OK, I am a do it yourself-er. I never hire someone to do what I can do. I packed my entire 3000 square foot house +2 car garage and attic filled with my stuff, my parents' stuff and anything from relatives before them that they had acquired things from. Fast forward almost seven years and two little kids later ...
We are set to move in two and a half weeks!!!! The packing stuff will cost me relatively $1000. I can get a crew to pack my entire house for me for about $1,500 more. That does not include the move. This is just the packing. The upside is that I will not have to do a thing. The downside is the cost and that I won't have a mental picture of what is in each box.
So, what should I do (besides hiding under the bed and screaming )?
Ame

By Kate on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:32 pm:

Um...how can you move in 2.5 weeks when you're due in Disney in 2 weeks??

I'm sorry, I'm no help for your actual question as I've never moved except from a tiny apartment with no children to our current house.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 11:54 pm:

packers don't label your boxes, like you would. The guys who packed us, overused the word, "MISC!" for miscellaneous. The stuff wasn't important to them. They weren't unpacking it. I felt so lost on the other end.

When we moved into our house, 12 years ago, I packed myself and my labels were a lot more specific, and I had a much easier time, unpacking when we got here. My sister was here to help. Her daughter wanted a drink. I knew were the paper cups were!

By Kaye on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 07:10 am:

We have been packed the past several moves. I love it. Yep, I don't know exactly what is in each box. But they can pack my whole house in 2 days. I can get it unpacked in about 5. So we are only talking a week without being able to find stuff.

However it would all boil down to money. Do you have it? Or will it make a huge strain?

By Amecmom on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 07:29 am:

Sorry, I meant a week and a half. We're looking to move on the 21st and leave for Disney on the 23rd. Our house is not sold, so we don't have to have it totally empty yet. I really just want the move to consist of my furniture and the clothes and boxes we use. Then, later on, I can go through the "junk" until the house sells.
A packer is a great temptation. I just feel like it's the kind of thing only "rich people" do - not at all related to what you have said Kaye - It's just hard to get over that emotional/psychological hump of paying someone to do what I can do very well myself. But time is a huge factor as Kate points out. We want to be somewhat settled before school starts.
Yes, we can do it financially, but do I really want to spend the money or would I rather it go to someone else - like me.
Thanks for the thoughts and sharing your experiences.
Ame

By Paulas on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 08:49 am:

Well, the last two major moves (not counting the moves within the same town) we have done it ourselves. Before that, we moved through the government and they did all the packing. It was FABULOUS! The kids and I went out for the day and when we came home it was DONE! Yes, some things were hard to find and they tried to pack the garbage can (with garbage in it!) but it was such a relief.

I know how you are feeling. We move on the 22nd and I haven't even started to pack yet. I start back to school on the 25th. We have to be out of here by the 31st. We are moving within the same town so I'm planning on leaving clothes on the hangers and just moving.

Good luck. If it were me and I had a holiday to plan for as well...I'd get the movers..sanity is worth a lot!

By Mrsheidi on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 09:44 am:

Ame, I would totally fork over the money to have someone else pack. Especially if you guys are going on a long trip right afterwards! It's worth its weight in gold!! Can you tell we've moved many many times??
Also, don't totally empty your house...make sure there's enough furniture to make it look "lived in", otherwise they'll smell the fact that you have 2 mortgages and try to completely lowball you. Also, don't tell your insurance that it's unoccupied. We had to pay $1,000/month on an unoccupied home...had I known, I would have said it was lived in still. UGH.

By Mrs_B on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 12:19 pm:

I'm so particular about things so I would pack myself. When we move the military will actually cover the cost of movers to pack our stuff. I still to this day have not utilized the service. I'm way to anal about things.

By Debbie on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 01:28 pm:

I have been lucky that we have always had packers when we move. Dh's company paid for all our moves, and packing was included. It is awesome to leave the house for the day, and come home to a packed house. They have always done a great job, and labeled everything really well. If you tell them to write what is in the boxes, like dishes, pots, etc, they will. I don't mind unpacking, but packing just seems so overwhelming. Personally, with a vacation right in the middle of your move, I would hire someone if you can afford it.

By Dramamamma on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 03:50 pm:

We've been packing our house for the past month! This weekend is moving weekend and all I have left is the kitchen and bathroom and we're good to go, we are hiring MOVERS though.

I tend to get rid of things while I'm packing so someone else packing for me would never work for me.

By Kaye on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 04:01 pm:

Christy we get rid of stuff when we unpack...LOL

As for being picky. I guess for us it is all just stuff. I mean really if the whole truck burned down it just wouldn't be a big deal to us. Packers/movers are insured. Our last move was our 3 with packers. It was the only one we had any damage. There was a tear in the seal for my wedding dress, they paid to have it retreated, they knocked the spigot off a cooler, we got money for a new cooler. They happened to drop our tv cabinet for our bedroom set down some stairs..LOL. So we actually got an entirely new bedroom set. We love our new furniture! So for me it worked out okay.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 06:35 pm:

I think we start trying to get rid of stuff when we pack, but eventually it becaomes to time-consuming and it's easier to just go through it later.

Oops, except that I think for some boxes we moved 12 years ago, later still hasn't come. LOL!

By Amecmom on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 07:27 pm:

Okay ... today we got a quote from a moving company. They are going to need to do the move in two days and use two trucks on the first day. They will pack the "breakables" - dishes, glasses and ceramics. We will move our few paintings and small antiques.
I guess for those of you who have moved recently, the number will come as no surprise, but for me, this was more sticker shock. Almost $5,000 to move us less than half an hour from where we currently live.
I guess it's not so bad, when you consider all the work involved, but it just seems like a lot.
So, no packer for me - well, just for the breakables.
Thanks everyone for your advice.
Ame

By Kaye on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - 09:02 pm:

No the sticker price doesn't shock me...however the company has paid it for us for the last 3 moves.