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Original poster

How long does it take to pack a three bedroom end house up for moving?..How fast could it be done?

26 replies

linspins · 30/06/2016 22:34

We are moving in two and a half weeks time, and currently totally busy renovating the house we are due to move in to. To say I am stressed is an understatement. My plans of packing, sorting, recycling etc over a month or so is buggered, so my question is...how quickly could a house be packed up in to boxes? We've got an average amount of stuff, and a full garage, plus a shed to dismantle.
I think it's going to be a case of wildly throwing stuff in boxes, and I'm panicking. We can't afford ( plus I wouldn't like) professional packers.

OP posts:
GreenSand · 30/06/2016 22:38

Well, professional packers would do it in a couple of hours.... so theoretically a day or two of solid work for just you??????
Have you got a van big enough? Or are the movers coming for that bit??? That will be slow if everything is going into a car.

Hope the move goes well.

RumAppleGinger · 30/06/2016 22:43

Two and a half weeks is plenty time. Take a breath, don't let it overwhelm you.

Do you have all the supplies you need? Boxes, bin bags, bubble wrap, tape and marker.Take it one room at a time and use it as a good excuse to have a proper clear out. Once a room is boxed up clean as you go.

I managed it in under a week whilst six months pregnant.

Good luck!

wobblywonderwoman · 30/06/2016 22:45

A week would do a lot. Don't sort just pack and label

Puppymouse · 30/06/2016 22:53

Just moved from a three bed with garage and shed. DH did the lion's share. I think he started about 10 days in advance and did little and often. He refused to pay for them to pack for us but by moving day we had all the boxes ready to be carried out to the lorry. It wasn't unduly stressful I don't think I'm the scheme of things. I reckon two days hard work?

dotty2 · 01/07/2016 08:42

My top tip would be to buy twice as many boxes as you think you need, and a tape gun. With more boxes, you can pack more quickly because you're not stressing about cramming things into the minimum possible space. I also borrowed suitcases and big travel bags from friends (assuming you're moving locally), which was a huge help. And IME packing expands to fill the time available, so you will get it done. Unpacking however, with no deadline...that's another matter!

dotty2 · 01/07/2016 08:44

Oh yes - and be as specific as you can with the labelling. Don't do what I did and end up with twenty or more boxes just saying 'books', or a stack just saying 'kitchen'.

Chillywhippet · 01/07/2016 09:12

2 years ago we exchanged Tuesday at 4.40 pm and completed on the Friday. We are a family of 6 and we just packed flat out. The Thursday night was a low point. DH and I packed the kitchen until 3.30am in silence.

Our buyers were nervous and they had pulled out of two other properties the day before exchange, one of the properties belonged to DH's cousin. So we did some de cluttering but I couldn't face packing us all up if that was going to happen again.

We had planned to exchange one Friday and complete the next. On the planned exchange date they cheerfully got a drain survey done FFS. I was mega polite but screaming inside as I was unable to confirm school places before exchange aargh

You may need to let go of some of the goals on the new house, if something there can wait. I do thinks it helps if you are organised generally and you are right to think about garages, sheds and attics as they can take ages. As PP said just pack. Don't sort. Good luck

NotCitrus · 01/07/2016 10:02

Just tip stuff into boxes. Get a tape gun per adult and good quality tape, not pound shop stuff. And label every box with the room you'll want it in and a few words about the contents.

Clothes can go in bin bags with elastic bands round and a label.

Though if you are having movers, getting them to pack is only an extra couple hundred quid, or less if you've done a lot yourselvea already.

origamiwarrior · 01/07/2016 10:14

We packed a 4-bedroom house up in a morning (yes, really). We were moving over two days (load one day, deliver the next) and thought we had booked the packing service but when the removal firm turned up at 8 am, they claimed we hadn't. With them threatening to walk off the job (in hindsight they were a really shonky outfit), DH and I had to pack and box up the entire house (the delivery men loaded the boxes into the lorry as fast as we could pack them). Sweat was literally pouring off us. But it shows it can be done!

Chillywhippet · 01/07/2016 10:24

origami wow! What a situation to find yourselves in having thought you were all sorted with packers. Your story made me feel giddy at the thought!

origamiwarrior · 01/07/2016 11:19

It was the stuff nightmares are made of!

When the relations had thawed between us and the removal men (I think the actual workers just felt sorry for us) they told us that they frequently turn up to houses (where there had never been any suggestion of a packing service!) to find the house less packed than ours was - we had at least sorted through and thrown loads away.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 01/07/2016 11:48

Two guys packed our house in a day working flat out. That left the furniture to be dismantled and loaded in the morning.
Best cash I ever spent to be honest but I appreciate that it always looks like an extra £300-500 that you can't afford right then.

The thing is if you pack yourself you have to buy the boxes and that's surprisingly hefty? I think we had to give a £50 deposit for ours? We had a month to give them back and they were happy to collect in blocks.

Have you got any friends who would help out. Stuff like the kitchen and the garage will be the most time consuming and the stuff you are likely to use the least in the next two weeks [beyond kitchen basics obviously]

MrsPear · 01/07/2016 15:55

Have bin bag to one side and box to the other that way you are sorting as you are packing. I always start in living room then bedrooms then kitchen. Small boxes for books. Clothes go in suitcases and again stuff unwanted goes in bin bags and straight to the school - they have textile recycling and not being rich our clothes are worn til they are worn.

CityDweller · 01/07/2016 15:57

Are you sure you can't afford to pay the movers to do it? It's usually only an extra couple of hundred quid. Totally worth it.

nannybeach · 01/07/2016 17:17

We actually hired a full size removal van last time 5 years ago, before that it was all DIY, hving had people pull out previously, at the contract stage refused to pack, just in case, couldnt afford packers, we exchanged on the Tuesday moved early Friday Morning in a snow blizzard! Also my Hubby was away on a course, the shed was a nightmare all the tools! My oldest son helped me and we did it! On moving day, there were also our 2 cars full up and a friends car, we did have to leave a few garden bits with a neighbour and go back there was no more room! I always swear I will NEVER move again. My neighbour, aparently, completion didnt happen on completion day, but her Mother paid for the new house, and they moved anywa, you are lucky you are able to do up the house first before moving in, I have always had to live in building sites!

Original poster
linspins · 01/07/2016 19:16

Ladies, thanks for all the inspirational 'packed in one day' stories! The house we are moving in to won't be ready enough for us to carefully designate the right box to the right room, it'll be ' all boxes up stairs in one room' and all furniture downstairs in another...then off to stay with parents while the renovations get finished....hopefully only a week or two later...but I'm not banking on it.
Every moment of my day is taken up with this project, so it looks like it will be a 'throw things in boxes' pack like lots of you suggest. Hey ho, as long as the house sale doesn't fall through!! I think that might finish me off.

OP posts:
Original poster
linspins · 01/07/2016 19:17

Origami - wow, what a situation to be in! No other choice I guess!

OP posts:
anotherBadAvatar · 02/07/2016 06:15

We've just completed and I packed over 4-5 weeks, but then I wanted clearly labelled boxes and a good declutter as I went along. The main reason I didn't go with packers was cos they would pack EVERYTHING and we needed a good sort through our belongings.

My top tips would be:

  • get boxes from free cycle or similar rather than pay (boxes seem really expensive)
  • ikea bags (40p) each are brilliant for clothes/duvets/cushions - I bought 20 and still could have done with more
  • do a room at a time starting with the one you use the least (spare bedroom? Study?) and leave kitchen and bathroom till last
  • just label box from the area it came from rather than just the room. (Kitchen cupboard under sink is more useful than just "kitchen")
  • pretend you are going on holiday and pack a suitcase for each member of the family with 48hrs of clothes, toiletries and a towel each, so if you don't fancy unpacking when you get in, you are at least clothed and clean!
  • make a "Do not pack" box with items like tea/coffee/toilet paper/cleaning products/biscuits/light bulbs/tea towels etc so up have all your essentials to hand. Useful especially if you don't get the keys until 4pm.

I'll let you know if I think of anything I wish I'd done as I unpack later today!

Obeliskherder · 02/07/2016 14:53

I would still label boxes with what room they're going from, or to. It'll be a huge help when you're trying to find stuff. You can picture where everything belongs in your current house so it's an easy way to group things. Don't gather all eg cushions into one box, have a separate set of boxes per room as the professionals do. Label kitchen stuff more specifically.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 04/07/2016 09:05

I know you said that it's not affordable but just thought I'd throw this in as it was something I only became aware of on moving day and in hindsight wished I used.
Our removals firm have a big crate storage option? Basically rather than move you, they pack everything into containers which they then warehouse for you as long as you need it for, then deliver it all back and unload it when you want it. If you are in the middle of a refurb project and planning to stay elsewhere it might be easier to just pack some suitcases and get rid of everything else for a few weeks.
It was weirdly inexpensive compared to the DIY storage unit option. The only downside is that you can't access your stuff while it's in storage.

NapQueen · 04/07/2016 09:08

Do you want to de clutter as you pack? If so it'll take longer.

Alternatively just pack everything your hands touch and declutter once you've moved in and are unpacking. That'll be quicker!

Nivea101 · 04/07/2016 09:13

Those big checked shopping bags you get from the cheap shops are a godsend for bedding and cushions, they're like a plastic mesh and are about £1 each. Also they do for clothes if you don't have enough suitcases. I bought proper household removal cardboard boxes from a furniture storage place and when I've moved house I just fold them flat and store ready for my next move.

Plastic wash baskets are great for things like food and toiletries.

Ifailed · 04/07/2016 09:19

hire a skip now, and get rid of all the stuff you haven't used in the past 12 months, you'll be surprised how much there is. Do one room at a time, packing and chucking as you go.

Mishaps · 04/07/2016 09:20

We are in the same process - we try to do a room a day - try making a schedule then stick to it. You will know that it will all be done in time then, rather than letting your brain flit from one thing to another, thinking about all there is to be done all the time and getting deflected from the room you are on.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/07/2016 09:30

We hired a storage unit and packed boxes in batches and took them off to the storage unit. We were very short on space and that made a huge difference. Every time dh took off another 7 boxes to the store that was a bit less to work around.

I agree with the thorough labelling comments from up thread. I was also add something like Urgent Or Store to designate those you want the day you move in and those you don't really need access to.

Unless it's very fragile stuff you don't need to wrap everything up. Start with the heavy stuff at the bottom and wedge things in so they don't move and then lighter stuff on top. If it can't move about in the box it can't get broken.

Clothes can be taken out of wardrobes with the hangers on and folded into boxes. Don't bother with wardrobe boxes.

We packed up a two bedroom house (with 4 bedrooms worth of stuff) over a week with the bulk being done on the last day.

I hate packing 😡

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