Moving company packing - what to expect?

[sparklesandmoresparkles]

After the advice on here about getting our moving company to pack for us, we’ve booked it and they are coming tomorrow. I’m panicking now as I’ve no idea what to expect? We’ve taken the beds down and tidied things up, packed a small suitcase each and planned for takeaway tomorrow night. The loft will get emptied and packed at the same time I think, as we’ve nowhere to easily store unpacked things.

Is there anything else I need to know? Oh, and I’ve bought in biscuits especially for the workers

Keep the kettle on! Stay out of their way and if you don't want them to pack something put it in an agreed place such as on the bed. Then let them get on with it

Ours dismantled the bed too.

They sent one man the first day to pack and a team the second day to load.

I wish I’d packed my own undies but small baby so I didn’t and could barely look him in the eye

Keep the kettle and brew stuff separate. Husband ended up in Tesco buying instant coffee and sugar because we don’t take sugar.

Throw out as much clutter as you can else you’ll have to unpack it, but they’re great, honestly.

Weirdest thing at the moment is having nowhere to go to get out of their way.

Yes definitely pack up anything very personal that you might be embarrassed somebody else packing for you.

They will pack everything.I moved to Australiawith the green scouting pad, half a bottle of fairy liquid and my dc drinking bottles full of juice. They also packed the potty,

Pack a box (and put that and the suitcases in the car) with mugs, plates, cutlery in so that you actually have something to eat off.
What are you going to sleep on ? We put an airbed, duvet and pillows in the car so that we didn't have to faff about.
Don't forget that if it is there they will pack it - a few years ago BIL got packed and dneice was just wearing flipflops. Come Monday and school, massive panic to find her school shoes in all the boxes

It’s weird because you think you should be doing more but honestly, they just get on with it. I’m sure by now you’ve decluttered so sounds like you’ve got it all covered.

We let them dismantle beds and they will just empty loft and stick it all on the van.

I packed my undies drawer and personal belongings and took them in the car.

They’ll appreciate the biscuits but don’t try and offer hot drinks. Obviously mugs etc will get packed.

I bought them individual bottles of pop and individual bags of sweets which went down well. Hope it all goes well

Absolutely what giggly said.

Imagine a swarm of locusts going through your house with packing paper and boxes. There’s no rhyme, reason or thought. But it’s fast and it’s brilliant and you can marvel at the packed tat as you unwrap it at the end.

Ours labelled the boxes really well too - quite descriptively of where things had come from, not what the contents were.

They will pack EVERYTHING
If you didn’t purge condiment packets from the kitchen drawer or there are some crisps wrappers under your kids bed, they are coming with you.
The boxes will be packed very efficiently, but not always completely logically.

The frustration of the above is worth having all the packing done in just a few hours.

If you have pets, crate them. I had mine in a closed room with a sign not to open the door. That was a bad idea. Door got opened. Terrifies cat ran straight out of the house. Thus began the very stressful countdown to find the cat before we left.

Aw fab thank you!

We’re planning on just sleeping on the mattresses for a couple of nights (all the companies that quoted us said bed dismantling wasn’t included). Takes me back to my yoof!

Good point about delicates! Mine are actually in an IKEA kallax drawer set so I’m hoping that they will just all go together 🙈

We’re having takeaway tomorrow night anyway, but will grab some cutlery and mugs! What do they do about food? I’ve a whole pantry full (though it’s a LOT clearer than it used to be). Presumably it will all get packed up at the same time? Plus there’s a few fridge and freezer bits, which of course they can’t pack (but we’ll throw them in the cooler in the morning of the move and stick them in the car).

Ah yes, a few companies have stopped allowing hot drinks because of Covid. Another good point, thank you!

It’s 11 years since we moved and I’ve forgotten everything!

No pets except a single aqua dragon that seems to be holding on for dear life (and may be pregnant!)

Do they unpack when you get there or do they leave you with the boxes for a day or so?

We’ve gone round making sure things are left in the right room for the new house so (hopefully!) they’ll be easy enough to unpack.

Due to Covid restrictions you could offer wrapped biscuits such as Kitkats.
Obviously all important documents locked in car, sorry if already mentioned. Keep all your keys, car/ house, about your person so not mislaid. We’ve used packers several times and each time they’ve been like Locusts, even wrapping children’s sweet stash.
It’s so relaxing, they have done it hundreds of times so we just let them get on. I even went out for coffee with a friend.

Ours left us to unpack and took the cartons several days later.

Dammit, I just ordered a biscuit barrel type instead of individually wrapped! And no individual bottles of pop either. Looks like a trip to the shops tonight then! And I thought I was being all organised as well. Damn you Covid!

Empty the bins, ours packed bins plus all rubbish. Also bread bin, by the time we found it the bread was green !

I wrote a room by room list (only short!) of things to not pack until moving day, such as the bin. Other than that, I left them to it! I didn’t worry about packing my own underwear as I imagine they’ve seen it all before, but as it was, they carried our sets of drawers as they were, still in the frame with everything in them. God knows how! I was so nervous, but by late morning I was so bored and felt in the way, so I went out for coffee with a friend.
Ours collected the boxes over the next few weeks when they were in the area, but we still have a fair few left and they have never chased us for them.

Unpacking depends on the service you’ve paid for. When I moved mil I purchased the unpacking option too. Which was brilliant. The lads really thought about where to put things and all packaging was taken away.

As others have said. Keep out of their way.
Pack anything you need in the first night/day yourself and into your car. Keep pets crates and in your car. Keep kids occupied and out the way.
If you are planning on cleaning up afterwards - remember to stash the hoover and cleaning material in your car.
Biscuits and drinks for them to help themselves.
If you stand still long enough - you will get wrapped and packed.!

I assume you’ve already discussed them packing up your loft/shed etc.

Ours reassembled beds and wardrobes and rehung wardrobe clothes (still all bundled together as it had been packed).

The boxes were cardboard and I still have things in them now. (Except the wardrobe ones.)

Pack your bedding off your bed, quilts, sheets, pillows, pjs etc straight into bin bags and into your car with the kettle and teabags.

I put stickers on the things not to be packed like dust pan and brush, some cleaning stuff and the hoover - we took them in the car so we knew where they were and could do a last sweep of the old house and had them for the new.

Also the toolkit, toilet paper and light bulbs, some antibac and soap and a towel.

But they pack everything.

We put the bedding for each bed, just rolled up, duvet, pillows and all with the bedding on in some giant bags so they could just be unrolled and the sheets tucked in.

We didn't have an unpacking service - they just left the boxes in the right rooms - so label the rooms in the new house and have an idea where things are going. The dining room as the dumping ground for undecideds!

We had had a family bereavement so didn't declutter as there was just too much else going on. Decluttering first would have been better. A year later I've just found a bag that had got chucked in the spare room with a load of basically paper rubbish in it that we'd paid to have moved.

We’ve had packed moves a few times and definitely echo the locusts comment.
They can take the ´pack everything’ very literally- on one move they packed the contents of the fridge into a cardboard box which then went into storage for 6 months 🤢
On another, they individually wrapped every log from a pile next to the fireplace - we wondered why it was so heavy when we finally unpacked 🤣

Can I jump in and say congrats, I'm very jealous, wish I was being packed up! Enjoy :)

Can I also say, boxes are how much?! I've always got boxes from work when I've moved and am now looking at paying £55!

I used a packing service last month for our move.

I left tea/coffee things out and told them to help themselves, plus biscuits and snacks. I did the suitcase thing that you've already mentioned - everything that you need to hand for the next day or two, plus valuables, documents related to the move, toiletries, changes of clothes, stuff for any kids, babies, etc if relevant.

The one weird thing was that they packed a vase complete with flowers and water! So I found one soggy box at the other end. I guess they thought they were artificial flowers. Or they pack so quickly that everything gets boxed without very much thought! But just something to keep in mind!

But they pack everything

Wish ours had, quite a bit of our crockery was never found, and tools from the garage arrived with crucial bits missing which rendered them useless.

Thank you all for your help and good things to look out for. No flowers here, but I need to remember to take the planters. No babies as well this time - DS was a week old last time we moved but he’s 11 now, so just have to find a way to entertain him that doesn’t involve a tv/switch for the next couple of days

Those boxes are crazy expensive Oregano! I was the same as you last time, but not much fits in the A4 paper boxes this time round 🤣

We don’t do a huge amount of diy ourselves as we’re rubbish at it, so not overly concerned about tools as we don’t have many. Sad about the crockery though - did you claim it back from them?

We’re watching out for the bin packing but it’s not the end of the world if it comes with us. The wheelie bin was only emptied today so it’s not as full as it might normally be, as we did a massive run round trying to get rid of as much as possible before the bin men came.

I’m hoping we can say don’t pack anything that is on a mattress so we don’t have to throw ALL the bedding in the car tomorrow just to lug it all back out again. Plus I don’t want them moving the mattresses so we don’t have anywhere to sleep. But we’ll see I guess.

They’ve already said they’re not allowed to get stuff in the loft due it not being a fixed stairway, so not insured. But that’s ok and means I can stash our suitcases and the vac up there until tomorrow night. No shed, just a garage that is ridiculously full

No idea what we’ll actually do tomorrow whilst they’re here though. Can’t do much or go anywhere and not exactly great weather for walking in. Maybe a little drive with a picnic. But then we might get arrested for breaking Covid rules 😳 I’ll be glad when we get into the new house, even if we do end up surrounded by boxes for a few nights!