Tips for moving- how to prepare for the removal packers?

[Frumpylab]

Hi. Anyone got any top tips they'd like to share? It's a year since the removal firm came over and went through the process with us (that's a long story). I will obvs be checking with them next week but my memory is they said they do absolutely everything. My partner has gone into a blind panic and says he needs to take brackets off walls etc and fill holes! What did you do prior to removal packers coming? Is there anything you wish you had done?

Declutter mainly. There's no point paying for stuff to be packed and moved if you don't need it.

The brackets etc, what was in your homebuyers list? If they are fixtures and fittings, then you leave them for the incomers. I've always just left holes as if it's not done perfectly, it actually causes more work. If he's at a loose end, he could start the deep clean, as that would probably be more useful.

Put everything into the room it’s supposed to be in.
Take pictures off walls and stack them in one spot - saves a heap of time.
Dismantle any flat-pack furniture and tape the screws etc to the parts.
If you have little ornaments, it’s safer to pack them yourself in a smaller box which they can then add to the room boxes.
On the day, remove and hide everything NOT to be packed, eg rubbish bins, litter trays, children…
Pack the box you want to open in your new home - kettle, mugs, etc. and hide that too!
Good luck.

Basically, anything that you wouldn't want strangers touching/looking at, pack yourself, and put in your car before they come.

Empty the bins (if you don't want them packed with their contents)
Put the stuff you don't want packed together out the way (car?)
Keep out the way.

From my experience, removal packers are efficient and fast. So make sure the above is done before they arrive else the bits will be packed before you know it.

Don't do what my MIL did, and end up in her slippers with her handbag and all her shoes in storage!

So, for example, I'm sat here looking at my bedside cupboard. Full of everything from headphones, torches, unfiled letters and baby teeth.... can I expect that all to be chucked in one box that is just my bedside cupboard stuff - or will it get merged with the partners bedside cupboard assortment?! And will the box say bedside cupboard on it? Or will it be lost under a pile of unmarked boxes?!

Thanks for tips btw

We are packing ourselves and having removals company to just take it out so not sure on what they will pack. Having packed ourselves, get rid of anything you don’t want. You are literally paying to move rubbish then. If there is anything you need make sure it is clearly in a specific place. For example the hoover and some cleaning supplies so you can clean the property (and the new one if needed). Make sure you are clear which bits you said you were leaving and taking on the fixtures and fittings form. Eg curtains, blinds, shelves etc. When we have moved we have always filled holes and sanded and found the same when we moved in (with the except one property).

They will pack by room. The things in your example might get merged into one box or they might not, depends how much there is. They shouldn’t be unmarked - they’ll label it by room etc.

My tips are:

Put aside things you will need for the first few days like some clothes, phone charger etc - don’t expect them to put these aside for you.

Also, everything goes into boxes! You can’t give them bags to just chuck on top.

We put masking tape saying ‘do not pack’ on things we were leaving for the buyer eg some curtains. We had one room (the downstairs loo) designated as a ‘do not pack’ area where as put cleaning stuff etc.

With ours, the bedside cabinet was packed intact, with everything still in it.

How big are your bedside cabinets? Our packers just taped the drawers/ door shut on ours and carried them out.

Any furniture going with you with drawers they tend to just take the drawers out and carry them out with contents still inside.

We dismantled anything we wanted to know exactly where everything was going to go (so DH took his work desk computer set up apart himself and boxed it it so he could put it back together the other end.)

Can you do a declutter before you go - I assume you've been trying to move for a while, but we did our massive declutter prior to going on the market and being viewing ready and it was really nice not to have to declutter as we unpacked!

Ours dismantled and reassembled big furniture for us, but we might have paid extra for that.

One tip I think I got from here which was a godsend was to pack up a fresh bedding set for each bed with the duvet and pillows for each bed in one of those massive Ikea bags - then it was really easy to make up the beds when we got to the new house.

I know this is an old thread but the most relevant for me. .... Packers coming on Tue to get ready to move Wed. How did it go OP? Im looking at the shoes in the hallway and wondering do I need to spring clean before they get here and organise or can I just leave all the stuff for each room in that room and they will pack? And the coat stand, full of coats... do I just leave it for them? Thanks in advance