Be Organised When Packing: the moving companies will thank you for it!

The cost of removals has soared over the past few years, often resulting in significant hidden costs that, if you are moving yourself, are going to have to be absorbed by yourself. Apart from the truck rental, the biggest single cost if you are moving yourself, is going to be petrol – and, with a gallon of petrol, in the UK, costing more than £5.00GBP [$7.34USD a gallon], filling a truck’s petrol tank is expensive business! When it comes to a ball-park figure for an average move, using a professional moving company, you can expect to pay at least £600GBP [around $882USD].

The Real Cost of Removals
However, you will be provided with a more accurate figure once you have been presented with your written estimate, produced as a result of the moving company’s representative visiting your house and, alongside you, establishing exactly what belongings are to be moved and which are being disposed of. To put it into perspective, the moving company has to pay the salaries of two operatives as well as fill the removals van with petrol. On top of that there is paperwork that needs to be completed and maintenance of vehicles and premises. All of these need to be absorbed into the cost of your removal; giving you some idea in real terms exactly how much you can expect to pay a professional moving company without getting duped.

Packing the Right Way
If you take a bit of time to plan your packing and think through how you are going to pack first, you will find it is a much simpler job to unpack at the other end. First and foremost, focus on a single room at a time and keep a pad of paper and a pen handy so that, as you pack you can write each item down so that you know exactly what’s inside each box. This may seem obvious but you wouldn’t believe the number of people who just pack haphazardly, attempting to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to pack a box. The wrong way, clearly, is to put too many heavy items into the box so that you end up unable to lift the box in a safe way once it has been filled.

Moving companies generally prefer to pack the boxes themselves as they can take responsibility if anything then gets damaged, ensuring their insurance pays up. However, in reality, packing your own boxes reinforces, in your own mind, where things are that you have packed. When packing make sure that soft items are not going to be packed against hard items in the same box and, for heavy items such as books, ensure they are packed in sturdy enough boxes. Make sure each box is clearly labelled so that, once you get to your new home, you will know which room to put each box.

Finally, when you arrive at your new property you and your family are probably going to be tired. You certainly won’t want to be routing through boxes trying to find everything you will need for your first night in your new home. Make sure you clearly label the items you need for that very first night and keep it close at hand – and that includes the breakfast paraphernalia for the following morning. Everybody feels much better able to face the day when they have been fed and watered!

Our moving company company provides a reliable removal service throughout the London, the UK and Europe and can provide you with a free removals’ quote for all your requirements. Please visit us at Moving company.