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Packing services can take on the rooms you have no time to prepare, the belongings you are unsure how to protect, or most of the packing for a house move. The useful starting point is to decide what you need help with and turn that decision into a clear list. “Please pack everything” can leave important questions unanswered.
For a London flat or house move, this guide helps you choose between doing the packing yourself, requesting help with selected items and arranging a fuller service. It focuses on dividing the work before booking. For practical box-by-box preparation, use our packing checklist for moving house.
Choose the packing help around your actual workload
Walk through the property with a notebook before deciding. Include the cupboards, shelves and stored belongings that are easy to miss in a photograph of a tidy room. Note which contents you are comfortable packing, what you want assistance with and what will stay with you.
- Self-packing: you prepare the agreed belongings before collection. This needs enough time, suitable materials and a realistic plan for the final evening.
- Partial packing: you request help with a defined group, such as kitchen contents or selected delicate pieces, and prepare the rest yourself. Ask the provider to confirm that the proposed arrangement is available.
- Fuller packing help: you ask the provider to prepare most of the agreed household contents. Confirm the exclusions, materials and preparation you still need to complete.
The best choice may vary by room. Someone who can readily box clothes and bedding might still want help with a display cabinet. Conversely, a small flat can contain many loose belongings even when the furniture list is short.
Create a room-by-room responsibility list
Give every room three headings: “I will pack”, “please quote to pack” and “do not pack”. Be specific enough that someone visiting for the first time can follow the list.
For example, a kitchen note might ask for a quote to pack the contents of the wall cupboards, while you take responsibility for food and everyday items. Mark a separate overnight bag as travelling with you. This is a planning example, not a standard package or an assumption about what a provider will accept.
If another household member changes the plan, update the same list. Avoid leaving one set of instructions in a message and a different version beside the boxes.
Confirm what packing services include
When choosing a moving company with packing service, ask for the work to be described separately from the transport. Use these questions to close the gaps:
- Which rooms, cupboards and individual items will be packed?
- Who supplies boxes and protective materials, and are these included in the quotation?
- Will packing happen before moving day or as part of the collection visit?
- What must you sort, empty or prepare before the team arrives?
- Are unpacking and taking away used materials included, optional or unavailable?
Ask separately about dismantling furniture and preparing appliances. These are different jobs from putting household contents into boxes. Identify unusual or delicate items in advance and let the provider explain any assessment or specialist arrangements required.
Plan the handover in a London flat
Confirm access for the packing visit as well as for the removal itself. If packing takes place on an earlier day, arrange entry and any building permissions for that visit too. Share relevant concierge instructions and ask where materials can be brought in and temporarily placed.
Agree a clear area for completed boxes so everyday access through the home remains usable. In a compact flat, decide which room should be finished first and what needs to remain accessible until departure. Do not leave the packing team to guess which cupboard contains your last-night essentials.
Before work starts, show the team your responsibility list and the belongings excluded from packing. Keep keys, documents and personal essentials you need with you in a clearly separate place.
Check the plan before accepting the quotation
Compare the same scope when weighing self-packing against paid help. Count the materials you would need to buy and the time you can realistically make available. A partial service only works well if you can finish your share before the agreed collection time.
Keep the final packing list with the quotation. If you add a room or change the inventory, request an update before the visit. Our moving budget worksheet helps you record separate packing expenses without counting an included service twice.
Discuss packing help for your move
See JP Man & Van’s packing services and storage information, then send your packing requirements or call 07925405549. Include your moving date, postcodes, room list and photographs of the items you want help with, so the proposed work and materials can be discussed before booking.