HELP! I'm moving tomorrow. Has anyone had the movers fully pack you?

[Divamomto3]

We have movers and are paying for the "full pack" which is tomorrow. Thursday they are loading on the truck to take me to my new state.
I can't seem to get a grip on the "full pack." I've boxed up a lot of personal stuff. What can I expect tomorrow and what should I do ahead of time?

 

[buzzlady]

Anything of real value, jewelry, photos, important documents and things that just aren't replaceable, pack up yourself and keep those boxes aside. You don't want the movers taking those things. Take them with you.

If you will arrive in your new home before the moving truck, pack up a box of items that you will need like toilet paper, paper plates, plastic cups... and take that with you also.

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[CathrynRose]

Usually 3 - 4 guys will show up, and literally "full pack".

They'll label everything, etc. My fiance and I CHOOSE to kind of get the ball rolling with things that mean a lot to us (i.e. Disney Stuff / Expensive Stuff) We'll sometime put them in smaller boxes, to let the movers then get it into bigger boxes.

Word of advice: These guys will have allllll your stuff for many days. Be sweeter than pie to them. (We) Buy them lunch, offer them drinks, cookies - whatever.... we had heard too many horror stories of the type of people whom are "movers". Heck - one of the guys on our move, wasnt at the final destination. The head guy fired him half way through the country!

If you bond with them enough - you can get their cell phone number to keep dibs .... check in with them.

Luckily - we always end up at the final destination with all our items, nothing missing. Then we give 'em a hefty tip.

Hoep this helps!

 

[mtemm]

we've had it done with our last few moves (dh's company pays for it). just know that they will pack anything that isn't nailed down. if you leave a dirty dish, it will be packed as is. make sure that anything you need or want to keep with you, you stick somewhere well out of their way...we usually put stuff in our cars.

it will depend on how the company works as to how they work. we've had just a couple of packers come and they work from room to room. last move there was a mix-up with the moving company, so the driver and his team came to pack, and a separate packing crew came to pack...I had 8 guys packing at once. this is NOT normal, but omg, they were like whirlwinds.

I highly recommend getting a hotel room or staying with someone for the night between the pack and the move, but if that isn't possible, they will leave your beds set up, and even the tv if you ask them to, and they'll pack them onto the truck the morning they load.

if you have kids and if they use a nightlight or a special blanket or teddy bear or such, grab it NOW and put it aside. also, if you do plan to stay the night, make sure to keep a lamp in the do-not-pack pile, unless you have overhead lighting (these are all things we learned the hard way. lol)

eta, make sure to keep cleaning supplies out until the load, too...including mops, brooms, etc, anything you may need to clean your house after the load (most homes need to be broom swept, but I always do a thorough cleaning). also, I always buy things like toilet brushes new when I get to my new house, so I ask they don't pack those...ewwww is that gross to unpack.

 

[golfgal]

You basically stand around and answer any questions they may have. They work like machines packing your stuff. It is amazing how quickly they can get your things packed.

Pack anything you will need right away at the new house, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, some paper plates, plastic silverware, etc. and have that box loaded last. I had them load my computer last, first off the truck so I could get that set up right away (the cable company was coming to hook up the internet, etc).

You want to take any important documents, papers, etc with you so pack those up right away and put them in your car so they don't accidentally get put on the truck.

Watch how they are labeling the boxes. They SHOULD be putting at least 3 things on the box that are IN the box, "towels, sheets, lamp from bedroom 1" or what ever. If they are not ask them to label the boxes better or go through after they pack and add some things to the labels so it will be easier unpacking.

Make sure they label the BEDDING boxes so you can find those right away. Ask that they be put in a certain place in the new house so you can make the beds so you have a place to sleep the first night.

Anything that YOU packed won't be insured so don't pack anything breakable.

 

[INDISMOM]

One of my summer jobs in college was as a packer, so here are some tips:

They probably will not pack aerosol cans or liquor, so make sure you take those.

Most won't take plants, or if they do they don't guarentee that the plants will make it if it is a long move.

If you have a junk drawer, you might want to clean it out. If we had to pack a junk drawer we would dump it on our packing paper, roll it up and pack it.

If they are packing you one day and moving everything the next, make sure they leave a couple of boxes open for your bedding and possibly a few dishes if you are eating at home. Which leads right into the next tip:

Make sure your dishes are clean. We went into one house and the lady had a dishwasher full of dishes that were dirty. We told her we would pack everything else while the dishwasher ran and then we would pack those. She insisted that we could just pack them dirty. Well, we couldn't do that because it would attract bugs, rodents, etc to the truck. She got very upset that she had to actually have clean dishes!

I would NOT let them pack my photo albums or scrapbooks. Maybe I am paranoid, but these things to me are not replaceable so I would want to keep them with me.

Make sure your frige and freezer are cleaned out -- give it to the neighbors if you have to.

If it is a total pack, they will pack everything unless you tell them otherwise -- this includes most food, your coffee pot, etc. If there is anything you need for the rest of the time you will be in the house, make sure you pull it before they start packing.

Also, one last tip remember these people will be going through drawers, cabinets, closets, etc. If there is anything you would be embarrassed for them to find -- they will probably find it!! You wouldn't believe some of the things we found!

Good luck on the move and the new home!!

 

[RadioNate]

I've had professional packers several times. My biggest advice is to make a bathroom or closet a "DO NOT PACK" zone and put EVERYTHING you don't want packed in one location. If you can lock that door, do so and put a big, DO NOT PACK sign on the outside.

There will be 2 or more people packing and they will be in different rooms. They will pack anything and everything they can. The soap dish including the 1/2 used bar of soap will be packed, so will all your coupons, phone books and junk mail.

Each packer will label the boxes with the contents and initial it.

Check with your mover for a list of things they can not pack. Some won't take cleaning products or candles.

Oh and stop packing things. A lot of times they won't insure the items if it something that you packed. Just make sure you have the stuff you need for Wed, Thursday and the 1st few days after you arrive at the new location together and let them do the rest. How far are you moving. Have you gotten an time estimate yet? Our Oregon to South Carolina move took 18 days for the truck to get there. I think our Tennessee to Texas took 4 days. You'll need to make sure you have enough clothes and personal items for that time.

 

[mtemm]

oooh, just thought of something. in most of our moves, they just keep the clothes in your dresser drawers...makes sense, right? we had one move, though, where I walked into the bedroom and the guy (obviously new) was taking every thing out of the drawers and packing that way. ummmm...not with clothes you don't. I'll have enough unpacking to do thank you very much. lol.

 

[Divamomto3]

Everyone....thank you so much for the advice. I'm a nervous wreck. We are moving from the Connecticut Shoreline to Upstate NY. Our new town is 3 hours from here. They are packing us Wednesday, loading the truck Thursday, and delivering it to us on Friday. Lord, help me. It's the first time I've moved this big. I've lived here for 13 years. The other time we moved from our apartment into this house it was us, a Uhaul, my DH's fraternity brothers, and a lot of beer. LOL. DH is working a lot and this is all up to me. I'm a wreck.

 

[RadioNate]

oooh, just thought of something. in most of our moves, they just keep the clothes in your dresser drawers...makes sense, right? we had one move, though, where I walked into the bedroom and the guy (obviously new) was taking every thing out of the drawers and packing that way. ummmm...not with clothes you don't. I'll have enough unpacking to do thank you very much. lol.

It depends on the situation. If your stuff is going into storage then all drawers need to be emptied and packed into boxes. If it is a straight door to door move than the clothes can stay in the dresser.

Some movers also factor in the length of the move. During our 18 day coast to coast move, they were required to pack the clothes. I think our SC to TN move was just 1 day and they left a lot of stuff they would have normally packed because they knew they would be unloading 36 hours later.

 

[Divamomto3]

OH and let me add we are moving into a smaller rental home where we have to live for 6-8 months until our house is built. I get to move twice, isn't that nice?

 

[Divamomto3]

We did once. They even packed the trash can. With the trash in it! Boy, did that thing smell when they unpacked it.

Remember to tip them if they did a good job.

What would a customary tip to each packer be?

 

[LisaS]

On our last move, the packers left some special boxes in the garage so that the guys coming the next morning to load the truck could pack up the mattresses into boxes to keep them clean during the move. Well, the loaders somehow didn't notice those boxes and just loaded all the mattresses straight into the truck. As they were finishing up, they pointed out the mattress boxes in the garage and asked me "What do you want us to do with all this cardboard?"

So just be aware that there might be a disconnect between the people doing the packing and the people doing the loading and stay on top of all the details yourself!

We found the packers did a pretty good job labeling the boxes but if there is a partially filled box in one room, and one or two leftover items in another room, things can get packed in unexpected places. We couldn't find our silverware for days after our move. Finally found it, still in the silverware tray, in a box with the sofa pillows.

Good luck with your move!

 

[pixiepower1971]

I prefer my clothes to be taken out of the dressers. One time they didn't and as they were moving the dresser it tipped over and the clothes came falling out onto the ground. So now they are boxed every move!

If you have an odd shaped item that you want boxed, make sure you insist that they box it. They will put a couple of boxes together to fit it. Many times they will try to wrap it in blankets and put it on the truck. It gets lost and damaged that way!


Depending on the size of the move, your items will not be the only ones on the truck. Very easy to get mixed up,especially if it is not boxed.


Get all jelewry, money, small valuables out of the house. Lock them in your car. Hand carry them to your new house.

I second not packing your own boxes. They will not insure them usually.

I carry a marker around with me on pack days, in a bright color, and add notes to the box. I also add a letter to the box that corresponds to the room it belongs in. A quick glance when they are unloading helps me direct them to the right room.


Feed them, have plenty of drinks and BE nice but firm.

 

[mickeysgal]

Also, one last tip remember these people will be going through drawers, cabinets, closets, etc. If there is anything you would be embarrassed for them to find -- they will probably find it!! You wouldn't believe some of the things we found!

Now that sounds like an interesting thread all by itself!

We just moved and had a full pack. They did an excellent job albeit a bit on the slow side as they were short handed for one of the pack days. That set everything back a day or so. Other than that, just listen to the advice given in the posts so far. Something I haven't seen mentioned yet, is that they advised me to fill an old sock with coffee and place it in my standing freezer so that it wouldn't smell once it was turned off. I didn't do it for the fridge as I simply forgot.

I did keep them well fed and had drinks on hand. I tipped the packers when they were done, and the local guys that helped load on both ends. I tipped the driver and his partner at the end - their tip covered both ends of the load and unload. I'll tell ya' - moving people is back-breaking work. My hats off to those that do this day in and day out as a living.

I did pack and move myself things like jewelry, laptop, and sensitive files (life insurance policies, stock stuff, etc.)

Good luck with the move. We've been unboxing for days now. I'm taking a break right now just to DIS.