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This 'have the house packed for you' thing

74 replies

Palomb · 15/04/2016 12:43

How does it work exactly? Do they literally come in and empty all the cupboards etc or do you have to sort stuff out first?

OP posts:
DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 15/04/2016 16:43

We paid £200 9 years ago in SE London, I'll never pack again!Grin

AimUnder · 15/04/2016 16:59

Thanks Time!

I'm interested in recommendations for London please.

Luckystar1 · 15/04/2016 17:08

Personally, I too found it so much easier doing the packing myself. I did it with a 10 month old mobile destruction machine.

The packing was stressful, but the unpacking took about 2 hours in total. Easy peasy. And helped us feel so much more settled quicker.

BendydickCuminsnatch · 15/04/2016 17:09

Aim we used Gentleman & aVan, really recommend them. Friendly, professional machines!!

BendydickCuminsnatch · 15/04/2016 17:11

We didn't have a garden to pack but they did go to our storage unit and clear it out for us as well :)

FinallyHere · 15/04/2016 18:47

It really works well.

As for knowing where everything is, I put a label ( to say where come from and a colour to indicate which room to go into in the new house) on each shelf or drawer in each cupboard. They packed the whole shelf or drawer or whatever into a single box, and added the original label.

In the new house, The labels told the removers which room each box was to be left in, and also told me where it had come from, so i knew what it would contain. Also number all the labels, so you know how many boxes there should be. Count the boxes as they arrive, certainly before the removers leave the premises, so you know that everything has made it to the new house. It all made moving sooo much easier.

Agree with declutter before you go. You can always get rid of more as you unpack, but its really pointless to pay to pack and move things if you already know they are to be thrown put.

Palomb · 15/04/2016 22:07

I had a skip delivered today so operation de-clutter is a go go.

I'm going to ring for some quotes I think. Mumsnet is great for this sort of think.. I had never ever head of this until recently.

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AimUnder · 15/04/2016 22:11

Thanks bendydick, I'll look them up :(

MyLlamasGoneBananas · 15/04/2016 22:49

We've moved several times with packers. The last few moves have been with Eurogroup, Whites, Brittany and Fox. Euro group and Whites were amazing although they were all good.

They generally have similar rules.

They will all pack but they pack what they see. They don't sort it out. They don't find the right shoe to go with the left or empty the waste paper basket before packing. It is up to you to deck utter and be organised as in having everything where you want it/should be before they arrive to pack.

They usually ask for furniture that comes apart to be dismantled before they arrive. Things like bed frames. We usually dismantle a day or 2 before and just sleep on our mattresses on the floor. It saves a lot if stress as they do tend to arrive first thing in the morning on packing day.

They do pack garden stuff and more often than not shed garage and garden stuff is last on the lorry. Again you need to dismantle swings benches etc. They will discuss with you at your premise survey details about any plants they will move for you. Sometimes this is an extra cost. They won't move petrol nor empty petrol mowers, chemicals like weedkiller etc, paint and varnishes, car oil etc. So you need to consider getting these moved yourself.

I love the packing service. They pack so fast and better than most normal people would. Also in most cases your insurance is only valid if you have used professional packers but read your own small print.

Hope thus helps.

MyLlamasGoneBananas · 15/04/2016 22:51

Sorry for my typos.Blush Hope you got most of it!

mummytime · 15/04/2016 22:56

If you can move not on a Friday - it can be cheaper.

Pickford disassembled and reassembled our beds last time (admittedly they made a mistake with mine when putting it together).

wowfudge · 15/04/2016 23:16

We moved today and I told DP the we were having packers and that was non-negotiable. Best couple of hundred quid extra ever spent. Ours started on Wednesday. I tried to be really organised and be clear about what was going where and what not to touch. Declutter beforehand. Stick a post it to anything staying.

officerhinrika · 15/04/2016 23:52

I think they will only pack lofts if there is proper staircase access. They don't usually do loft ladders. Clearing the loft was the worst bit of my last move, everything else the packers did and was utterly painless. You do need to have the stuff you want overnight ( or the next three weeks) packed separately and out of their way or it will go on the lorry.
The loft clearing left scars, there are no boxes at all in the current loft, never again :)

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 16/04/2016 00:25

We used James Removals in London, they were fantastic and much cheaper than Pickford's.

SirChenjin · 16/04/2016 15:18

Officer - ours was just a pull down loft ladder

poocatcherchampion · 16/04/2016 15:27

Ours re assembled all the beds so we and the DC had somewhere to sleep.

I've got a recommendation but I can't remember it! Brum to Worcestershire. Let

poocatcherchampion · 16/04/2016 15:28

Remembered: peter maskell.
Thry were recommended to us and good

magimedi · 16/04/2016 16:12

Palomb - am sending you a pm re moving firms.

Palomb · 16/04/2016 16:46

Appreciate it Magi thanks Brew

OP posts:
AimUnder · 16/04/2016 21:23

Dame, thank you :)

AimUnder · 16/04/2016 21:23

Mummy, thanks for the tip on moving during the weekdays, that is a good idea! :)

Runnerd · 16/04/2016 21:40

Yy to adding additional labels for boxes.

We didn't do that and trying to find the kettle amongst the 20 boxes helpfully marked Kitchen, was the most traumatic part of moving apart from realising the previous owners seemingly hadn't cleaned the oven at any point in their 25yr ownership

Our packers dismantled and remantled (is that a word?) all beds, wardrobes etc.

My mantra during my pre-move decluttering was "do I like/need this enough to pay someone to pack it and move it?"

mummytime · 17/04/2016 11:06

Oh and the different firms can quote very different prices depending on how many moves they have booked so far. So for move X Pickfords was very expensive, but another firm much cheaper (1/2 the price), but then 3 years later for move Y (similard istance, same town) Pickfords was actually much cheaper than most of the other "big" firms locally.
So don't just go on anyones recommendation on who is cheaper - but do listen to recommendations on who does a good job.

AimUnder · 17/04/2016 16:29

Mummy, thanks :)

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