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Packing service...do we need a hotel?

27 replies

SquashMinus · 02/06/2021 19:44

I've just booked movers for the end of the month and have splashed out for the packing service; they turn up the day before and pack all my stuff. Casually mentioned it to my mum who has asked where I'm planning to sleep that night. I (possibly naively!) assumed they'd leave the bed and pack that in the morning! Can I ask them to do that, or do I risk sleeping on the floor if I don't book a Travelodge?

OP posts:
xyzandabc · 02/06/2021 19:47

Yes, they will leave the bed. Anything else you want to keep, kettle, hoover, cleaning stuff, overnight bag, toiletries etc put together in one place where they can't get to it. Like the car boot. They'll come back on move day and it'll take them an hour or two to pack what's left.

SquashMinus · 02/06/2021 19:49

@xyzandabc

Yes, they will leave the bed. Anything else you want to keep, kettle, hoover, cleaning stuff, overnight bag, toiletries etc put together in one place where they can't get to it. Like the car boot. They'll come back on move day and it'll take them an hour or two to pack what's left.
Ah you absolute star, that's the answer I was hoping for! And popping everything I don't want packed in the car is inspired, off to make a list now Grin
OP posts:
DappledThings · 02/06/2021 19:49

They leave the beds. That's what we had last time. They came the day before and packed everything bar the beds and the one suitcase I told them not to that had everything we needed for the next day in.

They also gave us one box for the kitchen and said they would pack everything except that so we put the kettle and a few bits of cutlery in there till the next day.

Gladimnotcampinginthisweather · 02/06/2021 19:51

They leave the beds until last! They also leave essentials like the kettle. If you put essentials on one side eg what you will need for breakfast it won't be packed.
Although ours managed to pack the doorbell unit 😂
We did not move into a hotel.

Soontobe60 · 02/06/2021 19:51

The mattress will go in a big bag, which you can do yourself in the morning. I’d just get a couple of sleeping bags that you can chuck in the car.
A word of warning; my DM had packers, she left them to it and travelled to her new home, stopping in a hotel overnight. I helped her to unpack once she’d moved in to her new place. The contents of her kitchen cupboards filled several packing boxes - even the bread bin had been emptied and packed. One box contained the contents of her dirty laundry basket, all carefully folded in tissue paper - dirty knickers included 😂

SimonJT · 02/06/2021 19:52

They will leave anything you ask them to, I had packers so I put a box in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom with things I needed leaving for the next morning. The beds being removed last also means they are the first to go in the new house, so you have somewhere comfy to lounge while they move everything in.

Soontobe60 · 02/06/2021 19:53

Whenever we’ve moved, the big furniture has always gone in the van first-starting with the mattresses!

caffeinebuzz · 02/06/2021 20:01

Definitely put essentials for overnight in the car! Our carefully prepped overnight and vital things case was the first thing they loaded into the van, despite very clear instructions and a post-it Hmm

Finally found it, and my contact lenses, three days after the move!

Jarstastic · 02/06/2021 20:34

We are about to do this and we’re advised they would leave beds etc.

However we don’t want the hassle and have booked into the premier inn at £50per room. We’ve actually booked 2 nights as it’s easier than dealing with teens asking where their stuff is whilst we are busy unpacking and organising!

CasperGutman · 02/06/2021 20:36

They will expect to leave a bed for you to sleep in the house. This is entirely normal.

You just need to plan what you need to keep - and overnight bag, toiletries, cleaning things, a kettle etc. Put these things out of the way of the packers - either in the car boot, or in a clear corner with a big sign on top yelling them to leave them.

They will get in the groove and pack anything that isn't screwed down otherwise. I remember helping friends unpack and finding a box which mostly held empty wine bottles carefully bubble-wrapped! Grin

SquashMinus · 02/06/2021 21:21

Ah, thanks so much for all the top tips everyone. I will hide my overnight bags away securely, wash all my knickers and chuck out the shameful stash of empty wine bottles! Grin

OP posts:
Livingintheclouds · 02/06/2021 21:24

Yep they will pack you if you stand still long enough!

UpTheJunktion · 03/06/2021 06:49

They will pack your bins complete with rubbish....

The Removal Team will deal with your mattress: you don’t have to do anything. Just stuff your sheets abd duvets into the car in the morning. They will put your beds together in the new house. They will decant your hanging wardrobe clothes into a cardboard wardrobe and probably hang them back up the other end.

A packing service is well worth the money IME.

It is worth making sure all the boxes are labelled with the right room for the new house.

ineedaholidaynow · 03/06/2021 07:03

@Gladimnotcampinginthisweather when my DM used packers they packed her doorbell unit too! They are literally like a team of locusts.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 03/06/2021 07:11

We had a bag of mostly empty shampoo etc bottles moved from Germany to England. Luckily it wasn't a nappy bin like our friends. (7 day shipping time by the way!)

Pack anything private yourself. They just mark those boxes PBO and don't look at them.

In 7 moves we've only had a handful of breakages. They are good at what they do. (Unfortunately on the last move it was our daughters (plastic) pterodactyl skeleton which we are having a hard time replacing.)

Bluntness100 · 03/06/2021 07:14

Just tell them what you want left to thr next morning. No need to vacate at all.

Bluntness100 · 03/06/2021 07:15

Oh and be very clear. I turned away and they bubble wrapped my ashtray, complete with fag ends 😂

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 03/06/2021 07:18

Do Packers compete to see if they can pack the most bizarre item?!?

(Again for an international move... They packed the passports. ..)

sundayistheday · 03/06/2021 07:18

Make sure you supervise them is all I can say. Discuss exactly how you want them to do it in advance...

BiBabbles · 03/06/2021 11:41

I think our weirdest thing packed was an almost empty bottle of fizz and a bunch of plastic bags - like a box mostly of plastic bags. Thankfully we'd emptied the bins before we left.

They should leave the beds available, though we got a hotel (also Premier Inn Grin) so I could get all the kids out of the way.

I completely agree with sundayistheday on making sure you discuss things in advanced and supervise more than you think you'll need to/than they say. With COVID, we mostly did video tours for the quotes, getting into everything, with on packing day, my spouse did a walkthrough just to double check they knew which furniture was going and what wasn't, and was told it's fine, leave it with them. I did a pop 'round (during which I saw our bed was pretty much used to store boxes) and was told it's all fine, they had no questions, my spouse had answered them all, given an ETA and basically shoo'd away.

When we tried making a complaint later of furniture and items left behind (including my sons' mattresses, some of the slats for my bed and my childhood photo album) and some furniture we hadn't wanted brought (including a bunk bed) which is going to make clearing out more difficult, we were then told my spouse had been too vague and left too quickly. I'm glad we'd moved from a rental with a month left in the tenancy to deal with all this.

UpTheJunktion · 03/06/2021 16:49

They are not mandated to make decisions about what to pack / not pack and especially not to throw anything away.

Again for an international move... They packed the passports

Your job to have packed your essentials in advance.

They move fast. Do NOT supervise them beyond Separating your essentials, be clear about anything you don’t want packed (‘anything in the bathroom’ or whatever) and get out of their way. They do a huge job in a day.

unfortunateevents · 04/06/2021 00:57

Again for an international move... They packed the passports. .. - why on earth would you not move the passports somewhere safe though? Why would they even be in a place where the movers would access them? It is their job to pack, not think. If something is left in a room and not clearly marked with a large sign or whatever other method you have agreed with them to identify items to be left, then they will pack it! You may think it is bizarre that they would pack a box of mainly plastic bags but what are they supposed to assume? If they don't pack it what are you going to do with it? And whatever it is, why haven't you done it beforehand or moved the box somewhere out of the way?

BiBabbles · 04/06/2021 09:05

You may think it is bizarre that they would pack a box of mainly plastic bags but what are they supposed to assume? If they don't pack it what are you going to do with it? And whatever it is, why haven't you done it beforehand or moved the box somewhere out of the way?

My plastic bag remark was meant as an add on to the lighthearted remarks of weird things that we've had movers pack, most people expect a few things not thought about to be packed, but if we want to get serious about it:

They weren't to assume anything - we gave them detailed instructions by the video tour and my spouse gave them further instructions when they came around though we were under the impression the latter was just a refresh of the former due to COVID. When I checked in with them I was told they had all the information they need, afterwards when we complained we were told that my spouse was were too vague and had left too quickly on the day. That's why I suggested people stick around more than they think may be needed, label more than you think you should or they say is needed. Our following the advice to just get out of their way bit us in the ass.

We'd tried to have things not being moved out of the way - we had a whole room they weren't meant to go in, plus another they were only meant to take the exercise equipment placed by the door (that instruction was entirely ignored) and a third where a large storage unit had been (that we'd disassembled and moved ourselves) which had a pile of things to take mostly already boxed and a pile of things not to take.

The latter is where the plastic bags were - not in a box, but a couple bags that had more bags in them. We were going to use them afterwards as part of cleaning out the rental and then take those unused to the store for recycling. Many of the bits, like my sons' bunk bed frames, we couldn't really move out of the way. We were told that was all fine. Afterwards we were told the place was too much of a jumble and they took photos of the discard piles in the room we'd put to be out of the way that they were told was going out via house clearance as evidence of our poor hygiene and threatened to contact social services if we didn't take down a negative review.

My movers chose not to move a bookcase, an upholstered chair, 2 mattresses, some of my bed slats, a walking stick I found in the front garden, and several other items so I think I can have a chuckle that they did choose to pack plastic bags and a 95% empty fizz bottle. People who had better moves are allowed to have a chuckle about cigarette trays with fag ends in them, nappy bins, or their own silliness with passports - it doesn't mean any of us don't recognize what a big job packing up a whole house is, that's kinda why we'd got people in to help.

user1471538283 · 05/06/2021 08:23

Packers pack everything! They will leave your beds and bed linen. Put your essentials box like kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, any pet food and dishes and a bottle of wine in your car. Put your valuable documents like passports and jewelry in a bag in your car. I always pack a suitcase with clean bed linen, pyjamas, toiletries, some outfits each and toiletries and put that in the car.

Whilst a packing service is great they will pack properly so maybe not as you would and you dont want to be hunting around for basics on your first night. I also always make up the beds as soon as possible so you're not doing it when you are exhausted. How exciting!

MyOtherProfile · 05/06/2021 08:27

Good choice OP. You've already had the answer but I would never move without packers again. The only odd thing is that we had nothing to do for the day and half they were packing and just needed to get out of the way.

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