moving in less than a week, supposed to be packing, panicking instead, don't know where to begin or what to do. Feel physically sick and foggy with mental panic. Help!

[ernestTheBavarian]

I am crap at planning and orgainising. dh away all week. feel like murdering kids, almost felt pure hatred last night as so much to do but they won't help,

omg house looks like been ransacked. How do I get myself and house under control? Have friend coming soon to help. She's going to ask me what she should do and I'm going to scream hysterically, cry and say I haven't got a f"**ing clue!

Is it possible to hire packers?

Ok - divide it down into rooms. Go into each room one by one and make a bin/charity shop/pack pile of items in the room. Then box and bag them up accordingly (leaving out what you think you and the kids and DH will need for the next week). Number the boxes (e.g. LR1 - living room box 1) and do a list for yourself of what is in each box (e.g. LR1 - cds, books, LR2 - DVDs, LR3 - dvd player). Leave the rooms you use most until last.

Make sure you have lots of boxes, bin bags, a tape gun and bubble wrap before you start.

Or do as I do and pay someone to do it for you (couple of hundred quid and will save your sanity).

well, stupidly seemed like a good idea to do it myself so I could organise as I went, ie all books together as will be in new house, all ds1 things together as scatterred all round house etc etc, have succeeded in this to a certain extent, lego more or less consolidated, but I get too bogged down in these idealistic details and now can't see how or what to do and have booked without packers so it's too late. I am unfortunately obsessive about orgaisation without actually being able to do it

Hire someone now if you can

I moved last week, and feel your pain. We couldn't afford packers so did everything ourselves.
I borrowed loads of boxes and packing crates and then just worked a room at a time.

Best for us was to try to get the DC minded, even for a morning or a few hours so they're not poking their heads in.

And label outside of boxes - like kitchen everday use; or plates/glasses extras; Toys & books etc.

So the boxes aren't too heavy, you might have to top them off with cushions rather than put all the cushions into one box.

Have you removal company booked at least?

We're not moving again until I can afford to buy enough plastic boxes to do it and hire a company to come pick them all up and move them. The furniture, too.

I dont mind packing, just shifting all the shit.

Deep breaths Ernest- you can do this. Can someone look after the DCs?

Start at the top of your house and work down. Organise things into 3 piles:
keep
charity shop
bin

When your friend comes she can then work through your piles and take things to bin/charity shop- this will clear some space- and help you pack the rest. I would personally forget about moving things that are currently all over house into one box now- you need to work room by room now and it will get messy if you have half full boxes everywhere. Pack a box until its full, label whats in it, then move the packed boxes to one side- or in the garage if you have one.

Best of British!

removers booked. He said at time busy so as I didn't book packing then, tooo late.

I still have a week, but I'm getting bogged in details and panic. Am very fortunate to have found and angell to take my 3 demons till 3.30 every day.

Have a wonderful labelling system. Just can't seem to get stuff in bloody boxes. Did all the easy stuff like books, and now am in rabbit in headlights stage

It might not seem like it not but a week is plenty. Don't worry about the house looking like it's been ransacked - it's going to get a lot worse, but it's only for a week.

Start with the things you're not going to need over the next week or so - books, videos etc, clothes. Mark each box with what's in it or what room it needs to go in when it's unpacked. I always try to cushion the more fragile things with clothes, towels etc. You'll be AMAZED by how much you can do if you don't have the kids to look after.

Get off Mumsnet and start packing!

I feel your pain. We're moving next Mon and only started packing last night. We've been putting it off as we have no where to put the boxes without them being underfoot.
However, we had to start it last night and I feel much better for it. There's still loads to do but at least now we've got an idea of how long it will take and how many boxes we need.

Just do it! Start getting stuff in boxes. Start with the non-essential stuff and put it as out of the way as you can.

Good luck!

We moved last Saturday and it wasn't as bad as I feared.

My tips would be:

Pack up one room at a time and mark every box with the room it needs to be in.

Pack all clothes away and wash and wear what you and the dc are wearing today for the next week (I have 5 dc and had to pack over 700 items of clothing) I also did the same with crockery and we ate of paper plates for three days ).

2 Days before we moved we took all the bedframes down and then took them to the new property and put them straight back up again.
Dc slept on their mattresses for two nights and loved it.

First thing to do when you move is make up beds and hang curtains then you are not scarmbling around for bedding late at night on your first night when you are knackered.

Always have endless supplies of boxes,marker pens, parcel tape and scissors.

Good luck.

Oh and a week is plenty you will be fine -I didn't know I was moving until a fortnight before and started packing a week before we went.

If you run out of boxes freezer stores seem to have loads BTW :).

Lots of good tips there - also re boxes - local supermarket will put some aside for you if you ask and go pick them up the following morning. Pack clothes into suitcases if you have some.

Also make sure you have one box close to hand with kettle, coffee, teabags, long life milk, juice for kids, etc so that you can get a cuppa before you start on getting your new home organised.

All the best for your move - you can do it!!

Top Tip - label top AND side of each box. If you just label the top you won't know what's what if they're all in a stack.

How is it going?

Will the removal company supply you with boxes? For clothes we used these tall things with a rail so you literally lift clothes off the rails in your wardrobe and into the box - takes no time at all.

If you've got duvets, take them and pillows complete with covers so you lift them out of the car/box and straight onto the beds at your new place.

Pack one box with kettle, mugs, cutlery and plates, tea etc for your first night/morning and mark it very clearly in RED so you can pick it out from all the others.

Pack books in small boxes - they are very heavy (sorry, probably really obv, but it wasn't to me when I moved )

Fiofio - where are you based. Some charities will do collections (we seem to get bags through our door on weekly basis where we live in London) so I'm using that method to get rid of lots of stuff.

Fio - you could offer it on freecycle as a carboot collection refuse to seperate and that it must be goneby a ceratin time.

I got rid of loads on freecycle after ringing round loads of charity shops who couldn't collect and I couldn't deliver.

I have spent the whole morning running round doing errands, sorting stuff with new house and have not yet had a chance to start on packing today. See, this is another problem, I loose so much time sorting stuff out, then by the time a get a chance to pack I am freaking out.

Yesterday a frind came to help. We finished off 2 rooms (which I had almost finished by myself) when the builder called, and I had to go to new house, and that was pretty much it for the day.

Shite.

Good luck fio.

Don't forget outside stuff-sheds,bikestores,garden furniture/cushions, planters etc

Have you got a loft/cellar to empty?

start eating all the stuff in the freezer!