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Property/DIY

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Original poster

What do I do when the packers are here?

49 replies

OhWifey · 17/08/2022 19:21

Just that really!

Will I feel like a spare part? I will label everything that is not to be packed. I was thinking I could follow them around and clean each room as I go. Will that be possible?

OP posts:

Dreikanter · 17/08/2022 22:48

The only thing our packers didn’t pack was an unlabelled baggy of catnip. I found it when I was cleaning the kitchen cupboards.

RausageSoul · 17/08/2022 22:48

Random question... can you pay packers to box up your home before a big job like a rewire?

Zonder · 18/08/2022 07:00

RausageSoul · 17/08/2022 22:48

Random question... can you pay packers to box up your home before a big job like a rewire?

Worth calling a couple of local companies and asking.

Bluevelvetsofa · 18/08/2022 16:28

I left out clean underwear for the morning. It got packed.

9to5jingles · 18/08/2022 16:30

How much packers cost on average we have a 4 bed detached newbuild

2anddonefornow · 18/08/2022 16:35

Ours asked if we I could be on hand to advise which room things would be going across to 3 to 5 bed, my dd assisted the manager with wrapping slowing him down but they were so lovely. Packed us up in 6 hours day before move and 2 hours day of move. As others have said put stuff in the car or a separate pile to not be touched. Best thing we ever done was pay for packing!

emmathedilemma · 18/08/2022 16:47

I would follow them round a bit and label
the boxes in more detail. Ours used stickers or wrote on which room it was from but their approach to what went in each box was far from logical (I assume to balance weight and loads etc) so there’d be food mixed in cooking utensils and then more food in a different box with some mugs……they packed the kettle before we could stop them and it took us ages to find it! Also set aside anything you might not want or need to unpack immediately so that all goes in the same boxes.
We emptied the shed of big items that weren’t going to get boxed and took it round to the front of the house while the packers were inside.
and once they’ve finished a room you can clean but they tended to do a couple of rooms at a time, or they’ll empty big pieces of furniture such as beds and sofas out and then start packing boxes.

YankeeDad · 18/08/2022 16:55

Follow them around with a Sharpie and write the contents of each box on the side.

or, write on top of each box which room you want it delivered to, if there is not a 1 for 1 room match to the new place.

LittleBearPad · 18/08/2022 16:57

Don’t let them pack the bin.

Otherwise make tea and watch TV/read etc

tokyotea · 18/08/2022 16:57

Interested to know how much this cost? DH is adamant we can just do it ourselves but I'm dreading it in all honesty. Not sure if it's feasible though if it's very expensive.

LittleBearPad · 18/08/2022 16:59

The packing service wasn’t much more on top of the actual moving cost and totally worth it.

Never packing again

Carrieonmywaywardsun · 18/08/2022 17:31

I sat in the kitchen at the breakfast bar with my laptop while they packed. I packed the kitchen myself so they didn't need to go in but it was handy to be there to make them tea, clean rooms they were finished with etc.

You can ask them to pack things according to the room they're going to and they can label the boxes. Friends found they packed boxes with no helpful order like kitchen utensils in with kids toys and bathroom products in with shoes.

DessicatedWithering · 18/08/2022 17:34

Hide everything you'll need in your car. Food, children, kettle, clothes. Don't think you'll clean because they will take the cleaning stuff and hoover.

Stay and label boxes. Don't leave the house.

Original poster

OhWifey · 18/08/2022 19:14

tokyotea · 18/08/2022 16:57

Interested to know how much this cost? DH is adamant we can just do it ourselves but I'm dreading it in all honesty. Not sure if it's feasible though if it's very expensive.

I don't know exactly but I know that people say it's not much more. For me there was no question. In the context of the costs of moving, fees, stamp duty etc it really doesn't cost much. And what price the lessening of stress? They even dismantle all the beds etc and put them back together again.

Which leads me to my next question. Do I strip the beds? Will they protect duvets and mattress or best to leave sheets on and wash at other end?

OP posts:

EmergencyHepNeeded · 18/08/2022 19:18

I would have fresh linen on in the new house. Buy them fish and chips at lunchtime and they will do a great job.

emmathedilemma · 18/08/2022 19:27

tokyotea · 18/08/2022 16:57

Interested to know how much this cost? DH is adamant we can just do it ourselves but I'm dreading it in all honesty. Not sure if it's feasible though if it's very expensive.

I helped my friend move and she didn’t pay a whole lot more for the packing but I’d say it was worth every penny. She’d literally packed an overnight bag and emptied the contents of the bathroom cupboard into a box. We put a few things in the card but fundamentally the house was still lived until 8am on moving day and fully packed in vans by lunchtime. Everything was well wrapped, boxes were a weight that could be lifted, nothing broken, vans packed so there wasn’t an inch of space wasted and we did very little - the most strenuous thing I did all day was going on a bacon roll run mid morning! By contrast her sellers were still loading several cars and stuffing things into the back of a badly loaded van when we turned up with the keys to move in. If you’re packing a family home you could be doing it for weeks in advance and if you pack ahead you’ve got to have somewhere to store the boxes until you move.

balalake · 18/08/2022 19:29

Help perhaps, engage in conversation? When I last moved I found I had family who had lived in the same town as where one of them grew up.

knickersniff · 18/08/2022 19:36

I went to the new house and stuck up post it notes of where to put things

greektreacle · 18/08/2022 19:44

Hang around cringing as they try to fit your fridge down the stairs and out the front door that really isn't big enough? Make coffee and supply biscuits? Ensure all boxes labelled correctly? Ensure crap isn't being boxed up?

EmergencyHepNeeded · 18/08/2022 19:44

balalake · 18/08/2022 19:29

Help perhaps, engage in conversation? When I last moved I found I had family who had lived in the same town as where one of them grew up.

I think that's called getting in the way!

AsbestosYayOrNay · 18/08/2022 21:26

I got three quotes in London, and it was consistently £500 for 3 people over 4 hours on top of move cost for a 2 bed Victorian cottage (estate agent speak for tiny!) @tokyotea. We had a lot of stuff though packed into nooks and crannies and under the beds, so insisted they did a home visit, usually they estimate my size and number of bedrooms as they’re really experienced at it. It depends on how many people they send and how many hours. There’s lots of threads in Property/DIY forum recommending, if you Google “mumsnet packers + your area” should bring something up.

I didn’t have the problems listed here about items from different areas in one boxes, they went through and put one cupboard in one box etc.

Like PP, I had done NOTHING in advance just put iPad, laptop, wallets and jewellery in car. I woke up, showered, breakfasted, sent the toddler to nursery and that was that.

Only engage them to talk during tea or cigarette breaks. They don’t appreciate you slowing them down, quicker they’re done they can get back to watching videos or talking to their mum in the lorry. We just asked do you need anything frequently.

@OhWifey i got three quotes and each had different T&Cs, or what was included and what was extra. The one I used protected the mattress and sofas as standard, they also didn’t charge for boxes and pick them up afterwards, they have a eco sustainability ranking or award or something. When we got to the new house I asked them to let me know when they’d put the baby gate up so I could tell them where, and they said we don’t do that we don’t do any drilling into walls or anything other than furniture. I must have confused them with another quote provider, who I remember clearly saying they would put our pressure fit baby gate back up.

LittleBearPad · 18/08/2022 21:45

Like PP, I had done NOTHING in advance just put iPad, laptop, wallets and jewellery in car. I woke up, showered, breakfasted, sent the toddler to nursery and that was that.

Same here. It was quite strange the night before sitting without any boxes at all.

NoiceToight · 19/08/2022 08:58

This thread has been so helpful - I have packers coming on Monday! Will ensure to have lots of tea, coffee, snacks and food available and will keep my shoes ON.

For those asking about cost, we are in a 4-bed semi town house, only moving 15 miles away, and the moving costs are £600 and packing is £400. Plus they give us our £100 deposit back if we give them their boxes back. Midlands area. This includes plumbing washing machine and taking apart and rebuilding 3 beds and a double wardrobe, protective covers etc.
We have packed sentimental and complicated stuff ourselves (like kids music equipment) and had a clear out, but otherwise, are leaving everything else for them. So pleased we spent the extras for packers, otherwise I'd be sweating and trying to fit stuff into boxes right now, instead of having a coffee and browsing MN!

Swannning · 19/08/2022 09:19

We paid Pickfords £2300 to pack and move a 3 bed to a 3 bed about 10 miles away a couple of years ago. I put stuff I didn't want them touching into the car and left them to it.

Last year I asked them to quote and they were £3k to move half a mile away so I used Anyvan - you put in what you want packing / moving and they give you a price - it is cheaper some days than others so we actually moved (rented so not tied to completion releases) on a Sunday as it was cheaper.

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