Tips please on moving house!!

[Hilary B]

Flat-screen TV is outside my field, but mirrors and pictures, wrap each in bubble-wrap, then lay a few together, sticky-tape them into a 'parcel' and bubble-wrap the whole thing. When loading the vehicle, place them carefully (between boxes about the size of the largest in the bundle if possible, but between anything that will protect them will do), and yes definitely NOT FLAT!
For best results, have not-too-different sizes in a bundle, and if the largest 2 items in the bundle are both framed, put those at either end. You don't need to keep mirrors in one bundle and pictures in another.
If mirrors are going into storage, or if you are worried about them in transit, it may be worth cutting some lengths of wood (pieces of plank?) to make a pseudoframe. Just 4 pieces that will go around the non-flat sides of the bundle, sticky-taped into position so that the flat things are protected on THOSE sides, then store or load upright.

[its hilly]

Number box sides, list by room and number in a notebook..and DONT pack the note book Never put room descriptions or details on the outside of boxes going into store, for security. Also sounds odd but number boxes going in to store from say 1-100 and boxes you are taking yourselves 200-300 or a b c. You can tell which is which at a glance and the storage company cant say 'what box of precious whatever, we never had it' if all the boxes they have run in a sequence.
Dont put anything seriously valuable or irreplacable memory wise into store. Take computers, photos, documents with you. And photograph items of furniture etc so that you can prove that your sheraton table DIDNT have that enormous gouge on it when it went into store.
Wrap mirrors in bubble wrap, then cut big cardboard boxes to the same size and sticky tape them round the outsides.
Seal boxes, then run extra tape right round the box at 1/3 and 2/3 lines, and across shortways as well as longways.
Put layers of bubblewrap into a plastic stacky box and round the sides, then fill with china, plates are less likely to break if you only stick a thin layer of wrap between them rather than thick wrappings..sounds odd but aparently its to do with flexing so our removal men said.
Fill bin bags etc with clothing thats not needed and tape it into drawers of furniture. They take drawers out to shift, but replace in load/store so stuff needs wrapped and taping in. Put delicate stuff in the middle of packed clothes, but label it caution breakables.
think I've moved house too often Sorry for the size of this.
PS Dont carry on packing when you're shattered, sounds obvious, but you'll drop stuff, mislabel it, or stick it somewhere and forget.

[Nicos]

Oh my ,hilly...you've put me off moving now!!

Wonderful advice though- thanks!

[lizzylemon]

You probably have good break down cover any way but please make sure you have an European door to door recovery service - it might be expensive but you only need it for the week (or how ever you plan to take doing it).

Also make sure you have 2 fully charged mobile phones on you: use just 1 phone and make sure the other is switched off, to be switched on if the 1st phone goes flat.

My OH broke down in Dijon on a Saturday morning moving to our old house near Valencia. He had a Euro Cover but it was only for X number of kilometres. His mobile phone was also nearly flat but he couldn't charge it because the car wouldn't start, and then the car was left in huge holding warehouse in the middle of nowhere so he couldn't use it even if he wanted to.

The short version is that the car, trailer, contents & 5 brand new motor bikes where towed to this warehouse place. No one would help him at all, kids threw stones at him, but he eventually managed to get a taxi back to Paris (600 euros) after knocking on peoples doors and a kind french couple letting him use the phone. He then managed to get a flight to Alicanti (which his mum had to book for him because his card was maxed getting cash for the ::><* taxi driver).

The car cost us 400 euros to get back because of the limited free recovery, the taxi driver would only take cash and the flight cost an absolute fortune so please use have the wisdom of our very expensive lesson.

[its hilly]

Oh my ,hilly...you've put me off moving now!!

Sorry nicos, not that you have any choice now

Actually I have moved a lot, and Mum and Dad moved from Cumbria to Devon 3 years back. Their stuff had to go into store as the Devon house couldn't complete at the same time.
Another thing I learned from them, when the removal company took their stuff down they shoved huge loads of boxes in the spare room to unpack at leisure as they were still doing decorating work, it was months later that they began to unpack, and realised that some boxes were missing. So when your lorry arrives in France tick off the box numbers as it's unloaded. Then if anything is missing you can chase up immediately. M&D paid extra to have their own personal container store, but we reckon the company added someone elses things and sent some of M&D's with it, of course it was too late by then to prove it.

[petal]

Best thing we did was to be ruthless and have a car boot sale and a big bonfire before we even started packing!!!