A complete guide to packing for a move

People underestimate this every time. As a working figure, allow roughly 15 to 20 medium boxes per bedroom for an average home, plus a couple of wardrobe boxes per person for hanging clothes and a few small, strong boxes for books.

Order more than you think you need. Running out mid-kitchen is what causes overloaded boxes, and an overloaded box is what splits when it is lifted. Our quote tool includes a box estimator based on the rooms and items you select, so you get a number rather than a guess.

Start three to four weeks out with the rooms you barely touch: loft, garage, shed, spare room, formal dining pieces. Every box packed early is one less thing done in a panic the night before.

Work room by room and never mix rooms in a single box. Unpacking is far quicker when every box belongs to exactly one destination, and the crew can put boxes straight into the correct room instead of stacking everything in the hall.

Double-walled boxes, proper packing tape and plain paper cost very little and prevent almost all self-inflicted damage. Newspaper transfers ink onto china and cheap parcel tape lets go under load, so both are false economies.

Tape the base of every box along the seam and across it, and fill any gap at the top with paper or soft items so the box can be stacked without collapsing.

Plates travel on their edge, not stacked flat — they are far stronger that way. Glasses are wrapped individually and packed upright, with paper between them and a padded layer above and below. Nothing should move when the box is gently shaken.

Televisions and monitors ideally go back in their original cartons; if those are gone, they are wrapped, corner-protected and carried screen-inward, never laid flat under other items. Photograph the back of complex setups before you unplug anything.

Write the destination room and a one-line summary of the contents on the top and at least one side of every box. Side labels matter because boxes get stacked, and a top-only label becomes invisible.

Keep a numbered list if you are moving in stages or using storage. It takes ten minutes and turns 'which box is the router in?' into a two-second question.

Two separate lists here: things that should not go in the lorry, and things that cannot go in the lorry. Keep documents, valuables, medication, keys and anything you need on day one with you personally.

Hazardous items cannot be carried by any removals firm. Use up or dispose of aerosols, paint, fuel, gas bottles, fireworks and open liquids before moving day, and drain fuel from mowers and strimmers.

A trained pair will pack a three-bedroom house in a day using materials they have, in the order the load needs to be built. If you are working full time, moving at short notice, downsizing a family home or dealing with a lot of china, glass and artwork, that day is usually the best money in the whole move.

Partial packing is the middle ground people forget: we do the kitchen, the fragile items and the loft, you do clothes, books and toys. It is also worth knowing that items we pack are covered by our insurance on the same basis as everything else we handle.