Packers arrive in Saturday - what to do today (with a baby in tow!)?

[toomanyflatwhites]

Just as the title asks really! We move from a 2 bed flat to a house on Monday. Have got a 2 month old baby and 3 year old who has been off preschool since the end of July, and we were away for 2 weeks only getting back on Tuesday - so have been extremely limited with what I have been able to do since the sale was agreed (and DP works like a maniac so has done zero!).
We have paid for a packing service and they are coming on Saturday, I have managed to get DD into preschool for an extra day and a half (today and tomorrow morning) so - given the fact that I have got a very sad baby who had jabs yesterday and will probably be in the sling all day! - what can I do? It feels so wrong not to be putting stuff in boxes but we are paying through the nose for that to be done for us, so what can I do to help it all go more smoothly?

Have a think about where each item is going to go in the new house, and make sure you can direct the packers to pack according to that plan, rather than where they came from in the old flat.

If you've kept any old boxes etc that items came in, retrieve those so that they can be reused.

Gather together things that you will need while your things are in transit, so that they don't get packed up.

Look in each cupboard (briefly), and see if there is anything that can be bagged up and sent to charity or the skip. Do a charity shop and skip trip.
Empty ALL the bins.
Look carefully in the freezer, and see if there us anything you don't want to take to the new house - donate to neighbours!
Basically, see what you can reduce thr need yo be packed (and unpacked!)

Put things you don't want packed aside - IME they will pack anything, and they will pack everything in a couple of hours, so you have to move fast!

Yup, we moved a few weeks ago and I felt the same! Pack over night bags/ important stuff you will keep with you. Get rid of anything you don't want and put things in sensible places so it will be easier to unpack (e.g any random toiletries you keep in other rooms into the bathroom so it all end up together).
Packers are SO worth it!

Thanks so much everyone! Have been working hard all morning to chuck stuff away and move things to more sensible places (all DD's books in her room, instead of half downstairs, etc etc) and baby DS was super compliant and played happily in the bouncer then dropped off for a mega sleep! Hoping for a productive afternoon too and it just makes me wonder how much I could have achieved if I'd had a whole week of childcare for the 3 year old 🤔

Definitely segregate what you don't want packed - enough clothes, toiletries, kitchen items to get by for the next few days and the first few days in your new home.
Make sure important documents, car keys, phone chargers etc aren't anywhere that they can accidentally be packed!

Pretty much what everyone else has said. Don't forget to leave out some plates/cutlery/etc. Also think about if there's anything you would be embarrassed about them finding and remove it somewhere first. I put some stuff in my car that I didn't want anyone else to unpack.

Make sticky labels, some to put on the doors of rooms in new house (bed 2, baby's room). Equivalent labels to put on boxes as they are packed ( baby's bedding, bedroom 2).
Saves you having to stand in hallway directing removal men where to take each box, or having to check contents before you can direct.
This works, I am military wife, moved umpteen times.

@zebrapig yes I MUST do this, haha!!

Second what others have said about putting on what side what you don't want packed. We're moving TODAY and whilst we out having lunch yesterday they packed all the towels, my mop bucket and toaster. Thankfully I found an emergency towel
In my gym bag but will need to go
Out and buy a mop bucket when the shops open.

Pack a case as if you are going away for 3 days - that gives you a nice window to get to the clothes when you want to rather than on day 2!
I moved when dc were little and honestly except a 3 day clothes bag did very little. Decluttering as much as you can so your are not moving crap from one property to the other is the best way to spend time - i did a massive charity shop run and filled at least 10 bin bags for the dump.

Honestly, all I have done is this situaton is:

• pack all my privates
• make up an emergency bag of stuff that allow me to make a cup of tea, sandwich, make up a bed and get dressed when I get to the new house
• go out for the day and leave them to it
• take a week off when I get to the new place to sort everything out

Oh, and leave out some instant coffee, a bottle of milk, a couple of mugs and some biscuits for the packers.