Packing service - anything I need to know?

[HelenTheHunter]

Hi, we are all set to move on Friday (yay!) and have the movers coming tomorrow as we've booked a packing service.
Ive read about keeping cleaning products aside and making sure the bin is empty! Anything else I need to know??

Ours are coming in tomorrow (today!) too so can’t give any advice.

We don’t move until next week but they want to come in Thurs, Fri and Monday which I was a bit surprised about as thought it would only be the day before. It’s adding back some of the stress I hoped booking a packing service would remove to be honest. I’ve been awake since 3am. I’m hoping they can start by doing the garage!

Good luck

My top tip is to do a room diagram of new house with numbered rooms and stick labels on your belongings with numbers on corresponding with where you want things to go.

Chuck anything you don’t want packed

Keep out any essentials - eg we have baby so kept our baby gym out to keep him busy until very last moment

Mine is to tidy up. Otherwise things won't be logically grouped together at the new house and you'll struggle to find things. Eg don't leave a screwdriver on a bookcase, or you'll find it much, much later when you finally get round to unpacking the books and you've already bought a new screwdriver because you needed it.

I labelled the doors of my rooms at the old home with postits and then whizzed into the new home and labelled the rooms to match (I know it’s fairly obvious which is the kitchen but handy to number the bedrooms).
The one drawback I found is that although they label the boxes the labelling was quite sketchy - Kitchen:China doesn’t really tell you a great deal.
I put documents/valuables in a big bag in the car before they started packing at the old house and didn’t bring them into the new house until they had gone. Ditto with a few bits of crockery, utensils, cleaning stuff and kettle etc. which you may want before you start the unpacking.
Mine also dismantled some furniture & reassembled it which was helpful.

Yes very important to make sure beds go into correct rooms at destination - we had to get them to take some part and remake!!

I had been sorting/tip trips/charity shop for months beforehand. Putting my hoover in my car boot was a helpful tip I was given! Along with bag of essentials/cleaning stuff etc. The packers were amazing literally like a plague of locusts no stopping them so much that when I made them all a tea/coffee/biscuits they’d already packed the cutlery so I had to borrow a teaspoon from my neighbour

Keep an eye on any expensive booze. Both DP and a firend have had stuff vanish

Second emptying and lining your bins. I had all sorts of items squashed in my wicker bins, that I didn't really want in bins- even if they were relatively clean bins.

You can't underestimate how much easier packers make the process, when moving. I'd never do anything else now. So worth the money.

They pack everything! So if something is in a random place they will pack it there and then! Also they packed the kitchen up and the dish with the old tea bags in was unpacked in new kitchen with used teas bags! And oh my goodness they were quick!!!
Also label everything!!! Good luck!

Packers are amazing. They pack everything they see so this means

1. They packed wastepaper baskets complete with rubbish in! Empty them before they come as you don't want to unpack that bin after a couple weeks!

2. they missed our drawer under the oven (built in kitchen so they didn't realise it was a drawer)

Also I put anything in the bath I didn't want packed but I would take in my car with a note telling them not to pack it. Included special teddies for dc's bedtime, passports etc, precious photos just in case. Also kettle etc for tea and biscuits when you get there

Put your handbag and any documents, phone charges etc you need in your car. They move very quickly.
Ensure all your rubbish is gone.
They often ask you to,pack your underwear.
You can pack any items you feel,are private in a suitcase.
I would pack jewellry and other small valuables and transport myself, not because of stealing issues more things getting lost.
Ask them to do a bits box, where all of the screws, legs etc for furniture goes, that you have them all,together when reassembling.
Also a box labelled kitchen basics which has tea, kettle, mugs for the other end.
Good luck

Pack a suitcase of things you need, clothes, charges, paperwork etc, put anything your leaving likes keys aside too. I left a pack out with all information about the area, take away, doctors etc and forgot to say not to pack 🙈

They figured everything else out.

Agree with PP - they move astonishingly quickly and will pack everything in their path - rubbish, old newspapers, bits for the recycling, food...

If you have children you might want to find a way to get them out of the house for a bit and out of the way so they don't get packed

If you have one room that you can completely empty and then put a huge 'DO NOT PACK' sign on the door it's helpful to have somewhere for things that will be going with you.

Leave the hoover/cleaning stuff out. I was horrified at how disgusting everything looked once it was empty.

And buy more biscuits than you can imagine ever buying along with teabags/coffee/milk/sugar. It's hard work packing/moving stuff and our removal people have always been grateful for drinks/snacks at very regular intervals.

Yes, the boot of the car is a safe place to keep things you want to stay with you. Get documents, your clothes for the next morning, kettle, cleaning things, vacuum cleaner all in the car.

Agree they wont be very specific about listing the contents of boxes, so leaving a label on each drawer, shelf which can be put on the outside of the boxes. You will know what is in each box, because you will remember what was in the drawer or shelf. Ideally two labels, on on the end and side, and make sure the boxes are always stacked to leave the labels showing. Sorted.

Ours would pack the stuff from the loft but wouldn't go in the loft so get that stuff down.

The fact someone else had packed made unpacking waaaay quicker because it was all done in a uniform, non sentimental way. Boxes for the kitchen we basically just emptied back out in order etc.

As pp said, leave hoover and cleaning stuff in the car and empty out the bins. Good Luck in your new home

Don't sit still or you are in danger of ending up in a box, As others have said the speed they move is is scary. But it is worth every penny.

we have found a nicely taped up box containing one shoe. Another contained an empty box that had a lid on it :) They will pack it all!

Oh my word - today was exhausting! And that was with the two packers doing the packing not me😂 Nine hours here today and they are back again tomorrow. We are already missing the little pile of “essesntial cables” that Mr Mouse was in charge of moving to the “Room of stuff not to be touched”!