How late can I leave packing?

[ScallyFloss]

We are meant to be moving in about three weeks, but I have a feeling that may be delayed.

I haven't started packing yet, as we don't have much spare space and no garage to store boxes. We don't want to be surrounded by boxes longer than we have to. We live in a 3 bed semi. Realistically how late can I leave it without giving myself a nervous breakdown?

Thanks.

Erm

I'd start now

It took us weeks just to pack everything in the loft

I'd start with books then pictures

Well, true story here. My dad had a huge house. Huge, and when he died we had to sell it, and with being busy with other things and not hearing anything from the solicitor for a while I hadn't packed it up.

So 2pm I'm in the bank for work, solicitor rings and asks why I havn't droped the key off, the new owners are waiting to move in. . Solicitor arranged for a hotel the best in the north east, I proposed a travelodge and the new owners agreed to move in the next morning at 10.

So I swore a lot, panicked and cried . Then mobilised a squad! Managed to get 6 people and 2 small hire vans before 4 pm, we packed that house up in one night! Had no storage sorted so rang everyone we knew who had a garage and drove around the north east dropping off what we could where we could!

The house was empty by 4 am giving me just enough time to buy flowers and write a groveling appology to the new buyers, clean the house and drop off the keys for 10am!

So you can wait untill the last minute....but I wouldn't recomend it .

Seriously I would start now, if you don't have space to store the boxes can you sacrifice a room? Put the Dc in together or even the lounge, just leave the sofa and TV and stack the rest in there. Get ornaments, books, toys and the bulk of your clothes packed now. Especially the fiddly bits that need to be wrapped up and take up time.

Start now !
We left it too late as we didn't believe it would ever happen but then we exchanged on Wednesday , and moved on Friday , so packed like a fool , and we were nowhere near sorted when the removal men arrived .
Still makes me feel worn out and was months ago .
Do books , CDs , DVDs , pictures off walls. Pack airing cupboard , spare clothes , get boxes and packing stuff .
Good luck !

Thanks all - I think we better get cracking then - your posts have given me some motivation to get packing! My husband is the sort who thinks we can do it all on the morning of the move, so I need to give him a swift boot up the backside too!

oreocrumbs - I can just imagine the utter panic with your packing. What a nightmare!

On the plus side there was no time to stop and cry over things as I carefully rehomed them. Think supermarket sweep as our packing style .

We moved recently. Start. Now.

I'm supposed to be moving tomorrow, the van's coming at 8am. I've been packing since Saturday, pretty much by myself. I still have loads left to do but I'm really knackered now so I'll have to rethink things. I'd give yourself as much time as you can. Do it in stages, leaving only what you need out.

When Zombie and her late husband bought this house, we arrived on the morning of completion to find that the vendors had done nothing to prepare for moving out. Zombie repeats - nothing. The removal men had arrived 3 hours earlier and were doing the packing as they went.

We were not amused.

We just had professional packers in. House is probably same size as yours - took them 3 days, 6.5 hours a day. There were only 2 of them until the last afternoon, when another 2 showed up.