Experiences of having a removal company pack for you?

[Fiddledee]

Was it a godsend? The idea of packing on my own a large house with 2 kids makes me panic.

I have heard stories that basically they just pack it up all with scant regard of what they are packing together and so you have a bigger job to sort it all out at the other end?

Poor kids (both pre-schoolers) have had to endure me decluttering to sell the house, visiting houses to buy, visiting new schools/pre-schools I don't really want them to watch me pack for a couple of weeks.

Is it worth it? Or should I just get them to pack the china and glass?

We always have packers - but I prefer to unpack myself. One tip - make sure you have a clear out before they come. I remember moving once and unwrapping bits of packing to find a drawing pin, a pen lid and a bottle top - they had literally packed everything! Get them to label the boxes so you know what's come out of each room. I'm always amazed by how quick they are - so make sure you are very clear about what is not going in the cases.

Agree it is worth every penny. Also agree that the whole thing will be a whole lot easier if you have a really thorough sort out and declutter beforehand.

One hint - don't allow your DH to 'just pack up all the computer gear'. We ended up with a subsidiary self-drive lorry and absolute mayhem on that basis!

my experience: brilliant except that one of them was a bit dim and he packed his lunch by mistake, so when I came to unpack (after a year because the stuff was going into storage) I found a very mouldy sandwich....

I wouldn't move house again if I couldn't afford packers.

The only problem we had was that I didn't check the teapot was empty before it got packed - after a long sea journey and a wait in Customs (I'm surprised no dog went ballistic about it) it contained a solid plug of disgusting mouldy tea leaves.

We had three different companies round this week for quotes. Pickford was the highest by a good £700! I think we'll go with Bishop's Move. None of them have said they'll unpack boxes, but will move clothes in situ in chests of drawers and stick the drawers back in again in the new house (note to self: must make sure all drawers are clear of embarassing items, such as very dusty vibrator, mooncup or lube ), will rebuild beds and cot and anything else that had to be taken apart.

My main worry is that because we're having packers, I won't tidy up much or do much purging of stuff that should be chucked out, so we'll move with a lot of junk that ought to be thrown out! But I'm heavily pregnant and have a toddler, so packing myself is just not an option. No way.

There's no way I'd ever move again without getting the removal company to pack. DSs were aged 2.4yrs and 8 months when we moved and they came to pack and dismantle the furniture in one day, move and rebuild the furniture the next day.

They put all the boxes in the right rooms but I preferred to unpack as we moved from a flat to a house so everything was going to be spread differently.

We also moved from fitted wardrobes to none, and they let us keep the hanging garment boxes for a couple of weeks until our new wardrobes arrived. Not one single breakage, missing item or scuff mark at all!

I would make sure that you use a family run company rather than a massive firm that may have a high turnover of removal staff.

Watch Bishop's Move and make sure you know exactly why they are so much cheaper than Pickfords.

We used them for one move. They took 10 hours to pack up our 2 bedroom flat. It all went into containers and into store. Then when they delivered it 3 months later it was mysteriously out of the containers and in a lorry with someone elses belongings . When I complained (because I had told them quite specifically that I wanted stuff to be stored and delivered in containers) they told me that it quite clearly said on the quote that this was not going to happen. I looked, and once you knew, why yes it did say that, but not so clearly that you would actually question it in time to get them to do what I actually wanted them to do in the first place.

It was probably still less hard work than packing myself, but I would never use them again.

we LOVED having packers, I left the house in the morning with my 17 month old and when I came back at lunch it was mostly done.

If you can afford it, do it for sure!

we got the movers to pack, but unpacked ourselves (new house had to be completely refurbished in order for there to be anywhere to put our stuff!). It was great, stress-free: the only downside is that if you are a messy bugger less than organised person, the same lack of order you had in your old house will be miraculously transported to your new one. I still periodically find things in strange places, or stuff that should really have been chucked out before we moved . But none of you will be like this, of course...:o

Only used packers once. Our stuff was going to into storage for an unknown period of time. DH persuaded me it was a good idea to leave them to it. In the main it was, but when we came to unpack (and they had packed v.well), I found one box with stuff from the fridge/freezer in (eeeew).

Our last move, I did the packing myself using the hints from the flylady.net website. If you do pack yourself I would recommend that site as it helps you track where you've packed everything (cue lots of shouting, 'you need box 69, find box 69 dear, it should be in the bedroom/kitchen/ shed').

We had to work up until the day of the move, so the packers came in whilst we were at work. We agreed that anything on the kitchen table was to be left (eg kettle, T bags, 2 mugs etc for us in the morning!).

Great not having to find all the packing materials, and not having to pack clothes. Those hanging garment rails are fab.

I too would do it again (except I am never moving again, just very slowly making this my dream home :) )