Seriously...I need help!!!! Supposed to moving in 3 weeks......arrghhhh....

[Becaroooo]

Offer accepted yesterday on a house on the condition we move in 3 weeks (our original move date before that sale fell through)

Anyway, when we moved in here 12 years ago we had nothing very little and it wasnt too much of a hassle.

Now......we have 2 young dc and the house is much larger as we extended it 4 years ago and EVERY room is FULL of stuff.

Urgently need to know;
How to get a good removals company that wont charge the earth
Where to get packing materials from
Tips on how to pack effectively
Tips on how to stay sane

TIA!

Hire a self storage for a month or two and take a couple of boxes a day of things you aren't using so that come moving day it is just furnituer and 'big stuff' I always do this and have moved 10 times in 11 years. About to move again and will store all books art mirrors crockery apart from essentials etc and then once moved in and furniture etc in place I gradually collect it and unpack as I go. It really stops the stress

Agree with above, we have hired a garage to store stuff in. Also get some storage boxes. Have one into which you put anying for the charity shop, empty frequently by dropping to local charity or free cycling. Have another for random bits and pieces that need to be reunited with their others, eg puzzle pieces, Lego bits, parts of toys. Put in puzzles with pieces missing etc then anything not intact on moving day can be binned. Pack things in an ordered fashion so they can be unpacked well, don't just throw random items in together and label well so you can unpack easily.

How tight are your finances? Would paying someone to pack you up and move you be an option? Friends have done this and they said it was so worth the money.

narmada oh, I wish!!!

The storage idea appeals to me though...there is a storage place not far from our new house!!!

Any idea what the industry standard is for storage charges???

Great tips, thanks

(loving the nicknames btw!)

I have booked one for £55 a month but that is only going to hold about 25 boxes which is all I need this time

Honestly I would get a quote for packing when you get quotes for removel - we have done it the last 2 moves and worth every penny - it was about 300 this time

Don't rely on the big name removals companies to be competitively priced. A big company quoted us more than double a local firm. It's easy to get a couple of quotes online v

Definitely recommend putting as much as poss into storage. We used Big Yellow I think - they offer deals where it's cheap for the first few months then the prices increase, but if you only need it for the short term that's fine. We actually put a lot of stuff in storage when we put our place on the market and kept it there till we moved. Most removal companies give you the packing materials, either included in the price or at extra cost depending on the deal. In order to keep sane - do NOT open every photo album/decide to have a huge clear out/etc as you are packing. Just put the stuff in boxes and clear out at the other end, otherwise you will waste loads of time. That's why the professional packers are so quick, cos they don't get sentimental over every toy/cup/momento they are putting in the box

Hi :) Have looked online and I think our best bet will be to get a storage unit for a month - we move in 3 weeks all being well (long story!) - so thats all we would need.

Saw a home removal kit of packing materials online for £99 (assorted boxes, bubble wrap, etc etc) does that seem a good price?

Even if it was £200 for unit rental for the month it would be worth it as we could start moving stuff next week!!!!

Also looking at hiring small lorry/large van and moving the bigger stuff ourselves on moving day....is it do-able with some burly helpers do you think????

Have had 2 quotes from removal companies and they both come in at over £1000 + VAT

surburban Luckily, I am not the sentimental type Dh on the other hand...............

We just left everything to the last minute and shoved it all in the back of a mates van the day we were moving.

T'was fine really [twitch]

dooin Noooooooooooooo

My SIL did that and I still have flashbacks to that awful day/night/week

Honestly, get more removal quotes! A local removal co packed up our entire 3 bed house for 90 quid extra, and the whole cost was about 500 quid. The quotes from the big companies were more like 1300+ vat. They arrived at 7am on move day and had the whole house packed up by lunchtime. By 7pm we were into new house with all flatpack reassembled by them. Magic!

We used a local removal company and it wasn't all that much more than hiring a van and doing it ourselves, and so less stressful!

We did get a skip a month before the move and got really tough on having a clear out!

Hmmm...struggling to find a good local one

If we go down the storage route it means we could start packing next week and emptying the house of stuff we dont need on a daily/regular basis.

I reckon that 1 months storgage, packing materials and van would only be about £300!!

Add a bit for covering up the grey hairs afterwards:) whereabouts in the country are you? Maybe someone might have a recommendation?

On the other hand, if you pack yourself you will at least have the massive advantage that all your junk won't get packed up and transferred to the new place! I was pretty embarrassed when I unpacked to think that someone had actually gone to the trouble of carefully wrapping and packing stuff that should have gone straight to the tip

lib Oh god, I know.

Have spent today in the loft and the sheet amount of crap is hard to believe

Wow, libellule where in the country are you? if anywhere near SW london/ surrey borders could you PM me with details of your movers? Ta!

Sadly Narmada we're in east anglia- sorry!

We have just had a couple of local companies round to quote for our removals - also got a website quote from Pickfords!!!!!! Never realised Pickfords prices can vary so much from day to day and week to week.

They all supply packing materials as part of the cost (though some companies don't) and will drop off the boxes etc about a week beforehand.

Storage and a van may be the way to go if you don't need everything moved on the day. If you were in Kent, I could have given you a load of boxes as we saved a lot of ours from when we moved last time.

Paying for packing this time. It is only going to cost an extra £ 150 from one company and that is so worth it compared to the stress I had the last few moves.

Good luck with your move. :) I agree with those who say get a price to get everything packed. Keep a box of essentials from each room but do be ruthless. Get friends and family to keep large items you want to keep but dont want to move right now ;) especially as you have small children, you may want to keep extra strollers,highchairs etc. Also get some stuff on ebay - 5 day listings and make the extra money its going to cost to pack.

Hope it goes well.

If you have a minute please do rate your agent(s) :)
PS: I am a bona fide MN member since 2002 ;)

Hi all!

Well, have got a storage unit for a month - its really close to the new house and has a free lorry/van for customer use too.

The packing boxes etc have just been delivered so I can get going later!

Just need to hire a tail lift van/lorry for moving day...have lots of burly helpers

Reckon it will have cost us £450 in all....pickfords quoted us £1200 + VAT

enjoy the packing :)

That's the bit I hate the most. Which probably explains why I had a couple of broken plates last time we moved, as I had lost the will to live by the time I got to the kitchen stuff.

Am hoping the dc like the boxes and bubble wrap and help me!!!

Well they will like popping it :) and probably wrapping themselves !!

Good luck