Moving soon

Money boss I hope life is improving a bit for you.

Fennel
When the day came that the Lorry should have arrived I phoned the shipping agents in the uk, obviously they didn't know what was happening.
I phoned our estate agent ( the only person we had contact with in Bulgaria. She was very friendly with the chief of police in our town. The town we were living in was the port where our goods would be custom cleared.
The policeman just happened to know a customs agent, but he was in Israel.
I phoned the customs agent and he said he would be home in a few days.
He found the Lorry in Budapest. He then got a driver to go to Budapest and then drive it onto Bulgaria.
When I asked him how he found the Lorry.all he said was: you don't want to know

Oh no! Another thing to worry about.
How did you get round that problem, Petra? I assume you did get round it.

Fennel
I hope your move from one country to another goes better than ours.
The person driving the Lorry decided to abandon the Lorry in Budapest!
Nightmare doesn't come close to it.

I've got that on a separate list,*humptydumpty*.
Imagine if the removals people packed them up and went off with them
Especially as we're moving from one country to another.

IMO most important thing: take all important documents (passport, driving licence etc.) and put them into a separate bag/box and carry them with you on the day.

I agree with all of you, especially with phoenix on labeling the boxes.

Once I moved without labeling and it was a disaster! I couldn't find anything.

Also, a friend of mine who has troubles with holding items in her hands, used her Dymo LabelWriter 450 to label the boxes and make sure to always know where her things are.

If someone is interested, she and I strongly recommend it!

It can also help you label your mail and make the sending of Christmas cards this year easier. That's what I'm going to do!

Would also agree with those who advised you stay at a b&b or an hotel. You can have breakfast there and then you are all set for the day. I did think of calling our new abode 'The pint pot' Good luck to all who are currently moving!

So sorry, there are some very unscrupulous people out there. Over the years, we’ve had just about every house buying/ selling trick played on us. Not nice.
Make sure you have a good Christmas, regardless.

We had said we wouldn't exchange and complete on the same day and had been led to believe that all parties would have signed the week before, but obviously not the case.

How awful, you must be devastated. I hope another buyer comes along soon.
Were you hoping to exchange and complete on the same day?

I’m so sorry moneyboss. Enjoy the wine. Then onwards. It must be so frustrating.

several a wine in front of your TV is all I can suggest

My thoughts exactly, I bought a bottle this afternoon, bet there's none left tomorrow

Oh dear how awful for you both
Fingers crossed that another buyer comes along soon.
For this evening I think
several a in front of your TV is all I can suggest

After numerous trips to the tip and even more trips to the charity shop, we'd de-cluttered all my DH was prepared to get rid of. We even gave one of the children's beds and our kitchen bar stools to charity as they wouldn't fit in our new home. Boxed and packed everything, only had TV's to do on the last evening, then disaster, the first buyers pulled out on signing day. So here we are surrounded by boxes and devastated, furious, upset and totally pi**ed off.

Approach your local chippy to buy a parcel of unprinted wrapping paper , its wonderful for wrapping crockery

Lots of good advice here , moneyboss. We've moved 9 times and by far the easiest moves have been those where the removers did the packing, or at least anything breakable. I had numbered markers for each room in our new home, stuck them on the doors, and had numbered the boxes and furniture accordingly. So easy on arrival. If you can keep a list of what is in each box that helps, but it's less easy to do if the removers pack. Definitely keep kettle and tea pot if you use it with you along with more snacks than you think could be needed, mugs, spoons, tea, coffee etc. We also take a bottle of wine and two glasses to toast our home when the removers have gone. If you are having the first night there definitely think takeaway if you can, you will need a proper meal. Breakfast out in the morning is also a good plan. You will be surprised how smoothly it can go. Take the ideas from responses here that seem sensible to you and get all the practical help you can. Good luck with it all.

We bought lunch for the removal men. Sandwiches and a chocolate cake. They were delighted! We bought lunch two days in a row. They packed one day and unloaded the next. They were a great and friendly team.

Coconut says exactly what I was going to say. We are moving back from Spain and, while a van took a lot of our stuff two years ago (the house in Spain still has all of the furniture for normal living), my husband and
I have driven across twice, bringing personal things that we don't touch often That way, we can still 'live' in our house in Spain. We arrived here on Friday night with our second load and Spain now just holds a few personal items and enough clothes to get by on. But for electrical items, all furniture here in England is second-hand, so we are hoping that the person who one day buys our house in Spain will also want to buy the furniture.

Simple and smooth.

If you do your own packing, don’t use newspaper to wrap crockery and glassware - it’s so messy and leaves marks so you will have to wash everything before putting away.
I use kitchen roll - I know it’s expensive, but saves so much trouble. Being a stingy sort of person, I shove all the used paper into bags and use it for mucky jobs like floor spills, garage cleaning and window wiping. It’s amazing how soon the stash disappears, so it’s worthwhile.

When DH & I moved, downsized from large 4 Bed to smaller 2 bed we got rid of as much as possible beforehand, books all packed & lots of things we didn't need at that time but were taking with us. Removal men took as much as possible on day 1, we were putting everything in storage for approx 1 week, they finished packing on day 2.

Holiday flat booked for 1 week near to where we were moving to (new area). So enough clothes packed, personal papers which we would need. Jewellery & my teddy bear (he always travelled on moves with me).

When Removal Company turned up at new home I sat DH on a chair & told him not to interfere, removal lads said they like the woman to answer any questions. Bed was put together & bedding left in bedroom ready for us.

My move on my own after DH died I had removal firm to pack ornaments, china & glass. I had to pack a lot into my car as I was going to stay with DD, everything to go into store as I didn't have anywhere to move to. Make sure you take any personal papers with you, driving licence, passport, etc (lots of people pack them & put them into storage)

Accept any help, paid or unpaid & look forward to your new home

Remember to order enough medication to cover your move. My son moved to a different area last year and it was five weeks before he was completely registered with a new GP and his mediation reviewed.

I always mark my boxes with numbers and its destination (i.e. kitchen, Dining room etc) and write down the details of each box in book with the number and destination. I still have unpacked boxes since my last move in the attic, but I know what's in them, because I have my book to refer to.

I recently downsized and have moved several times in the past. I once had removal packing, however, I didn't know what were in the boxes and it took longer unpacking, do I've always done it my self.
I decluttered his time as we were moving from a 4 bed to a 2 bed.
1. Start packing early
2. Leave kitchen to a few days before move
3. Have a removal day plan e.g. Strip the bedding and put it in the car, because that will be needed the first night.
4. Always list what is inside the box & mark with the correct room.
5. The removal co will provide cardboard wardrobes, the clothes will have to be removed upon arrival at new house and therefore if there are no fitted or freestanding wardrobes, make sure you buy some folding clothes rack.
6.Try and get new house cleaned before moving in.

Ah just another thought, lots of suggestions about locking personal and valuable items in the boot of the car. A great idea and we did just that.
But do make sure you have the car keys on you at all times, if they’re mislaid or worse still, packed it’s disaster!
Packers will pack everything, no questions! In the past I have unpacked a sugar bowl full of sugar and a packet of sweets, both beautifully wrapped in packing paper.