Moving Home Tips: 25 Practical Rules from Professional Movers

Every professional removals crew in Britain has the same 25 rules taped inside the cab of their lorry. Follow them and your move is 30% quicker and 90% less stressful. Ignore them and it's you, at 11pm, sitting on a box in an unfamiliar hallway wondering where the kettle is.

Planning

1. Start eight weeks out. Six weeks is late. Four weeks is emergency mode.
2. Get three fixed-price written quotes. Never accept "roughly" as a quote.
3. Book your removals company at exchange, not after. Best crews book out fast.
4. Move mid-week and mid-month for the cheapest price and calmest crew.
5. Keep every quote, contract, and email in a single folder.

Decluttering

6. You will move less than you think if you declutter, more than you fear if you don't.
7. The rule of thumb: if you haven't used it in a year, sell, donate, or bin it.
8. Photograph sentimental items you can't keep. Digital storage is free.
9. The loft is the single biggest packing surprise. Empty it first, not last.

Packing

10. Use double-walled boxes. Single-walled ones are for storing shoes, not moving books.
11. Never overfill a box. Anything above 15kg is a risk to the packer and the base.
12. Label on two sides and the top. Never the bottom.
13. Label the destination room, not the source room.
14. Colour-code with coloured tape by room. Crew unloads 3× faster.
15. Books go in small boxes. Duvets go in large boxes. Never the other way around.
16. Photograph the back of every TV, monitor, and games console before you unplug anything.
17. Screws for flat-pack furniture live in a zip-bag taped to the underside of the item.

Move day

18. Have kettle, mugs, teabags, milk, biscuits on the side. British crews work on tea.
19. Show the lead mover round every room before loading starts. Loft, shed, garage included.
20. Pets and children off-site. Grandparents or friends earn their keep on this day.
21. Photograph meter readings at both properties. Cheapest insurance you'll ever have.
22. Take one final walk round every room before the door closes for the last time.

First night

23. Make the beds first. Everything else can wait until morning.
24. Locate the stopcock and the consumer unit before you unpack anything.
25. Order takeaway. Nobody in the history of moving has enjoyed cooking on move day.

The extra rule that nobody writes down

Say thank you to your crew, offer them tea, and treat them like the professionals they are. British removals is a physical, unglamorous job done by DBS-checked directly-employed staff who care deeply about not scratching your walls. The good ones remember every kind customer for years.