The most work that you do during a removal will likely be the packing. This process may not be the most strenuous in terms of physicality, but the sheer amount of stuff that needs sorting through can often be a real challenge when it comes to ensuring that everything is put away properly. The packing is the last barrier between your items and damage, as once those boxes are taped up and put in to the hands of the removals team, you will not have any more control over them. Whilst your removals team will treat them well of course, there is only a certain amount of cotton wool treatment that the removers can give your packages, and this is simply because they have a job to do. For the removal to go smoothly, the van needs to be packed quickly and efficiently, and this means a certain amount of rough handling when it comes to boxes and furniture alike. The removals team will expect that the packing has been done to a standard where this handling is not a problem, so you better be sure that you have done it right, or you may well find a few broken bits and pieces when it comes to unpacking! For a start, you need to ensure that you have enough time in which to get the job done properly. The most common issue that people have with packing is that they feel like they are running out of time, and therefore need to do the job more quickly, which inevitably means that they take less care over the job. Start your planning for the removal a good couple of months in advance of the removal date, so that you are completely on top of everything, and you should find that you have enough time to get everything done properly. Planning applies to the packing process as well. Some people feel like the packing is almost part of the planning, in the lead up to the removal day itself, but in reality, the packing needs to be planned in order to ensure that you don’t pack things up before they are finished with, and so that everything is done in time.Ensuring that you have the right tools and materials is essential as well, as it will mean that you are never impeded by having to go out and get new materials! Nothing is going to make you less likely to pack than running out of boxes or tape, so ensure that you are well equipped! Get hold of bubble wrap, newspaper, tape, boxes, markers and anything else that you can think of, so that everything is sorted through, packed and labelled properly. Labeling is a big part of the process as well, and will have a great bearing over the fate of your items. You will no doubt understand that boxes need to be marked with ‘fragile’ and ‘heavy’ if they are, but even better is to put a rough inventory of the contents on the outside, to ensure that things are easily found in the event that you need them. This will also help with the unpacking process, alongside naming the box with the room that it is destined for. If you have your removals team depositing your boxes in the right rooms when you arrive, then the unpacking is going to be a lot simpler overall...