Moving - Removals vs. storage + van hire

dacouch

You will have fun moving that sofa bed, especially if there are stairs involved

dgtazzman

I'd also vote removal firm, a proper one. Last time I used a man with a van outfit. They told me they were insured, but when they ripped one of my new sofa's, the insurance suddenly had disappeared. Luckily it was on the back of the sofa, which was against a wall. They also ended up charging me extra for the work as it was more than they thought it was, had me fuming.

Done the 'take stuff to storage' thing. Don't, it doesn't work. In the end it took me a year or so to move everything out of the storage a carload at a time, would have been cheaper just to hire a company to do it all in one go. Really was kicking myself for that afterwards. The monthly fees don't seem much, so you just think 'ah well, it's not urgent, do other things first', but then you look back and tally the damage...

hazyjo

People think about packing boxes, and tada - that's it. What they forget is that each one of those boxes has to be lifted, carried, stacked into a van, then on with the next one. It's an endless totally knackering task! Don't you have crockery? Each plate needs wrapping/packing. No white goods? Even jars/spices each need wrapping and packing. TVs? DVD/blu-ray? Music stuff? Books? I remember when I had my kitchen replaced and once all stuff was moved from cupboards to sofas, floors, tables (on and under) and all over the rest of the house, I was shocked to see just how much stuff (aka crap lol) I had!

I've moved several times and always pay for them to pack and move. It's like magic. Worth every penny. I remember doing it all myself from my first two properties. OMG the hassle. I was packing for days, and spent an absolute bloody fortune on wrapping materials, boxes (although mainly ones I'd found/rummaged for which, tbh, made it worse as it's a nightmare trying to stack a van full of different sized boxes).

Never again lol.

Good luck

Jx

Bossworld

kerri_gt wrote: »

We've just moved - 3 bed house to 3 bed house, we don't / didn't have a massive amount by some standards but its amazing how it all adds up when in a van.

We paid for a removal company to do a full pack and move us - given the overall cost of moving, and the stress, this was the best money spent. about 20 - 25% of the removal cost was the pack service - the guys just did it in a couple of hours the day before we moved, leaving us with essentials overnight. Given the amount of effort / time it would have taken us to pack ourselves I totally recommend it (they also provided all the boxes and materials required). Last time we moved ourselves (less furniture) the amount of things that got damaged / broken really upset me. This time (touch wood, not all boxes unpacked) it's all arrived in one piece.

Btw, we kept our cat at home and I just put her in the carrier once I was ready to vacate the old property after cleaning it. She settled into the new house faster than we did, but is very much a people not place cat, so as long as we are there, she's ok.

Moving is disruptive whatever, staggering it might be even more stressful as you're virtually moving twice. Have your daughter pack her own 'essentials' bag between pack / move day - make a game out of it a bit like camping (assuming she's old enough), that will help her feel involved and in control of something herself.

Thank you, she's just over 2 but has a Trunki we've never used so hopefully that can be fun for her.

I'm more concerned about the cats getting out at the other end, or not being in when we need to go. If we did it without a cattery, was planning on locking the flap so they can only come back in and then putting them in the carriers when we go, but given the nominal cost, I think a cattery may be best.

dacouch wrote: »

You will have fun moving that sofa bed, especially if there are stairs involved

It's only an Ikea one so comes apart with a few bolts, got plenty of tools and socket sets so should only be 10 mins work. Planning on taking our old bed/mattress down the tip the week before we move (have roof bars and a large hatchback) and we'll sleep on the sofa bed the night before the move.

Thanks everyone, looks like it's removal company time then.:T

mildredalien

When we moved we just shut our cats in the bathroom with plenty of food/water / litter while we were loading and then put them into carriers. On the other end we did the same, and once we were all unloaded let them out to explore the new house. Less disruption than a cattery and less trips for us to make after the effort of moving!

LittleMax

mildredalien wrote: »

When we moved we just shut our cats in the bathroom with plenty of food/water / litter while we were loading and then put them into carriers. On the other end we did the same, and once we were all unloaded let them out to explore the new house. Less disruption than a cattery and less trips for us to make after the effort of moving!

We did this the time before last, last time we used a cattery. Much depends on the temperament of you cat and the number of toilets in the houses (is someone likely to open the door to use the facilities?). On balance I think I would pay for the cattery if I could afford it.

aniahill

I've got our removal people to include picking all of our stuff up from storage on the way to our new place (costs £100 extra) so that when we've exchanged, we can give our month's notice at the storage place.

For them to pack, move and pick up our storage unit contents costs £560.

dgtazzman wrote: »

Done the 'take stuff to storage' thing. Don't, it doesn't work. In the end it took me a year or so to move everything out of the storage a carload at a time, would have been cheaper just to hire a company to do it all in one go. Really was kicking myself for that afterwards. The monthly fees don't seem much, so you just think 'ah well, it's not urgent, do other things first', but then you look back and tally the damage...