Do Removal Companies Pack For You? Packing FAQs

Most people booking a move are not sure how much of the packing is theirs and how much the removals firm will take care of, and that grey area is where a lot of moving-day stress comes from. This page settles it in plain order. First, who actually packs what. Then where the boxes and packing materials come from. After that, when to start so you are not up at midnight before the van arrives, how to wrap breakables so they survive the trip, and the handful of things that should never go in a box at all.

Do removal companies pack for you?

Yes, packing is something many firms offer alongside the move itself, and it is your call how much of it you hand over. You can have the crew pack everything from top to bottom, you can ask them to pack just the awkward or fragile rooms while you do the rest, or you can pack it all yourself and only book the van and the muscle. None of those is the right answer for everyone, so treat it as a genuine choice rather than something being sold to you. At Marley Moves our packing service runs the same way: full, part, or none, whatever suits your time and your nerves. Our small in-house crew handles it from survey to unload, so the people who quote the job are the people who do it.

Do removal companies provide boxes and packing materials?

Most removal firms can supply the boxes, tape, paper and wrapping you need, though some sell them on top of the move and others fold them into the price. We supply moving boxes and packing materials as part of our packing service, so you are not left chasing flat-pack cartons from a hardware shop the week before. We also have a current promotion of free moving boxes, capped per booking and subject to availability, which is worth asking about when you get in touch. The number you need depends on the size of your home and how much you are taking, so we sort that out with you rather than guessing. Either way, you should never be stuck wondering where the boxes are coming from.

How much does it cost to have removers pack for you?

What it costs comes down to a few simple things: the size of your home, how much of it you want packed, whether there are fragile or specialist items that need extra care, and how much you take on yourself. Because all of that varies move to move, a fixed figure only means anything once we have seen what is involved. The quickest way to a real number is a fixed written quote, and we send those back within the hour so you are not left waiting on a callback. No surprises on the day.

How soon before moving should I start packing?

The honest answer is start earlier than feels necessary, and start with the things you almost never touch. Work room by room, beginning with the cupboards, lofts and corners you can live without, and leave the everyday stuff for last. It is steady rather than dramatic work, and even a single box a day quietly adds up to most of the house being done before the week of the move. The trick is the order, not a countdown, so move through the rooms in order of how little you use them. Our room-by-room packing guide walks through that order if you want a path to follow.

What should you pack first?

Start with the rooms and items you use least, and keep your everyday essentials accessible right up to the last day. Out-of-season clothes, the books on the shelf, the spare-room clutter and the garage are all good early targets, because none of it will be missed in the weeks before you go. As you fill each box, label it by room straight away so unpacking at the other end is not a guessing game. Leave the kettle, a few plates, chargers and a change of clothes until the very end. By packing cold and working toward warm, you keep the house liveable while the boxes pile up.

How do I pack fragile items so nothing breaks?

Wrap each fragile item in packing paper or bubble wrap, then cushion the box itself with crumpled paper at the bottom and around the sides so nothing can shift in transit. Use sturdy boxes and resist the urge to overfill them, because an overpacked box is the one that splits or crushes its contents. Stand plates on their edge rather than stacking them flat, put the heavy things at the bottom and the lighter things on top, and write FRAGILE clearly on the outside so it is handled with care. For genuinely tricky pieces such as pianos, antiques or marble, the safest route is proper specialist handling rather than a standard box, which is exactly what our specialist removals is for.

What should you not pack in boxes?

There are two kinds of thing to keep out of the boxes. The first is anything removers cannot legally or safely carry: flammables, gas bottles, paints, aerosols, garden chemicals and anything else hazardous all have to be dealt with separately rather than loaded into the van. The second is the things you should keep with you, not buried in a carton: documents, keys, medication, chargers, valuables, and a small moving-day essentials bag that gets you through the first night. If you are unsure what falls into the no-go category, our guide to what removal companies won't move sets it out in full. Sorting these two piles early saves a lot of last-minute scrambling.

What should I do while the removers are packing?

The most useful thing you can do is stay nearby and available, so the crew can ask quick questions instead of stopping to find you. Point out anything precious or anything marked do not pack before they reach it, and keep the walkways and your essentials box clear so the loading runs smoothly. It helps to keep children and pets out from underfoot too, and to carry your own valuables yourself rather than handing them over. Beyond that, let the crew get on with it, that is what they are there for. With our small in-house crew the same people survey, pack and unload, so there is no handover to a stranger halfway through the day.