Moving soon

I would never sleep elsewhere the first night of a move. Years ago I was woken in the middle of the night by someone trying to break in. Presumably someone who knew there was a house move afoot and looked through a window - curtains not yet hung - and saw piles of boxes. I was alone in the house and the phone was downstairs before the days of mobiles.
I put the light on and crept downstairs to ring the police and when they came a short while later they told me off for putting the light on as it scared him away. Nowadays I imagine that they wouldn't even come out at 4 in the morning!

Excellent advice from all. I can't add any more except to say that we moved on a Friday 13th and got the move at half price because nobody else would take that date. (It all went smoothly.)

Number your boxes and make lists of what is in them if you pack yourself, so you know which of x numbers of box to look for one particular thing in.

Either lodge your really valuable things and passports, extra credit cards and so on in the bank or pack them in a shoulder bag you keep on you at all times during the removal.

Pack anything you will need in the course of the first 24 hours, including the first aid kit, toilet paper and a toolbox in the box that goes into the removal van last and comes out first and make sure you know where it is placed in your new home.

Agree with you barbaralynne - have moved 9 times in total - two of them overseas, and the last one was downsizing. You can definitely take the headache out of the process by planning carefully. It's very silly to think that at this stage in our lives any of us are capable of moving with minimum help! A strained back or a wrecked shoulder from trying to lift or move boxes and furniture can cause problems for months afterwards and then you're no help to anyone!

Would love to plan a move- any tips for selling a property not having much luck at the moment

21 years ago we moved but nine miles from one house to another. As well as clothes, furniture fridges etc we had 50 boxes all numbered and the contents listed as bedrooms, dining room, kitchen etc .etc. Piece of cake? All up and running in a couple of days!!!!!So glad though that prior to to the move I had made and frozen two dozen pasties as that is what we lived on until those 50 boxes were unpacked and all items in their right place. Couple of days? in my dreams.

When we moved I made sure everything that I really treasured such as jewellery and expensive ornaments where packed in the boot of our car and left the rest to the removers who marked all the boxes for the correct rooms,a really good idea is the wardrobe containers for clothes as mentioned,then lock up your old house and go and stay at a hotel until the next day.

Check your home insurance and the remover's insurance to make sure you are fully covered for every article and every eventuality during the move - I read a distressing story about a lady's valuables going astray during a move and her insurance wouldn't pay out (and it was £xx,xxx) as she hadn't specified exactly how it was to be handled during the move.
The removers said they hadn't seen the bag it was in and again she should have specified valuables.
And if you think £xxxxx sounds a lot, it very soon mounts up. I have a fairly standard solitaire diamond ring, about 1.2 carats, valued at a five figure sum and three stone diamond ring valued at a chunky four figures. (both inherited!)
plus a LOAD of cheaper stuff, and junk that is valuable to me
I'm finding this thread very helpful, we're planning a move next year and will definitely get packers in, and possibly pay for a premium service too. There will be enough stress and hassle so I'm looking to minimise it wherever possible.
We've already started to declutter, (we are downsizing) but there is loads more to do. Shudder.

We had the removal company pack our items they set up the beds at.the new house too. I packed personal stuff in suitcase prior to their arrival as didn't fancy them packing my (not so)smalls and sentimental pieces of jewellery

nice idea to get somebody else in to do it all, but not always financially feasible.
My biggest tips for you would be discard anything you do not want be that to the bin or a charity shop. and then everything you are keeping put in labelled boxes. the labels should state roughly what is in the box and much more importantly what room it is going into when you get to the other end, saves a lot of double handling and makes unpacking easier.
gppd luck with the move

When we moved last time we also hired a cottage a few miles away. We had somewhere to stay that was clean, known to us (we had been there before) knew where shops/pubs were and didn't have to deal with the enormity of moving & emptying boxes all night as well as all day. We stayed away for about 5 days and by then were in quite a good position in the house and ready to move ourselves in. We packed most things ourselves but paid our packers to deal with the china/glasswear, pictures etc. All went pretty well. I wouldn't move again without a bolt hole to go to inbetween. (we did move 200 miles)

We put the tea making stuff, sandwiches and biscuits and some fruit in the car to take with us, and also our bed linen rolled up in the duvet, our toiletries and a set of clean clothes for the next day. On arrival I made tea for everyone while the removers carted our bed upstairs and set it up, we made the bed, and the rest was incidental! (Fish and chip supper that evening)

Lots of good advice here. If I ever move again (please no!) I would have the removal people pack. Last time I did it - well in advance to be "organised"! - and our sale fell through ... (In this way I'm glad Mrs May called a snap election as it was our local MP who pulled out of our sale and he lost his seat!) Removal men, if you get a reputable firm, know their job and you'll be amazed how efficient they are. Ours (when we did move a year later) where brilliant. Good luck!

I started months in advance, decluttering and packing “ stuff” I wouldn’t need for a while, ornaments, seasonal clothes, excess crockery etc. So when the move came it was just last minute bits so was not too stressful.

I agree with what others have said about getting the removers to pack. And we planned ahead where all of our furniture should go so that we didn't need to move anything afterwards - we put labels on each piece stating the room it was going in. For one of our moves which was across country, we asked for a floor plan from the agent so that we could do this.

(They collected the paper and boxes after we'd unpacked too)

Our removal men said they preferred to do the packing as then the boxes weren't overloaded and were all similar shapes so the van is easier to pack. It did mean a few more boxes, but unpacking was a lot more rewarding as space became free so much quicker! And we had happier removal men.

Get plenty of strong boxes, and old news papers. Near me there is a place that sells packing stuff cheaply. What I did was several weeks before I moved have a box in every room, and label it ie...lounge, front bedroom etc. I then started going through cupboards and drawers and filling with things that I rarely used. When 1 box is full start another, and stack them in the spare room. Use as much food as possible as saves moving it.

Definitely agree about paying removal company to pack. We did this on our last move (24 years ago) and will do it on our next - due soon! When you are young it may seem easier to do it yourself - but it's not in later life!

Spend the first night with family, friends or in a B&B. At the end of what is usually a busy, if not frenetic day, and often emotional, you are left in your new home surrounded by boxes furniture and belongings and all is chaos.

Shut the door, go away and have a good night's sleep in a quiet and calm location. You will arrive back at your new home the following morning revitalised and ready to start sorting your new home out with renewed vigour.

Some items of furniture can be left as they are, moved with drawers taped shut, resist the urge to unpack everything and put it into boxes......I have done 18 moves and made un -necessary work for myself, now I tape chest of drawers shut (tape over card so not to spoil furniture).......easier by far.

Leave drawares full if that is the best you can manage due to weight of furniture and just slot them back in when you arrive.

Get the number of the local take a way and have hot meal delivered....you will need it.

Agree with definitely paying the removers to pack. Worth every penny.

Work out before hand where each piece of furniture has to go and then stand in the new hall and direct the men as to where exactly to place things. They're brilliant at it.

Oops - Sorry Phoenix - just saw that you said that. Also label boxes on all sides and the top so that you can read them if stacked.

As soon as possible make up your bed. You will need it and probably won't have any energy left by bedtime.

If it's anything as bad as our last one, get a prescription for Valium. But I'm sure it won't be, most go smoothly.