lnr | House moving advice

Well, I tried to last time but they just didn't seem to register the fact that I'd asked for packing so I ended up doing it all myself at the last minute. So my only useful advice is to triple-check that the packers are actually coming.

You need to be entirely explicit about what you're leaving for the current landlord and what you're taking with you, because they'll assume you're moving from owner-occupied to owner-occupied and take everything. We ended up taking the iron but leaving the iron-charger, annoyingly.

They will probably pack everything. You pack a bag with undies and kettle and whatnot that you need until Monday, and then be very sure they don't take it. (In particular, watch out for the last minute sweep by someone you haven't talked to who picks up everything remaining that's visible and takes it away.)

I've had packers twice (once paid for by my work, once because we didn't have time).

* Put everything you want immediately on arrival or don't want to have to hunt for in order to go to bed separately. Both occasions, I packed an overnight bag and a tea/coffee/food box and took them myself. It's also worth making sure you have the tools for putting furniture back together with you. Make sure you have enough mugs out to make them lots of cuppas. Also, make sure you have some basic cleaning stuff and toilet roll and a hand towel. If you're paranoid about damage/breakages, a camera might be an idea too.
* Pack anything you'd be embarrassed about them packing.
* If you've got something really really precious and irreplaceable, pack it and take it yourself.
* They'll only leave out stuff you ask them to, and it needs to be kept separately and under your eagle eye otherwise it might accidentally go in a box. (I ended up with a coffee table made out of a box after they packed every single table including the camping table I'd put separately to use - had to rescue the camping chair out of one's guy's arms as he was about to put it on the van. I was moving Exeter to Cambs and taking myself, camp chair and table, airbed and sleeping bag by car.) They will be very reluctant to return to pick more stuff up on Wed morning - if they can load the van on Tuesday, and not return but go straight to the new place, they get more time off the next day. Their plans might not be the same as the plans you think you agreed with the person who came to assess how much stuff you have, be prepared to put your foot down.
* If you own your appliances, you need to disconnect them; this means defrosting any fridge/freezer.
* They usually won't transport nasty chemicals or gas cylinders, or frozen/chilled food. Household cleaning products are okay, stuff you'd leave in the shed aren't.

Oh yes, do not forget to have sugar available. Removal men generally want sugar more than people who are moving house do. I had to go to the shops and buy some sugar when my mum moved, because she'd packed the damn sugar bowl and they wouldn't move the sofa until they had tea with 3 spoonfuls of sugar.

Would it be useful (I have never had packers but thought the idea might be either useful or informatively disproved by somebody who has) to buy a big pile of bright coloured stickers like the explosion-shaped ones you find in cash & carries, and stick them to the things you want to leave behind with LEAVING BEHIND written in black marker on them?

I *think*, with the exception of the cooker and the fridge, I can put everything we're leaving behind in the cupboard under the stairs, or the shed. Which should work quite well.

Yes, sugar! and plenty of milk! plenty! (We had to go out for more.)

I labelled things with "leave this" written in big letters on sheets of A4 scrap paper (i.e. with stuff printed out on the other side*). Sometimes I wanted things to be in a different room but than they started, so I either moved them (if small) or labelled them (if big.) I also used colour coded sheets of paper in the second move - furniture with blue paper and living room label into room with blue paper marked living room on door. You can't be everywhere at once telling 4 different guys where to put stuff, especially when tea is desired. I wouldn't use sticky labels unless they were really big and obvious and not likely to leave residue or damage the item when removed.

* which got amusing when one guy looked at the stuff on the other side and looked scared - it was one of the more mathsy pages of my PhD thesis from when I was proof reading (which I usually did 2 sided except when the printer failed to cooperate).

Oh, and without a car, just make sure the stuff you want immediately goes on the van last and comes off first and is put somewhere where stuff won't be piled in front of it.

You don't need to do anything, but if you don't everything gets chucked into the same box from the room that the box is in. So I would have a good look around to see what you don't want to take and chuck it out beforehand, and maybe box up the stuff that you want to box yourself.

They'll leave out anything you ask them to. It might be an idea to put that in a box somewhere and label it 'leave', in large letters. Otherwise, just get out of the way and allow them to get on with it. The great thing about having someone pack for you is that they don't dither and wonder and root through memories - they just get on with it. They packed up my house in Grove in four hours. Everything! They just did it.

As others have said, anything that you want to lay your hands on immediately in the new place should be packed by you, ideally transported in your hand(s) and be easily spotted at a distance. If you have fragile items, you MAY want to pack those yourself.

I've used packing and removals services twice, once moving SE-UK and once for an intra-UK move.

Personally, anything I have the original packaging for (eg DVD player, CD player, VCR etc etc etc) I boxed up myself and sealed the boxes. Similarly for computer equipment. There's a reason I don't throw out boxes :-)

There's a reason we did: nowhere no store them.

For computer equipment, I'm in two minds about letting packers move it. I've never used them myself, but various different people I know have had bad experiences with packers - one was a friend who had a custom silver case (which got scratched to buggery, despite extra special warnings and supposed extra care), another had it bounced around so much that the graphics card disconnected.

Even when moving to and from university (with parents helping to load the car, because my mother has the spatial awareness gene and I don't), I always handled computers myself - I'm that paranoid.

There's a reason I don't throw out boxes

Ah, I'm glad it's not just me. I'm always reluctant to throw out boxes, despite the space they take up, in case I might need them. People are always asking why I don't throw them out, but when I finally get round to moving, I'll be glad I kept them.

No really, there's absolutely nowhere to store them. Possibly if they were flattened out, but there'd be nowhere for the all-important polystyrene. This house has no loft or garage, and the understairs cupboard and shed are only modest in size.

Oh, and despite the warnings and dire stories, paying the couple of hundred quid to have somebody pack for you is the best thing you could ever spend your money on. Really. It's a different order of experience to the move it yourself and dither about finding boxes one. Life is too short not to pay somebody to pack for you. Etc.

The bit that confused me was our service was supposed to be packing and unpacking, but they put the boxes in the rooms and were about to leave when I reminded them of this. They said most people preferred to unpack themselves so they knew where things had been put, I said I really didn't care so please to feel free with stuffing things in any available cupboard and they did then do the kitchen at least. *&)

Definitely worth the money though.

I don't know what you're "leaving the place in a clean state" arrangements are, but you might want to make sure that there are cleaning materials, especially vaccuum cleaner, which don't get packed so that you can go round cleaning after they've gone. And the flip-side of "don't pack the kettle" is of course "make sure the kettle is the first thing unpacked".

At least you don't have cats.

I have moved many times and except for the last move i which i hired box (http://www.boxyourstuff.com/), i moved by myself and i am glad that i hired them. here are some tips

# Before your movers arrive, try to stack all your boxes and containers at the corner of the room and leave the room to the movers. This will speed up their process of moving.
# Make sure that someone is there in the new house before the movers arrive to take care of the unloading.
# Moving is a curious mixture of action and boredom. Feed the movers regularly, as they need lot of energy and prevent them from taking frequent breaks.
# Give your mover your cell phone number, so that they can keep in touch with you when ever it is required

Moving is a stress full job and we need to plan it very carefully to make it less stressful. I think professional movers are a good choice. When I moved I hired Box (http://www.boxyourstuff.com/) and they did their job pretty well.

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