Packing service from removal company... what do I do?

[Buglife]

It looks like I’m going to be heavily pregnant (HEAVILY!) when we completenon our new home. I’m assuming it will take another 2-3 months at least. We have decided when we move to pay for a full packing as well as removal service to make life easy as possible. Question is, is it really as simple as leaving everything as is and they come and do it? I am assuming that I’ll empty food cupboards etc and box up what we want to go food wise. I was also thinking of doing the fancy glassware so that’s not done in a hurry. Also I am guessing that while they’ll empty cupboards etc, would be good idea in the meantime to empty and sort the cupboards (like the one under the stairs!) and have it packing ready rather than just a jumble. I don’t want to do too much out of politeness but I also can’t imagine you just leave your house as it is and they pack it all!

Also, is it a usual request to get the house packed up and stored on a van overnight to move in the morning? With full packing I was thinking it would take a while and as our buyers are first time buyers they will be raring to go first thing after money transfer I think. We can stay nearby overnight so it seems sensible to empty the house so the next day DH can just scoot around cleaning for an hour. Has anyone done that?

I feel quite relieved as I had it in my mind preparing for packers would actually be quite a lot of work! I’ll set DH on the shed and we’ll do a couple of tip runs and I have some stuff to give to charity. I really just want this to be as stress free as possible as I can’t really think about the baby/birth while I’m thinking so much about the move! Here’s hoping the conveyancing stuff goes through easily and at least we aren’t in a chain!

Make sure that all your food is in the kitchen, including bags of nuts. BECAUSE if you don't & then put your dining room stuff in the garage then don't unpack it for 6 months, you'll find that mice have moved in & you have to throw the whole box out as they'll have eaten or wee'd on the contents.

(bitter experience)

Best money ever spent. Just make sure you empty your Compost Caddy first!

We’ve always used packing service, as others have said, it’s brilliant.
Ours have taken two days to pack a 4 bedroom house. They load into wooden containers in the van, so that’s what is removed for storage.
On our last move, after the vans had gone, we booked ourselves into a local Premier Inn for a good nights sleep!

Also meant to mention, if it’s in storage they won’t pack chemicals, cleaning material, paint. We left paint and cleaning stuff ( house was spotless 😉) for the new owners.

The only thing you need to do is walk through before they leave. We've used full packing services twice and they were brilliant but both times they forgot the cupboard under the stairs. So it was a quick point out and all 6 came and it was packed into boxes in about 5 minutes and then loaded. Unpacking day is not so easy as they'll want instructions. Have a holding room in the new place. Anything you're unsure or don't have storage for just goes to that room (we used the dining room cause with the table there was lots of space to store).

Luckily we are moving from a small house to a much bigger one so we will be unpacking everything quickly and nothing needs to be stored. If they forget the cupboard under the stairs that’s about 90% of our stuff 😂 I think I’ll stay to supervise the packing up to make sure it’s all packed up. Then stay out the way on removal day and trust that my husband will remember to hoover each room as they empty it.

How does the unpacking side work? Do they just unpack things in the room it's meant for and you put away?

Your main role on the day will be as a tea-lady!

I would always recommend packers, even if you have to do without something else.

I would never move without packers now - they are amazing! I also get them to unpack - they just take everything out and put it on the side, floor wherever in the relevant room (make sure you label boxes from old house to new). It means they take away all the boxes and paper and you can actually see what you've got. Plus it forces you to put it away and not leave stuff in boxes til the next moves (I'm a veteran of multiple overseas moves!)

They will put all the furniture exactly where you want it, and the boxes in the correct rooms as labelled. As I recall, they don't unpack much, rather leave you do it as your leisure. Hence the reason you need to empty the kitchen bin before it's packed.....
Then I think they will come back for the empty boxes if you wish.

Ours did not want the boxes back either time. I put them on gumtree and sold them within the day for around £50 each time.

Can you split the items packed between stuff going to storage and stuff going to new flat? So if we don't have time to sort stuff, can do so when stored locally?

I used to work in the removals industry and second what pps said about insurance. Do not pack anything breakable yourself. Also, tape a note to the door of each room to tell them how to label the boxes (ie room going from or room going to) then put the notes on the doors in the new house so that all the boxes are put in the correct rooms for you.

I also have deep deep love for the Pickfords people. They were amazing when we moved. Worth every single penny.

They do pack everything without discretion. Even potatoes that were stored in a large saucepan. They were fun to find but luckily no more than a week later.

I used spare bathroom as the "do not pack this refuge".
Then got a call from the new owners asking what to do with the pair of boots and hoover that I mistakenly left behind!

Packers are brilliant.
You have to do all the unpacking at the other end, so it's lovely to get someone else to do half the work.

They don't always label the contents much beyond "kitchen stuff" so it's useful if you can add details to boxes, but last time we moved they had 5 blokes packing at once and I just couldn't keep up with them!

My parents have always done this, they're amazing! Second the idea that they're a bit like locusts....the sheer speed they go through a room and empty it, while beautifully wrapping breakables has to be seen to be believed!

While supervising, try not to get in their way too much, and supply lots of tea (with a lot of sugar!) The last time my parents moved they went out for the afternoon and left them a loads of cups, kettle and a mountain of biscuits. Came home and it was all done! (I popped by to say goodbye and was very confused when the only people there was an army of packers!)

Not RTFT. We moved twice in 11 months (into rented while our house was being built and then into the new house), including half of our stuff going into storage for the first move and the packing was what made it all bearable. The only things I packed myself were my personal things e.g jewellery and some clothing and toiletries into an 'overnight bag' that I lived out of for a few days. (They packed the hanging clothes into temporary wardrobe boxes and we left some clothes in drawers).

We used Maidmans (about £350 for a 3 bed house & garage)

• Declutter/charity shops/tip what you can (why pay to move something you don’t want?)
• Empty loft
• Disconnect electricals
• Empty/clean/defrost fridgefreezer
• Disconnect washing machine
• Take/clearly label anything you don’t want packed (we used our mums house as she lived round the corner)
• label rooms (eg bed3)
• Empty the bins
• Leave them to it!

Best tip - let them pack and move everything, but as you unpack sort it out and do a massive checkout of stuff that doesn’t Bring You Joy (or whatever your thing is). Only put away stuff you want and need, the rest goes to charity shop or the tip.

Oh and when you unpack you will have a HUGE amount of paper to get rid of...

We had packers. Whilst it was great at the time, in the long run it has been quite stressful sorting things out after we had moved. There didn't seem to be any method in the packing, they literally put random things in boxes. For example pairs of shoes don't necessarily go in the same box. I found one shoe in one box and one in another a few weeks later. I found unsorting the jumbled up mess quite distressing- still trying to sort boxes 2 years later as just can't face some of them!
Everything gets packed- even rubbish and broken items.

My tips would be:
Have a massive declutter.
Packers move very fast- label anything you don't want packed.
Keep cleaning stuff separately- our hoover and cleaning equipment was packed so we ended up borrowing the neighbours.
Don't underestimate how long it takes to clean once the packers have moved furniture- start cleaning as soon as a room is finished.
Buy enormous amounts of tea and biscuits- packers drink loads and every hour demanded tea and biscuits!

I absolutely loved the packing service. I did have a good clear out beforehand, and stuck labels on things I didn’t want packed. I was moving stuff into storage though so they packed on the Friday and moved it into storage on the Monday.

They turned up at 9am and by 4pm everything was in boxes. I just went out and left them to it. If I ever move again I’d pay two, three times the cost to have packers.

As well as your own "don't pack this" box, you might also need a "leave for the new owners" box.
I have left a box full of instructions for appliances, boiler etc, the thingy that can with the built in dishwasher which I have NO idea what it is for, spare keys etc.

I recently called to see our recently moved in neighbour and was surpirsed that the door bell didn't work, as old neighbours were very good at keeping on top of all repairs.
It turns out that they had one of those doorbells with a remote ring box that you can put anywhere to ensure you always can hear it. Unfortunately the packers packed it and I don't think the range carries from Essex to Scotland!

Be careful. My mil was wearing slippers while the packers took her stuff into storage-and at the end of the day she discovered they'd packed all her shoes.......