Self-Packing or Owner Pack house Moves
If you have the time for House Packing yourself then before the house removals team arrive it is important to follow certain rules to ensure the removal men can accept your household goods and deliver them to your new home in the same condition they were received.
If you do not have time then we can provide your with a Professional House Packing Service have a look at our house packing video
House Packing Materials
At Movingeverywhere we can provide you with Removal Industry Quality House Packing Materials – we can even loan them to customers moving house in Manchester.
Be careful with the boxes you use, they must be suitable for removals and also strong enough to stack up to 6 boxes high. Also, try to use boxes which are the same size – this will help with stacking.
Hazardous Materials
Removal companies are not insured to carry certain items:
- Flammable liquids
- Paints
- Gas, and oils
- Barbeque gas cylinders
- Explosive materials
If you have cleaning products, then before packing into a box tape the lids then place inside a carrier bag or bin liner – likewise with wet items from the bathroom. This will prevent leakage from damaging boxes below in the stack.
When Should You Start House Packing?
The easiest answer to this is as soon as possible! We have packed many houses of various sizes – we work on the following timings to pack houses – however these often vary depending on how much is in the house.
1 bed house 1 – 3 hours
2 bed house 3 – 4 hours
3 bed house approx. 6 hours
4 bed house approx. 8 hours.
The above timings are based on 2 or 3 professional removal men – when house packing, we carefully wrap the items, load into boxes then seal the boxes.
It takes most customers a few days to pack, or by doing a few hours a day over a few weeks. Often during house packing items will revoke memories so will extend the packing time. Sometimes, packing a house can become quite over-whelming for a customer – at which stage they lose the inclination to complete the packing properly resulting in poorly packed items.
We can provide a partial house packing – you pack as much as you like then we will finish the rest for you. Most customers will just leave us with the Fragile and Valued items to pack.
If you have not packed your home in time by the time the removal men arrive, then this may cause delays in loading which may result in additional costs. If the removal men feel that the delay is going to be too long, then they will have to step in and complete the packing – charges will be charged for this service.
How to Prepare for Packing your Home
Firstly, start packing rooms where you rarely use or have unwanted items – contact a local charity or the council if you have unwanted items you need to get rid of. Moving is a good time to have a clear out.
Remember “do you really want to pay to move items which you do not use or want – and clutter your new home”
- Don’t buy cheap packing materials, some boxes you buy online are unfit for house removals – you will risk your possessions safety by cutting costs. Your items may be worth many of thousands of pounds, pay for the best materials to protect your possessions.
- Be careful when packing boxes, do not cram or fill boxes so they are too heavy to handle carefully.
- For heavier items use smaller boxes. Bigger boxes for lighter items.
- Books need to go in small boxes – try and keep the weight to no more than 25kg.
- Put bedding, linen in larger boxes, likewise clothes – just be wary of the weight.
- Label each box to ensure the removal men know where to put your boxes.
- Mark any fragile boxes in BIG Red Letters.
- Use lots of packing paper to protect your valuable items (we can provide this for you)
- Stuff lots of packing paper into boxes to stop items from moving around inside.
- Wrap plates, cups, glasses, etc. individually – this will give more protection.
- Stack plates, bowls on their edges and not on their bases.
Dismantling of Household Furniture
If you need to dismantle furniture this needs to be done before the removal men arrive. If this is not possible then the removal men can do this for you at an additional cost. Remove all pins from wood as they will scratch during handling. Get some food bags and put all the screws in them – marking the bags with the furniture item. Make sure they can easily be found in the new house.
Washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers, fridges, cookers – will need to be drained, defrosted and disconnected prior to the move. If you are storing a freezer then you will need to defrost and dry out fully by leaving the door open.
Hanging Clothes
We can provide wardrobe boxes which are perfect for emptying your wardrobes. Simply remove the clothes from the wardrobe rails, fill the boxes and seal. There is a small charge for the loan of these boxes. If you do not use these boxes, then you may end up having to spend your time ironing the clothes which will take up your time which you don’t want to do when moving house.
PC & Electrical Equipment
Use lots of bubble wrap. If packing a TV – first put a layer of bubble wrap on the screen, then add a layer of cardboard to protect the screen with a final layer of bubble wrap. This will protect your TV.
Use a large box, put lots of padding on the base of the box – then wrap the electrics in bubble wrap then place into the box carefully – put some wrap around the equipment – maybe some cushions to provide as much protection as possible. We can provide anti-static bubble wrap.
Personal Items which you will need for yourself during the move.
Take all your important items – documents, medicines, passports, money and other items which you will need and place either in your car or in an area of the house which the removal men will not touch, make it clear that these items MUST NOT be loaded.
It is always worth packing a suitcase full of clothes, just in case the lorry is delayed and does not get to your new home in time for unloading that evening.
Make sure the kettle, tea, coffee and refreshments are packed last – this will ensure that it will be one of the first boxes off the vehicle. When you arrive I am sure you will need a drink.
In summary – make a plan, start house packing soon, get good packing materials, be organised – alternatively, don’t worry about packing and let the movers pack you.
Our Manchester House Packing Service is charged at £55.00 per hour plus the cost of packing materials. In different areas of the country this amount may be more or less.