Packing up a property- what do movers actually do? Any general tips?!

[Raindrops7654]

Just as the title says really.

We are moving house for the first time and I'm a bit clueless.

I know you can pay for different levels of service but, generally speaking, what do you expect from the removal company? Do they just come on the day or, if you select the packing service, do they come a day or two earlier?

If we just opt for pack ourselves and just have them move us (the option I think I'm leaning towards) then does anyone have any tips?

I've seen moving sets from box companies but there seems to be a lot of the small size boxes and fewer medium and large which I feel like would be most useful? So would we be better just ordering a bundle of bigger boxes?

We had lots of useful advice on here when first marketing our property so please fire any more advice my way.

Thank you!

Pay for them to pack. They will do it much faster than you can imagine. Put everything you need for the day and anything you don’t want them to handle in the car before they start. Then stand back and watch the whirlwind.

Pack yourself that way you know where everything is. It is ok having large boxes for cushions but you need mainly smaller ones or you will make them too heavy. Do not put things from multiple rooms in one box, it is too much walking.
Buy large bags for the bedding you have on the beds, make your bed, place the pillows half way down the bed then untuck the sheet and parcel up the bedding, when you get to the other end just unfold and your bed is ready. Take the "first 24 hour" box with you, inside you will have the kettle, bowls. cutlery and snacks and any medication needed.
All of your important paperwork and remote controls stay with you.

This is all amazingly helpful, thank you!
We did hire a skip before the marketing photos back in the autumn but somehow seems that we could do with another one!
You've all inspired me. I'm going to start this evening and be ruthless..

I remember when moving as a child we provided the boxers but they wrapped, packed and protected all the breakables, then they packed the lorry. When i moved as an adult we did all the packing and put most valuables/breakables in the car, then they just did furniture in the lorry.

Def hire the packing service - it made it so much less stressful. I packed a bag of things I didn't want them to pack (valuables, important documents etc), our overnight stuff, a box of cleaning stuff, and a box with the kettle etc that we took in our car, and then they went round the house like a whirlwind. They came the day before and did most of it, including loading lots onto the lorry, leaving us with beds, the sofa and the TV pretty much til the next day.

We de cluttered a lot in advance. Never underestimate how much is in your loft...
And make sure you've got a tip run or two planned for the days after you move - so many boxed/packing paper and also stuff you decide you don't need as you're unpacking... (oh, and our sellers left a wheelie bin full of their rubbish!)

The packing service costs very little in the big picture of moving and is worth doing.

If you do your own, the removal company will supply boxes, normally charge a deposit that’s refundable when you return them after your move. Ensure the boxes are structurally stable eg always a solid top otherwise they will collapse and it will be harder for you and them. So for example use a cushion on top of other things thread the box out.

Ive moved many, many times and have no money for packers.

One room at a time, clean/dust things before they go in a box and only take stuff you actually want and need. Bubble wrap breakables. Have a bin liner for rubbish and a bin liner for charity run.

label much clearer than you think you need and by room I.e photos and ornaments from bookcase in bedroom. You need the bare minimum to be kept out - this can go in a suitcase, don’t bother with packing tea and coffee, you’ll end up with coffee shops and takeaways that first day anyway.

clean room as you go so it’s getting ready for move day.

Get them to pack, it’s amazing how quickly they do it. Though be aware they’ll pack anything that’s not nailed down ( and probably have a good go at stuff that is!), so have a designated area to put stuff you don’t want packed ( we used on the bed). They should also tell you if anything is likely to be an issue like wardrobes that won’t go down the stairs without taking apart.
If you do do it yourself yes you want the small boxes, big ones get very heavy very quickly unless you’re filling them with pillows or similar.

Take the whole packing service if you can afford it.

If you use a packing service pack a suitcase and put it in your car before they arrive. Change of clothes, kids uniforms, school books, kettle, bed linen etc - anything you need to survive 24 hours after the move. As stated they will pack EVERYTHING, so if things are staying put them in one room and close the door and tell them it’s off limits.
I had a cleaner come in at the same time to vacuum and dust after they packed up a room. It’s amazing how dirty it gets under beds that haven’t moved in several years! So when the packers left we pretty much left.
And I also paid for a guy to come remove all the rubbish so the outside bins were empty too.

Our first move we packed ourselves. Never again. Pay for the top-of-the-range service the firm offers. It will be worth every penny.

we're moving in march. I've paid for the packing service. I'm still feeling completely overwhelmed with sorting everything out. and the decluttering.

i still don't understand how they know which room to take stuff too? i don't even know what room i want stuff taken too 🙈

They packed our friends full nappy bin.
For an international move taking a week.

I am envious of those able to use a packing service, we did for our last move and it was so easy! This time I am moving to my own place following a divorce so will be taking half the stuff we have, and I can't expect the movers to know what stuff is mine and what is being left in the house for STBEXH so I'm stuck packing it all myself

However, it does make it easier as I only have half the amount of stuff I guess, and can label the big stuff that's going with post its and labels. and there wont be loads of last minute things to pack, as I can use the kitchen stuff being left behind as long as I tidy up after myself, and there no time I have to be out the house by. Although we are divorcing and I am angry with the whole situation, we are very civil with each other for the sake of the kids so its quite flexible really

9 weeks and counting, it cannot come soon enough!

I'm tight and generally move myself, 4 bed houses across many hundreds of miles but if I had the choice I've have it all packed. Then you can concentrate on the cleaning and the moving the living people and pets in a way less stressy way. We had one house packed for us, awkward place to get a van and it was bliss.

It is exhausting packing an entire house. Packers do it very well.

Ok… that definitely beats mine!! Yuck!

Usually they'll write on the box which room it came from, and if there's not an obvious mapping they'll ask you at the other end. Our latest movers even produced some post it notes and stuck them on the bedroom doors. Our was slightly complicated as we wanted the stuff from one living room to split between living room and playroom in our new bigger house, but I just had them dump all the boxes in the playroom out the way until I could deal with it.

When my DM had packers we had 3 locations where we needed stuff taking as she was downsizing so we were taking some things and other bits were going into storage. They managed. We just told them which bits needed to go where and they packed, labelled and stored in lorry accordingly

Always get them to pack if you possibly can. Moving is exhausting enough.

Get a couple of printed out copies of estate agent floor plan of new house and write on it what each room is eg Boy 1 bedroom etc instead of Bed 2. Don’t forget the movers will not have seen the new house and what makes sense to you as you will have mentally allocated rooms when viewing. EG, on one of our house moves, bed 1/master bedroom was actually the 3rd biggest in floor space but made sense in terms of our use of the house. Was nearly a disaster on moving and when we had all upstairs carpets replaced too as they nearly cut the wrong carpet to size!

If you don't get movers to pack, start way before you think you need to. We were packing slowly once and it got to a few days before the move and it was clear we needed to pack a lot faster.

Declutter ruthlessly. I once moved an entire storage room full of stuff halfway across the country, then realised most of it was tat...

Get boxes, pack some heavy stuff at the bottom, then lighter stuff at the top. Label well, do boxes by rooms, so you know where to put them when you are in the new place. Have a box with basic kitchen stuff and the kettle easily to hand.

It all depends what package you opt for - they can pack your entire house or just load boxes into their lorry.

When we moved in January 2025, we opted for a packing service as we both worked full time (I’m in education) so couldn’t get the time off even though we had cleansed through the house in the Xmas holiday.. They arrived at 8am the day before. Start room by room and the last thing they ‘dismantle’ are beds.

It takes the stress out of moving but as you can imagine costly.

I've just packed up a 4 bed house, garage and loft by myself. The decluttering was extremely cathartic