• Packing For a Home Move
    Every home move is unique but discover the answer to all your packing questions in this home moving guide.

    How long does it take to pack and move home?

  • How much does it cost to pack for a home move?
  • How many boxes do I need to move home?
  • How to save money on packing costs when moving home
  • How do pack and move fast?
  • When should you start packing for a home move?
  • What are the most common packing mistakes?

Packing for a home move is a huge task and is not to be dismissed lightly. It will take you far longer, and cost you far more than you think.

Here we give you all the information you need to make moving home easier and cheaper.

How Long Does it Take to Pack and Move Home?

These days we are so used to instant answers via the internet, but some questions have no easy answer.

How long does it take to pack and move home is such a question. Nearly every home move is unique, there are many variables that can add or subtract to the time and materials it will take to pack and move home.

Just take a look at these things that can affect the time taken to move home:

  • The number of people helping with the move
  • How many items are being moved
  • The size and weight of the items being moved
  • How many tight spaces have to be negotiated to get your furniture out
  • The number of fragile, uniquely shaped, or antique items that require specialist packing
  • How much furniture requires dismantling
  • The carrying distance between your home and the removal vehicle
  • Waiting time for lifts especially if you are on the 14th floor
  • The number of trips required up and down in a lift
  • Number of flights of stairs to be navigated
  • Even the weather can affect the loading time

Then you have to factor in whether you intend to pack yourself or hire professional packers. You will see from the answers below that packing yourself takes considerably longer than hiring professional packers.

There is no doubt that packing your home for a move is no easy task and is extremely time-consuming.

So let’s dive right in and take a look at how long on average it takes to pack and move home.

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How Long does it Take to Move an Apartment?

  • Packing is Stressful
    Never under estimate how time consuming, expensive and stressful packing for a home move can be.

    Based on a removal company crew of 2 people

  • Studio or 1 bedroom moves take 3-4 hours
  • With packing add another 2 hours
  • Allow 1-2 days to pack if packing yourself

How Long does it Take to Move a 1 Bedroom House?

  • Based on a removal crew of 2 people
  • Loading takes between 3-4 hours
  • With a packing service add another 1-2 hours
  • Allow 1-2 days to pack if packing yourself

How Long does it Take to Move a 2 Bedroom House?

  • Based on a removal crew of 2 people
  • Loading takes between 6-7 hours
  • With packing add another 1-2 hours
  • It takes 2-3 days to pack a 2 bedroom home yourself

How Long does it Take to Move a 3 Bedroom House?

  • Based on a removal crew of 3 people
  • Loading takes about 8-9 hours
  • Packing will add another 2 hours
  • It takes about 3-5 days to pack a 3 bedroom home by yourself

How Long does it Take to Move a 4 Bedroom House?

  • Based on a removal crew of 3 people
  • Allow 2 full days to pack and move
  • Allow 4-6 days to pack if doing it yourself

So those are the average times taken as recommended by a number of top removal firms.

And no doubt you now have a list of questions about packing and moving home. We have taken the most frequently asked questions about packing and moving home and we will try to answer as many of those questions as we can below.

How much does it cost to pack for a home for a move?

  • About how much do professional packers charge to pack an apartment? £150
  • Professional packers charge about £150 to pack a 1 bedroom home
  • Professional packers cost around £300 to pack a 2 bedroom home
  • A full-service removal company will charge about £400 to pack a 3 bedroom home
  • Professional packers will cost you about £600

We saw above how much professional packers cost on average. How much it will cost you to pack your things yourself is another unique question as some people will pack more efficiently than others.

How much does it cost to pack home for moving? This in-depth guide gives you the average prices of packing materials and what you can expect to pay if you choose to pack your home yourself.

How Many Boxes do I Need to Move Home?

  • 1 bedroom home: 10 small, 5 Medium, 3 large boxes
  • 2-3 bedroom home: 10 small, 10 medium, 5 large boxes
  • 3-4 bedroom home: 15 small, 10 medium, 10 large boxes

Well, yet another ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. The above figures are based on the average number of people with the average number of possessions using removal industry standard sized boxes.

And of course the size of the box, how many things you need to pack, how fragile or irregular shaped some of your possessions are will all affect those figures.

You can learn more about how many boxes, the number of packing materials and associated costs in this guide: How many boxes do I need to move home?

How to save money on home moving costs

  • Packing Moving Boxes
    Be sure to visit our library of home moving tips and advice to discover how to pack every item in your home safely.

    Get quotes from 3-4 removal companies so you can compare costs

  • Negotiate the quoted price with your removal company
  • Declutter your home, fewer things to move will save money all round
  • Hire plastic tote boxes, which saves on packing costs
  • Use recycled good quality moving boxes

Moving home is never going to be cheap and value for money is a better yardstick. Whilst you may believe that moving home yourself is the cheapest option there are many considerations to be made.

For instance, did you know that many insurance companies will not insure items during a home move that you have packed yourself?

Take into consideration the time and inconvenience, let alone sheer hard work, that packing involves.

Then what happens if your friends that promised to help on moving day let you down or the van hire company don’t have the right sized van for you on moving day?

The pros and cons of moving home yourself vs hiring a removal company

You can take all those headaches and uncertainties away by hiring a professional removal company.

With a full-service more they will pack, load, transport and unload your household items safely and efficiently, leaving you with very little to do. And a good removal company can represent great value for money.

What is a full-service removal company?

To find out a cost estimate for your home you should get about 3-4 quotes from reputable removal companies so that you can compare prices.

Get a cost estimate quote for your home move in just 60 seconds.

If you can be flexible on your move date or have just a small home move that maybe the removal company can move at the same time as another small home move, maybe you can negotiate a better deal.

Look at moving home on a Tuesday or Wednesday when the removal companies are less busy.

You may be interested in: How to negotiate with a removal company

Decluttering your home is the one thing you can do that is guaranteed to reduce your removal costs. The less items you need to move means every aspect from packing materials to size of removal van you need will be reduced.

Learn how to declutter: The Epic Guide on How to Declutter for a Home Move

Plastic tote boxes are a great way to make and move your home. They use less packing materials, are waterproof and the hire companies will drop off and then collect your tote boxes when you have finished with them.

Learn more: Plastic tote boxes vs cardboard boxes

And of course, if you do plan on using cardboard boxes there are plenty of places that you can get good quality boxes for free.

Must read: Where to get boxes for free

How do you pack and move fast?

The fastest way to move home is to hire a full-service removal company. They have the skills and equipment to pack and move your home far quicker than you could yourself.

To speed up the home moving process you need to be organised and approach the move in a methodical manner. A home moving checklist will ensure that you do everything in a logical sequence and do not miss any vital tasks.

Download for free: The ultimate Home Moving Checklist

And although just throwing everything in boxes seems like a good idea, it will actually make moving home slower.

So as we said decluttering is an absolute must do when moving home. Once you have completed your decluttering your packing and moving schedule will be quicker, and cheaper.

Having a floor plan of your new home will help you make vital decisions about what to keep and get rid of when moving home.

Many hands make light work and the more helpers you have the quicker all aspects of your home move will be.

How far in advance should you pack to move?

  • 6-8 weeks before moving day start decluttering then you know exactly what you need to pack
  • 4-6 weeks before moving day packing the rooms you least use. Sheds, attics, spare rooms.
  • 4 weeks before the move you can be packing ornaments and non-essential things
  • 1 week to go and only the day to day essentials should be left to pack
  • Be sure to pack a moving days essentials box which will contain anything and everything you need easy access to on moving day such as medicines and important paperwork.
  • Moving day minus 1 and everything should be packed and ready to go.

Good to know: How to pack a moving day essentials box

What are the 5 most common packing mistakes?

  • Marking Moving Boxes
    Labelling your moving boxes properly will make the unloading and unpacking process far easier.

    Failing to declutter your home first

  • Not allowing enough time to get the packing done
  • Underestimating the number of packing materials you will need
  • Not labelling the moving boxes correctly
  • Using the wrong boxes

We have already mentioned decluttering. But it is vitally important so no apologies for bringing the subject up again.

Same with the amount of time you think it will take to pack your things. This is no 5-minute job, so be sure not to leave it to the last minute

Everybody always underestimates how much packing material they need. Hiring plastic tote boxes is a more accurate way of working out how many boxes you will need and of course there will be no running out of packing tape every 5 minutes as you won’t need it.

Labelling boxes is really important. It will help your movers to know exactly where each box should go in the new home and you will be able to locate things easier when you need them. It also helps identify if a box goes missing between your old and new home.

Must read: How to label boxes the write way

Using the wrong boxes to pack your things can be dangerous for the team moving them. Put heavy objects in small boxes which are clearly labelled as being heavy, and use larger boxes for lighter things. Boxes should never be heavier than 20kgs.

If using cardboard boxes be sure that they are robust enough to carry and protect the items you place inside them.

Must know: How to choose the right boxes for moving home

Good luck with your home move, and remember that hiring a full-service removal company is the easiest and quickest way to pack and move home.

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