moving soon... any advice?

[sansouci]

We've been living in our current home since we were married but now that dd and ds have joined us, we've got a serious shortage of space. So we're due to move at the end of March. I'm dreading it because I know how bad it is without children and can only imagine the chaos it's going to be with them! All those toys, clothes, books, bits! ARRRGH! Please give me some advice for making this as painless as possible. I know I've got to start now but with what? Thanks.

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Thanks for the advice. We are on a budget (dh is loathe to use a moving company but with 2 kids it's the only way). I would LOVE to be able to ask someone to come in, pack all the stuff, label the boxes, deliver it and, why not, even unpack. Bliss! Meanwhile, the kiddies could stay with their grandparents while dh and I went away for a well-deserved rest. Dreams! In reality, we should probably phone round to find the best price and then ask to have the boxes delivered so I can start sorting and packing...

If you use a removals company it 'only' costs about £200 extra for them to pack for you. We've moved 12 times now (Army) and it's worth every single penny.

Also, start clearing out now and donate to those charity shops, they're always grateful for everything (even jumble which they send off for recycling).

Hi sansouci Getting someone else to pack and unpack aint all its cracked up to be. trust me Ive worked as a packer and seen some of the lads Ive worked with just grab all kinds and shove it into boxes so as to get the job done quick. My advice would be to have a clear out NOW of toys books games ornaments etc that you dont need. then when you get the boxes pack all ornaments, pictures and other non-essentials away first. Clearly label the boxes too so you know whats in each. Then in the week before pack each room up seperately and mark clearly as Kitchen, Sitting room etc. Dont pack too much heavy stuff in each box as the removal men will not be impressed by really heavy boxes (some people do you know). When packing dishes stack the plates sideways not flat. Remember to keep a box with the kettle teabags milk biscuits etc in to bring in the car.
Put bedding into a bow clearly labels as suck so you can make the beds up easily. Also put breakfast stuff into another box so if anything goes wrong you can go to bed easily and have breakfast to hand in the morning (or better still note the nearest cafe and take the kids out for a treat) HTH
PS Also offer the lads lots and lots of tea/coffee Trust me it works wonders

Hausfrau, not sure if this answers your question, but we are moving from the UK back to the USA, not taking any furniture with us, and are trying to commit to shipping one pallet, which is 16 boxes that are 505050 centimeters(if I recall correctly.) We live in a small 2 bedroom terraced house. We only moved here on eyear ago, have minimal things, most of our things are our two children's(toys and books) and honestly, 16 boxes doesn't seem like enough at this point! Have started to do a major clear out and will not be taking anything we do not presently use(so giving up hand-me downs from one sister to the next) and also plan on clearing out almost all of my books(about 45)

that should read 50 by 50 by 50 centimeter boxes