Removals company vs doing it ourselves?

p00hsticks

anselld said:

Tiglet2 said:

Yes, if you have storage facilities you can access before completion day, then doing it yourself would be easily possible.

... however, it would effectively double the work.

and by the time you've factor in the cost of the storage unit might not necessarily be that cost effective (especially if having got everything into store you then decide to empty it piecemeal into the new house rather than moving everything out at once). Maisie cat talked about putting stuff into storage weeks ahead and round our way that's potentially several hundred pounds...

p00hsticks

lookstraightahead said:

Haven't hired actual removal companies for years. Hired a can, or man and a van, or a van that will remove a certain number of items.

Out of interest, how much 'stuff' do you actually possess ?

bouicca21

I moved myself once - literally from one end of the road to the other. Hardly any furniture.  It was a nightmare - we were !!!!!! at packing the van so had to make multiple trips.

Even for a short journey it’s worth paying someone who knows what they are doing.

Flugelhorn

only hire a van if you can be sure you can get everything out and onto the van in one go - no popping back for the last few things 

Jonboy_1984

Recently did a DIY move from a large flat to a house with two brothers in law and spouse. We underestimated the space required and had to do two trips in the van. Luckily we were not part of a chain so had the time to do it. 

If part of a chain I would have a second van on standby, or a man with van service and a hire van.

lookstraightahead

p00hsticks said:

lookstraightahead said:

Haven't hired actual removal companies for years. Hired a can, or man and a van, or a van that will remove a certain number of items.

Out of interest, how much 'stuff' do you actually possess ?

Normal amount for 3/4 bed house, but have massive declutters when I move. 

Ramouth

Definitely use a removal company.  We moved ourselves for a move into temporary rented with an overlap and it took so many trips!  We were exhausted which made unpacking even worse.  

For the move back from rented into purchased, we hired a lady with a van.  She was amazing at packing her van and we got most of it in so we only had a couple of trips in the car after but we were still really worn out.  The worst bit is being physically exhausted but still needing to sort stuff / find stuff / rebuild stuff at your destination.  

I would totally get removals people to do it all and focus your energies on unpacking and getting yourselves comfortable at your destination.  Especially if it is going to end up as only a couple of hundred difference.

BSW89

Thanks all - this has been very helpful. It sounds like we could do it ourselves but spending the extra might be worth it to save the stress. What I didn't want to do was spend the money without thinking it through.

Going to firm up some quotes then get something booked in!

powerful_Rogue

Was the best £400 spent hiring a removal company to get us 5 minutes up the road. We had everything boxed in the rooms, they collected and then placed each box in it's corresponding room in the new house.

Saved so much time, hassle and importantly energy!

Wyndham

We moved from rented to our first bought house, and it was six houses down the road.

We used removers, who did take most of the stuff. But, at the end, there were 'a few bits' which I told them to leave, as I would sort them (rented to bought, and we had an overlap).

Those 'few bits' took one and a half car loads, as well as a few walks up and down the road. Lesson learnt for me, and I would never do that again.

You always have more stuff than you think you do...!

Good luck, whatever you decide.