Glassware, books and loft boxes: what packing saves in a Manchester move

In a flat, packing is about the carry. Everything has to go down a lift or stairs and along a corridor, so well-packed boxes of an even size move far faster than loose bags and odd items. Kitchen glass, plates and pictures are wrapped, books go in small boxes so they can be lifted, and a mill apartment in Ancoats or a block in Castlefield is cleared box by box to the lift.

In the bigger houses of Didsbury, Withington and Chorlton, the volume is the issue. A Victorian villa or a Chorltonville semi can have a cellar, a loft and a garage full of years of things, and that is where packing a day ahead pays. The driver packs the fragile and the heavy, you keep out what you need for the last night, and the move day starts with every box sealed and labelled.

How a Manchester packing day runs

Sort what is going before the packing starts, so nothing goes in a box only to be thrown out later
Set aside a box of what you need on the first night: kettle, mugs, chargers, bedding
Point out anything fragile or valuable, so it is wrapped first and travels on top
Leave out what you are taking by car, such as documents, medicines and jewellery
Tell us the floor and lift at the new address, so boxes are labelled for the right room

Manchester homes where packing makes the most difference

Ancoats and the Northern Quarterflats where every box goes down a lift or stair
Didsbury and West DidsburyVictorian villas and big flats with cellars and high shelves
ChorltonChorltonville semis and Edge Lane houses with lofts and garages
Levenshulmeterraces with narrow stairs, where even boxes carry easiest
Victoria Parklarge villas, many split into flats

Packed and moved: Manchester routes

Bradford → Manchester39 miles by the M62, 60 to 80 minutes, before packing starts
Didsbury → Chorltona villa to a semi, along Barlow Moor Road
Manchester → Londonthe M56, M6 and M1, about 200 miles, for a long move

Rooms, materials and the day before: Manchester packing prices

How many rooms there are, how much of it is fragile, the boxes and wrap needed and whether packing is the day before or the morning of the move set the price, fixed in advance. See how we quote for the full breakdown.