Pack the safe things yourself
Clothes, books, linen and shoes are hard to damage and slow to pack. Doing these yourself removes a large share of the labour and material while leaving the fragile work to us.
Packing & unpacking
The part of a move that decides whether anything breaks. Done properly it is unremarkable, which is the point.
Why things break
Almost never from a dropped carton. Breakages come from movement inside the box — items touching each other, or sliding into empty space, for hours.
That is why a well-packed carton is a full carton. Fragile items are wrapped individually so nothing touches, then packed with fill so nothing shifts, then boxed to a weight a person can carry properly. A half-empty carton is more dangerous than a heavy one.
Every carton is labelled with its room and its contents before it leaves the floor. It costs a few seconds and it is the difference between unpacking and excavating.
Materials, matched to the item
- Bubble wrap for glass, crockery and screens
- Corrugated sheets around furniture edges and table tops
- Stretch film over upholstery and drawers
- Double-wall cartons for books and anything dense
- Wardrobe cartons so hanging clothes travel on the rail
- Labelled bags for furniture hardware, taped to the item
Saving money
How to bring the packing cost down
Packing is usually the largest single line on a full-service quote, and it is also the easiest one to reduce without taking on risk.
Declutter before the survey
You pay to move volume. Anything you are not going to unpack at the other end is worth dealing with before we count it, not after.
Skip unpacking if you are not in a hurry
Many people want the kitchen and beds unpacked on day one and are happy to work through the rest themselves. We can do a partial unpack and collect the empty cartons later.
Questions we get asked
Can you pack only the kitchen and breakables?
Yes, and it is the most common arrangement we scope. Tell us which rooms you want to handle yourself and the quote is built around that split.
If I pack my own boxes, are they covered?
Owner-packed cartons are normally excluded from transit cover, because nobody can verify what went in or how. That is true of movers generally, not just us — so pack the hard-to-damage things yourself and leave the fragile items to be professionally packed.
Do you take the empty cartons away?
Yes, if you want. We can unpack and remove the waste on the same visit, or come back once you have unpacked at your own pace.
How many days before the move do you pack?
For most homes, the day before, or the same morning for smaller flats. Larger houses with full packing may need two days. We agree the schedule at survey so you know which rooms become unusable and when.
From our own jobs
The packing itself
Stretch film drawn on by hand, corrugated sheet on the edges, and a label on the top face before anything moves.
Where the packing goes next
Home shifting
Packing as part of the whole household move rather than on its own.
Office & commercial relocation
The same materials on records, IT and modular furniture.
Loading & unloading
Packed already? This is the crew without the packing.
Want a quote with packing itemised separately?
So you can see exactly what doing some of it yourself would save.