Boxing things up to move house...

[Scott M]

Sorry if this boils down to a "why don't you go and %$^&*() phone them", but I live in hope someone can help!

We're soon to be moving house and although we'll get some big burly blokes to shift things, we're doing the packing. Because I'm an itinerant horder, I've got a garage roof full of original boxes for everything from Flymos down to the kitchen radio. Now, will the removals men be content dealing with "small" boxes, as most of them are, or will we have to pack them in bigger boxes for the move?

Failing that, do removals firms tend to offer the metal wire equipment crates (things like a shopping trolley on its end with a wire door) to home movers that we could pack?

[Lurch]

How are we meant to know. Why don't you go and %$^&*() phone them.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Christian McArdle]

They seem to offer either plastic crate hire, or let you buy cardboard boxes. Do yourself a favour and take them up on it. It is much nicer having lots of similar sized boxes as they stack well. Use SMALL boxes for books, or they'll refuse to lift them.

Christian.

[usenet]

Why? I think you may well be surprised how little it costs to get the removers to do all of the packing.

[chris French]

Yeah, next time we move I think we will let them do most of or all the packing. We let them do the breakable last time and they were so quick at packing it all. I can't imagine that packing everything would have cost much more.

[Peter Parry]

Don't. After 21 or so moves I've tried all combinations of how to move house with least pain and came to the conclusion about move 15 that the only sensible solution is to tell them when they do the estimate that how you are living is how they will find the house and you want it all put back the same in the new house. Let them pack and move the lot - you provide belt fed tea supplies.

[Julian Fowler]

My head's swimming at the thought of *21* house moves ... ;-(

Whilst "get the removers to do everything" has undoubted attractions, it does have at least one negative: you bring all your accumulated crap to the new location. At least if you do your own packing you get the chance to throw out all those things that you've forgotten you own, or why you own, before the move ...

Julian

[John]

Last time we moved, 6 years ago (both houses in Leeds and approx 10 miles apart), we had them do the lot. We left our old house in the morning went to work and returned to our new house at tea time, a neighbour made sure everything was taken from the old house before the lorry drove off. Everything was in put away and tidy when we got home. All we had to do was leave them a list of which room was going to be which room in the new house, if you see what I mean. My wife also packed her 'smalls' and took them to work with her. Even the loo rolls were on the holders! Admittedly everything wasn't in the 'correct' cupboard etc. in the kitchen but it was far easier to redo these than pack up a whole house! The only things they wouldn't do was any loft spaces, either empty or refill. They had cardboard stand up wardrobes and just transferred clothes on hangers into them and back out at the new house, this would be a problem obviously if the new place didn't have any wardrobes. If I remember correctly it cost somewhere around £350-£400 quid, but offset that against hiring a Transit Luton, fuel, and trying to get 4 or 5 mates on a Friday to help when they all work, not to mention the crates of ale and chinese takeaway you would need to furnish them with.

HTH

John

[Huge]

The former.

[Mary Fisher]

Yes, we put some in a tea chest at our first move (aged 24). It was covered but they guessd what it contained.

We have one of those trolleys if you want it - Leeds, Yorkshire ...

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Heavens! It cost a son £500+ to move a few hundred yards in Leeds.

Mary

[Huge]

Wot he said.

We managed some nifty buying and selling in the property price collapse before last, which involved moving twice within 6 months, the first time we did it completely ourselves, the second time we packed and they moved us. (Although most of it was still packed from the first time).

After that I vowed to do it the way Peter describes.

[Dave Liquorice]

Likewise, I've only "moved" in the sense of requireing a removals firms twice and that was bad enough, the other three or four I've done myself with a van or multiple car journeys but they haven't involved any furniture.

Quite, though deciding what to keep and what to chuck/sell is something that needs to be done well in advance of actually getting removal quotes. Like start about the time you put your place on the market.

As for boxing, both moves I've done we have opted for the partial self pack. So things like books, records etc we did. Everything else they did. Principle reason being that if they packed something and it got damaged there was insurance, if we packed it there wasn't or very limited.

And keeping orginal boxes. I used too but the first move got most of those chucked out. I now keep boxes for a few weeks just in case something dies, unless bought (in desparation) from a DSG company, when the packing gets throw straight away, without the packing they can't shrink wrap returns out the back and put them back on the shelf "as new". Whats the point of keeping them? Bubble wrap and cardboard is easy to come by. I seem to have plenty here and I've never bought any.

[Peter Parry]

Hah - move 9 was to Germany and some stuff went into storage while we were there. I had one box I was using for rubbish and by mistake it got sent off to store. 2 years later when we got everything back I couldn't identify which one had been the rubbish box.

[Grant Mason]

YMYA.

2 DIY moves, 1 without lifting a finger (except to write the cheque for £1100 [1]).

I'll never do a DIY house move again.

[1] Transport-only quotes were ~£800. Best £300 I've ever spent.

[Owain]

"Julian Fowler" wrote | Peter Parry wrote: | >After 21 or so moves | My head's swimming at the thought of *21* house moves ... ;-(

I moved five times in 12 months once ...

Only suitcases-on-a-trolley-borrowed-from-Tesco moves but nonetheless.

| Whilst "get the removers to do everything" has undoubted | attractions, it does have at least one negative: you bring all | your accumulated crap to the new location.

including the dust.

| At least if you do your own packing you get the chance to throw | out all those things that you've forgotten you own, or why you | own, before the move ...

Or at least wipe them over before packing.

Owain

[<Barbara]

"John" wrote

This is the key if you choose the DIY route: who your helpers are.

I can tell you from practical experience that kids - of the right age - can actually be of great help. My two nephews, aged about 10 and 12, treated taking 70 carrier bags of books (packed that way to divide them into manageable-sized loads) from the van to the second floor as a race and great fun, competing to see who shifted the most.

Sadly both are now grown up and more sensible, so I can't loan them out.

Barbara

[Scott M]

Thanks for the offer, but if I was much further south, I'd be in the Solent!

[Angela]

burly

I agree, getting them to pack is more reasonable than you may think. In addition you are not covered by their insurance of something gets broken that you pack yourself, get them to pack and you are covered for everything.

Angela