

I second the suggestion of nominating a room or the garage for boxes. And get everyone to pack a bag or suitcase, and a box with things they 'need', as if you were going on holiday. Everything else gets packed.

kickassangel · 02/07/2010 22:15

sorry, once it's packed, it's GONE! amazing how much you can do without for a few weeks. start with things like winter clothes. seal the boxes shut (not just to stop people opening them again, you want things safe as they get moved).

set deadlines - e.g. i am packing that bookcase next fri. if you haven't sorted it, I will, and i am happy to throw everything out that i don't like.

my goal is not to move house for 10 years this time. i am fed up with it, and i would like to live somewhere long enough to actually get it decorated & sorted before the estate agents come round to value it. (so far we've been in houses 4 yrs, 5 yrs & 7 yrs. 10 seems like an achieveable goal)

Fizzylemonade · 03/07/2010 17:23

We just moved and we had stuff go into storage which made it harder I think (had to lose all condiments from fridge and stashed a full larder freezer in a friend's garage, removal men dropped it there and picked it back up)

We used dining room, collapsed table down and ate off our knees for a few nights.

I colour coded the boxes (used DC's coloured paper) and I had a book that I entered everything into so box had a number written on a smallish piece of coloured paper on all 4 sides and the top (think of them stacked) and a destination on the top.

If you write down what room it came from it will help.

We do have a few boxes that have a brown label on which means if I haven't needed what is in it for a year I am binning it without opening it

Pack stuff now that you don't use daily for me it was cake tins/roasting trays/party stuff from the kitchen. Books from all bedrooms/seasonal clothes. Catalogues, toys (yes cruel but I did leave them with some)

You need one or two big boxes labelled up with duvets/sheets/pillows/PJ's/special teddy bears that you strip off the bed removal morning and is the first box you unpack at the other end.

Don't forget meter readings!!!

kickassangel · 04/07/2010 04:30

AND - make sure you know what you're going to eat the first 24 hours & can access any plates etc that you may need for it.

our first house, we had a great gift from dh's parents - a huge box of tinned goods, to 'set us up', so we knew we'd have food. we were both moving there from being in different shared houses, and didn't realise that neither of us owned a tin opener. Cue desperate scramble for a knife/sharp implement just anything to open the tinned food we had planned to eat!

movingeverywhere · 04/07/2010 11:13

Hi there, there is some really good advice there, a few things about packing upstairs.

If you are taking chest of drawers, bedside cabinets - then no need to empty the contents into boxes as most removal men will just lift the whole unit and load onto the vehicle. (if the unit is too heavy then they will take the drawers out, put the empty unit on the vehicle, then replace the drawers) "this saves on space and also on your packing".

For your hanging clothes you can buy wardrobe boxes which are great - you simply hang your clothes in the boxes, which cuts down on your ironing - which you may have to do if you pack shirts and dresses in suitcases or boxes)

As for the bunk beds - most removal companies should be able to dismantle them for you on the morning of the move - there will be additional cost for this, or as you mention dismantle and sleep on mattresses for the last night.

It would be a good idea to purchase mattress covers to keep your mattresses clean - many removal companies do not supply them (we always do).

Generally with the packing service, the movers will arrive the day before to pack your contents, leaving you with essential items unpacked - finishing this off on the morning of the move. They will empty the kitchen cupboards for you.

This will give you time once the movers have left in the evening to clean the cupboards.

Ask the movers to put all the boxes on the vehicle the day before your move - which will free up lots of space for you - but if you do this ensure they are insured for overnight storage in a vehicle.

What I always recommend to my customers is to pack a suitcase as if you are going away for the weekend and take this with you in your car. . just in case there are delays or worse an accident. .

Packing your home isn't as bad as it seems, it takes us approx 5 hours for 3 men to pack a 3 bed house (upto 80 boxes)

So if your not moving until August - small steps will get you there.

movingeverywhere · 04/07/2010 11:15