House moving advice

[lnr]

Has anyone reading this moved house and used the removal firm to do the packing as well as the moving? I've never done this before, and I wonder is there anything I need to do before the packers arrive on Tuesday? And what will they leave out for us until the move itself on Wednesday?

Thanks.

Oh yes, and we won't have a car.

Comments

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

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.

[aldabra]

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.)

[aendr.livejournal.com]

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.

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

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.

[vatine]

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.

[sweh.livejournal.com]

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 :-)

[juggzy.livejournal.com]

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.

[perdita-fysh.livejournal.com]

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.

[sparrowsion]

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.

[(Anonymous)]

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

[harmonsmith.livejournal.com]

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.