Using a packing service

[Aria20]

Previously I have packed myself and found it fine but I keep reading on here pay extra for the packing service.... so what exactly do they do and how does it work? Do they literally pack everything? Do they wrap plates/glasses, photos etc. Do they pack clothes and kids toys?

Do you not find it harder unpacking the other end as you don't know where they packed stuff?

Last time I labelled boxes with which room they were for etc and I knew what was where and I had it all unpacked by the next evening...It would be nice not to have the hassle of packing stuff but I guess I'm anxious about letting someone else do it and not knowing what's where!!

Always always use the packers.

They pack everything neatly and carefully and in special boxes and most importantly in a fraction of the time it would take you to do it.

Me packing - weeks of stress.
Them packing - a morning.

We moved house with a 3 month old and our packers were worth every single penny. We also paid for our cleaner to bring a couple of friends over to clean (the packers worked all day Thursday, left us the bare essentials of a mattress etc and came back for the last bits at 8am Friday). House spotless by midday, keys dropped at the EA, in the new house with all our bits by 3pm. All I did was pack a suitcase like we were going on holiday. I don’t think I can ever go back!

It’s so much easier @Aria20.

You don’t have to be surrounded by boxes for ages. Only used them for DM when she moved after DF died. She wouldn’t have been able to pack and we didn’t live near enough to her to be able to do it. It helped to reduce some of the stress at a stressful time. If we ever move I would use them.

I know it is going to vary massively depending on how much stuff there is and probably where in the country you are, but can anyone give me an indication of the difference in cost between 'just' a removal service and a 'packing + removal service' ?

We always had packers provided when relocating with DHs work.

They will pack anything no nailed down. They won't make judgement calls. It won't necessarily be logical. So a box could be marked "dining room- games" for example and contain games plus placements and your diary that you put down halfway through the day

They are extremely good at wrapping glasses and crockery.

We always packed personal items etc beforehand. I preferred to do my own clothes for example. Ask on the day if they are moving the clothes in drawers or separately.

I used packers. It was wonderful. Only a two bed flat so they came on the morning of moving and packed and had it all in the new place by about 3pm.

It was so so so worth it.

I hadn't been able to take any time off work before moving day so it really helped.

It's so so worth it. It cost about 10% of the total move cost and was so amazing. We'd never have had time to do it ourselves to that standard. You should get a move plan with your move quote but ours for 200 mile move was:
Day 1: pack leaving enough out for overnight
Day 2: pack last things and load vans. Go to depot overnight. We then went to a hotel.
Day 3: drive to destination and unload.

They pack methodically going round each room, and very quickly so you have to watch out for things like shoes and coats getting packed that you might need. We put things we'd need in next 5 days into the car to get it out of the way. They will pack and label according to what is in each room so it's worth thinking where you want stuff at your destination and grouping that together.

Yes, they will pack contents of garages, sheds etc. They usually won't go up a loft ladder type thing though so we brought loft contents down in advance.

It saves sourcing boxes etc. They pack very efficiently, into boxes sized to stack sensibly. Breakables wrapped in paper. We've used a packing service about three times now and no breackages at all!

Labelling - they label the boxes (writing on the tape so it's easy to reuse boxes) with room it was in and what it is. This is quite broad category so eg 'kitchen pans', 'study files', 'living room DVDs'. You tend to get things nearby that are suitable for that box put into it too so some lateral thinking about what you left where may be necessary initially!

In terms of cost our last move (large 4 bed move 200 miles to 3 storey 4 bed with crap parking) was just over £4000 including the packing. The packing was about 10% of the cost.

My friend stuck red stickers on stuff that wasn't to be packed and green on things that were.

Ours were amazing…I appreciated the labels on the boxes even if I did see one labelled ‘yet more shoes’ 🤭

@Kite22

I know it is going to vary massively depending on how much stuff there is and probably where in the country you are, but can anyone give me an indication of the difference in cost between 'just' a removal service and a 'packing + removal service' ?

In the nw we paid 1200 for movers (4 bed house), an extra 550 for packing and an extra 150 for dismantling and rebuilding beds and wardrobes. I think there was Insurance on top of that too.

Super useful for packing up quickly BUT I'm not so sure about the unpacking at the other end! I helped a friend unpack last week, and the amount of unwrapping to do really did my head in.
Loads and loads of paper wrapped around every single cup/mug/ object, including individual cutlery items. I found all that unwrapping super tedious and very excessive. Lots of unwrapping to discover an old empty Nutella jar which you then just chuck, and repeat... As opposed to when we pack ourselves - pack things sensibly together, logically stacked up, and if the one odd plate breaks, that's fine, it's just the casualty of moving, and it's a lot faster to put away.
So yeah packers save the headache of packing, but the downside is that they made unpacking harder and much much slower.

Thanks @RidingMyBike and @Frazzled2207
Sounds well worth it to me.

@mojiberry always good to have a declutter before moving.

Pack like locusts is a perfect description!

We put everything we did not want them to pack (what we would need for 24h, plus hoover, kettle, personal documents, jewellery) on our bed, and then let the packers rip.

They labelled every box with the room it came out of, but, because I was not able to be around for all the packing, I didn't manage to label all the boxes with their destination room. So when they unloaded at the new house I stood at the door and told them which room to put each box in as they zipped past me. It worked perfectly.

They had special boxes for clothes: shallower ones for the contents of drawers, and tall ones with a bar for clothes on hangers. So when we unpacked everything came straight out of the box into the appropriate drawer or wardrobe. I didn't even have to refold anything.

They dismantled all the beds and rebuilt them in the new house, first checking with me where exactly to position them in each room. The bedside cot puzzled them, and they needed help from me on that one.

Anything fragile was bubble-wrapped or paper-wrapped before boxing. Anything that could not be boxed was bubble-wrapped and/or wrapped in blankets. They took the blankets and hanger boxes back afterwards, but all the other materials they were happy to leave or remove as we chose. The only breakage was a new thermometer that was still in its blister-pack.

It took them 2 days to pack up a 3-bed home, leaving just our 24h+ stuff and mattresses for us to sleep on. The lorries with our belongings were in safe storage both nights. On the 3rd day they packed up the mattresses, we took the 24h+ stuff in our car, and we left.

Money well spent.

The big advantage for me wasn't just the fact that we didn't have to pack, it was the fact that we could live in the house as normal right up until 24 hours before we moved. In our case this was vitally important because others up-chain messed about right up to the wire and we weren't even sure if we'd move until the day before!

Best money ever spent!

They label boxes by what room it’s in. So if you have a cupboard that’s going to be in a different room at the other end, stick a piece of paper on it that says the right room.

Apart from that, they usually don’t really unpack.

I’d pack a suitcase as if for a weekend, with toiletries etc. and a box with cleaning stuff, a few plates etc.
And they supply stickers saying ‘do not pack’ so you can in advance label your hoover and suitcases.

@mojiberry

Super useful for packing up quickly BUT I'm not so sure about the unpacking at the other end! I helped a friend unpack last week, and the amount of unwrapping to do really did my head in. Loads and loads of paper wrapped around every single cup/mug/ object, including individual cutlery items. I found all that unwrapping super tedious and very excessive. Lots of unwrapping to discover an old empty Nutella jar which you then just chuck, and repeat... As opposed to when we pack ourselves - pack things sensibly together, logically stacked up, and if the one odd plate breaks, that's fine, it's just the casualty of moving, and it's a lot faster to put away. So yeah packers save the headache of packing, but the downside is that they made unpacking harder and much much slower.

I do agree with this but the benefits outweighed this negative. I did have a fairly good clear out and hired a skip even before movers arrived to pack up and did not think my house was cluttered etc but you are right, they literally pack everything. I unwrapped 4 bathroom cleaner bottles with about an inch left in each one (came from different bathrooms) which were individually wrapped in mounds and mounds of paper. That is my only complaint is the sheer volume of packing paper they used.

I packed a box of stuff that had sentimental value and/or couldn't be replaced and we moved that ourselves.

Other than that as PPs have said worth every penny. It's truly amazing how fast they pack.

We put red stickers on anything we didn’t want them to pack. So we had each packed an overnight bag plus a bag of toys for the kids. They got stickered. Plus we had set aside a box of kitchen bits we would need.

The only other things I packed was a box with valuables, passports, jewellery, etc. that didnt go in the removal van as I wanted to know exactly where it was, and my underwear.

Main downside for us was it took them weeks to come and pick up the empty boxes.

I had packers when my company paid for my move. They are like locusts and pack everything in sight. Absolutely everything. Everything arrived safely. There were some odd combinations in boxes, but it was overall fine. The boxes were not labeled as explicitly as if I had done it myself, but that was also fine.

@Kite22

I know it is going to vary massively depending on how much stuff there is and probably where in the country you are, but can anyone give me an indication of the difference in cost between 'just' a removal service and a 'packing + removal service' ?

We paid an extra £250 for the packing service on top of the removal cost. It was clearly laid out as a separate charge which made it easy for us to decide to go ahead with it. Whilst there are only two of us to move we did have a big garage and a shed and a garden office on top of the house and they did all that too. Best money ever spent.

We're in the NW, for a 3 bed house and a 6 mile move we've been quoted £600 (including a large garage). Packing service is an extra £500 and includes bed frame dismantling but excludes my husbands gym equipment as that's not covered by their insurance. We both work and have a toddler and will definitely be booking the service. We don't have any family close enough to come and take the toddler for a day or two and it would be tricky to do it without taking annual leave so worth every penny for us.