Please can you give me some top tips for moving house as a family?

[IAmRubyLennox]

I'm hoping to benefit from the collective wisdom of MN's property gurus

I last moved house 12 years ago, moving from my one-bed, single girl flat into the house that DH and I still live in now. Everything I owned fitted in the back of one self-hire Luton van, and there was only me to worry about. I wasn't bringing things like oven and washing machine with me either.

We now have three DC (8, 7 and almost-6) and a four-bed, three reception room family home packed to the rafters with stuff.

I understand all the legalities and processes involved with moving, but the prospect of how we actually pack everything up, what goes with the removal lorry and what we'd be expected to move ourselves (clothes? toys? kitchen stuff?), how we cope with three over-excited children on moving day, how long (realistically) unpacking it all is going to take at the other end.

We're only moving 3 miles away, into a new-build so no one to move out, and we're part-exing with the building company so there won't be anyone champing at the bit to move into our house.

Any tips would be very welcome!

I was about to post this! I have a 2.7 yr old and a 8 month old! And a cat.

My plan is to put cat in Cattery for the first few nights while we unpack near the new house (well temp house as were renting for a few months)

I'm packing ATM all the things we don't use lots so they will not be unpacked until we go to the house were buying (not renting).

Get a skip.
Empty 30% of your house into the skip.
Freecycle 30% of remainder.
Pay removal company to pack for you.

I can't relinquish control to a removal company in terms of packing (personal thing and the experience of removal company losing a whole dining set minus 1 chair when we put stuff in storage once )
Start packing non essentials asap so you get a head start, clear out/freecycle/donate anything that you no longer want/need don't pay to carry it.
Any chance kids can spend actual move day with grandparents/ friends as they will get under your feet if they are wee... Bigger ones can and do help but small ones make you worry and moving is generally stressful enough.
Pack 1 box of essentials for move day - bog roll, kettle, coffee, mugs, milk, biscuits, scissors, Sellotape, pen, paper, screwdrivers, adjustable wrench and Allen keys (for inevitable last minute furniture adjustment to go through doors, round corners etc)
Label all boxes with where they are going in a way that the removal man will understand
Tape all screws/fastenings etc in a plastic food bag securely to any furniture that has to be taken apart
Get take away menu and put it in your car...
Put valuables, precious teddy's etc in your car along with delicate plants etc.
Wrap glass/crockery breakables well and in bubble wrap and don't overload boxes ESP with books.
Try not to get too stressed

Can you send the kids to grandparents for a few days? If so, I recommend it, especially for you, Buggyrunner. Last time I moved was with a 2.5yo and 6mo, and my mum took the eldest for a couple of days as dd wasn't walking so could be confined in the playpen as needed!

This time they will be 8.5 and 6.5 and hopefully at school for most of the day. The plan is to pack a suitcase with essentials for a couple of days - underwear, uniforms etc which will go in the car. I am packing winter clothes away in another case to get them out of the way.

The removal men are packing everything else up and it will all go in the van (2 mile move) with the exception of the kettle/tea/coffee/milk. Tea on moving night will likely be courtesy of McD's.

As for unpacking, the majority of it will be done in a week or so, depending on exactly how much stuff you have - but you have three helpers! There will also be at least two boxes which will never get unpacked, and by Christmas you will have forgotten what's in them - this always happens!

We move house quite regularly with DH's job. My top tips would be to get the removal company to pack for you - that way you don't have to do anything until they arrive. They are brilliant at it - that is their job! They will make sure the kettle and tea making stuff is the last thing on the van and the first thing off it. You won't have to do anything except clean up behind them as they empty each room.
Before they arrive go through every room in the house and ruthlessly chuck out anything you don't want. Much better to do it at this stage or you will end up at the other end with hundreds of half unpacked boxes full of stuff you never really wanted in the first place.
I actually like moving house - I see it as a great opportunity to have a really good sort out and it can be very therapeutic.
You may only be moving three miles and there may be noone champing at the bit to get into your old house, but once you get to your new place you'll want all your energy for moving in so make sure you hoover yourself out of the door of the old place so you don't need to go back!

right declutter get rid of as much stuff as possible before the move - as otherwise you will be paying to move things you don't want - freecycle, charity shops etc are you friend - you will NOT sort them once you move
Children out of the way on the day
Get a quote for removels packing in my view worth every penny - done it twice with no problems
Unpacking - did the children's rooms asap - and kitchen I think - then it was pretty sorted in week
will you be moving appliences - lots of new builds have them built in?

I've never packed the kids off and never felt the need to do so. I think it, as you say, it's an extra thing to do and an extra logistic to build into the move. Besides mine (they were 1 and 3 when they first moved, they are now 11 and 9 and have moved several times in between) have always liked being part of the move, seeing their stuff being packed up and saying goodbye to the old house iyswim. If you have a removal company and they are doing the packing there really isn't that much to do until you get to the new place. Arriving at the new place the kids have always enjoyed making themselves at home while we unpack around them.

Fio - my parents came and collected ds - they live about 2 hours away so it would have been a nightmare if I'd had to take him there too. We had no removal men (or packers) that time, and DH was stuck at work (literally - he didn't come home for three days, due to a deadline) so it was just me and my bil. If DH had been around then it would probably have been ok to have had ds here, but it was just easier to keep him out of the way. My parents collected him the day before we moved and brought him back three days later.

Pay the removal company to pack you. Then you leave the house completely as normal, apart from clothes/necessities for 3 days packed in the car, go out, and they will sort it all out the day before.

We've done this twice on 200 mile and 150 mile moves, and it worked beautifully.

LillianGish - that has reminded me make sure you factor in some time to clean the old house - always looks awful when you stuff is moved - don't need to go mad but some cleaning is probably in order so keep the hover and some cleaning stuff unpacked
re kids - whatever works for you

Get the removal company to pack for you. Otherwise your household goods are not insured (according to all the removal company contracts I've seen).

Pack/ (put aside what you would use) as if you and your family are going on a week long self catering holiday.

Put EVERYTHING else in boxes (labelled).

On the day of the move, ask a close friend if you can have their help: you, your kids, their kids and the mum go and do something fun. Your and her DHs pack up your home into a van and unpack the boxes at the end. Treat them to a take away at the end of that day!

Thanks for all these ideas, they're really useful.

My parents would have the children but they live 200 miles away and I'd have to get the children up there first, so perhaps easier to keep them with us (we don't have any close friends, MadameChinLegs, we're not very sociable )

So do I just ring up a removals company and say 'how much to pack everything for us and move a 4 bedroom house 3 miles?'

(sorry for sounding very stupid, just haven't done this before)

Yup, ring a few and tell them that you need a quote for moving and packing - they'll come out and look at what you have then tell you the price.

Believe me, once youve been packed, you'll never do it again yourself. Last time, we only knew 10 days ahead that our move was on, and were both working ft right up to the day - ds went to nursery as usual the day before we actually moved, and I cleaned the house as they packed

I've also been lurking a I am hoping to move very soon with a disorganised DH and 2 young DDs (3 and 1yo).

I'm hoping to achieve a mix of YouChange and madamechinlegs approach, i.e. ditch at least 30% of our stuff, pack and label everything myself, bugger off to our CM with the DDs first thing moving day morning then pick up the keys, leaving DH to supervise the removal company and clean the empty flat. I will also have packed a suitcase and take away menus to see us through the first few days... this is if we ever manage to complete.

One tip I've gleaned so far is to pick a removals company close to where you are moving to, not from. That way, if you are delayed the day, they won't have too far to get back and you shouldn't get charged for overtime.

Get quotes now, and if it's not totally and astronomically out of your range, then get them to pack. They do it everyday and do it efficiently and don't bother stopping to look at everything as you do your own stuff.

If you have to do it yourself :
Empty loft / shed / garage type areas NOW. Be ruthless. Throw anything that you've not used in last year. There will be a lot more stuff there than you thought, and it will take longer than you think.

When you pack boxes - don't make them too heavy - put some books in, then top up with quilt. Use towels / spare bedding / teatowels / sheets / etc. as extra padding around breakable things.

You can 'buy' boxes from the removal company in advance, and then they 'buy' them back off you aftewards.

Label every box with a neat list of exactly what is in it in small writing, then a BIG notice of which room in new house you want it put into.

They will move your drawers with stuff still in - you don't have to empty. Same for wardrobes - they lift the hangers direct onto their own rail. But ask - they will tell you this as it makes it easier for them if you do stuff the way they want.

Ask a school friend to take your dcs home from school so you are not tied to collecting them at a certain time.

Keep out obvious things like kettle, tea, etc., but also hand towel / toilet rolls and things like tools to connect up the washing machine or dishwasher or stairgates etc.