Before the van · 03
Packing services in Wimbledon
Packing at whatever depth you actually want, which for most people is not all of it. Plenty of households in SW19 pack their own books and clothes perfectly well and then discover the kitchen has defeated them. Both of those facts can be true, and the service is built around them.
Kitchens and glass generate nearly every breakage claim there is. If you take one thing from this page, let us do those two.
Three depths, pick one
Why the kitchen is the one to hand over
A kitchen is dense, heavy, fragile and slow. It is also the room people leave until last, by which point they are tired and running out of time. The combination is why kitchens break.
Packed properly, glass and crockery are wrapped individually, stood on edge rather than stacked flat, and put in a smaller carton than instinct suggests so the weight stays sane. Done at eleven at night into a box that is already too big, none of that happens.
If you are packing yourself
Use more paper than feels reasonable. Half-empty boxes crush under the ones above them and that is a far more common cause of damage than dropping.
Keep the weight down. A book box should be liftable with one hand at a push. Books go in small cartons; duvets go in large ones. Getting that the wrong way round produces a box nobody can carry and a box that collapses.
Label the side, not the top — once cartons are stacked you cannot read the tops. Write the destination room rather than the contents; on the day, the crew needs to know where it goes, not what is in it.
Tape the bottom of every carton properly. A single strip down the seam is not enough for a full box of crockery.
Pictures, mirrors and the awkward things
Framed pictures and mirrors travel in purpose-made cartons or between boards, on edge, never flat under anything. Large canvases and anything valuable get a made-to-measure case where it is worth it — tell us at survey and we will say honestly whether it is.
Televisions ideally go back in their own boxes. Almost nobody still has them, so we carry screen cartons. Lamps, clocks and anything with a fragile arm get taken apart where they come apart.
Materials, and getting them early
If you are packing yourself, the single biggest favour you can do yourself is to get the materials well ahead of pickup rather than the weekend before. Packing spread over a few weeks is calm; packing in three days is how things get thrown into boxes.
We drop materials off in advance and collect what you have not used. There is no advantage to us in you over-ordering.
Packing
Questions about packing
01 How long does packing a house take?
It depends on the house and how much of it you want done — a full four-bed with a well-stocked kitchen is a substantially bigger exercise than a one-bed flat. The survey establishes it and your quote says what is being packed and by whom.
02 Do I have to be there while you pack?
It is better if you are, at least at the start, to point out anything that should not be packed or that needs special care. After that most people go out and let the crew get on.
03 What should I not pack?
Passports, medication, chargers, keys, jewellery and anything you would be distressed to lose sight of. Keep those with you in a bag that never goes on the van. We remind everyone of this and people still pack their passport.
04 Can you unpack as well?
Yes, and take the empty cartons and paper away with you. It is worth considering if you are going straight back to work — a house full of empty boxes has a way of staying that way.
05 Are boxes included or extra?
That depends on which depth you choose, and your written quote sets it out line by line rather than leaving it to be discovered.
Tell us what is moving
Describe the property, where it is going, and whether anything needs holding in between. We read it, ask what is missing, and come back with a written quote.