flat++

[reddragdiva]

Got the nice flat in Walthamstow we wanted!

(So damn, blast and bugger with hot pokers the wastes of skin we dealt with on Saturday ...)

Currently negotiating move with owner (who is moving out over the next few days) with a view to getting in there on Saturday and/or Sunday.

So. I would like your tips on moving. Tell me all about moving a small but unwieldy quantity of stuff across Lahndahn.

(Not much stuff, but a few items - 6'×6'6" mattress, 28" telly, stand for telly - are annoyingly unwieldy. So it's probably van time. Also, I think my licence is valid here, but I have no experience of driving in London and consider this would not be the ideal opportunity to gain it.)

If there is a housewarming, it will be after Whitby.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

6'x6'6" mattress, 28" telly, stand for telly

... fookin' 'evy Sun monitors ...

Suggestions on how to move:

• Man with van (and you), or van with two men. Full-on removals firm doesn't sound necessary.
  
• Mates with hired van. Mate able and willing to drive van, a significant advantage. Mates can be bribed with beer, a really good dinner party later, your eternal love and devotion (oh, hang on, hasn't someone else goet that already?), or something else.
  
• Actual removal company, especially if you can find a cheap local one.
  

Additional points:

• Pack everything beforehand that will fit into boxes, into reasonable-size boxes, preferably of the same size.
  
• For random items, the boxes that lettuce and so on arrive in supermarkets in are ideal, because they are made to pack an item which cannot support weight on its own, so they are much stronger than (say) wine boxes which are built on the assumption that the bottles take some of the weight.
  
• Most supermarkets break down their cardboard immediately the box is emptied, on the shop floor. However, if you go around near shelf-filling-time and ask nicely, they will keep boxes unbroken for you, which helps.
  
• Seal all boxes that can be sealed with strong tape all round, not just a little bit on top (a real serious tape-gun is a useful purchase), because...
  
• Box must remain closed and contents unbroken if box is inverted. This helps the people loading a lot.
  
• Label boxes with destination location and "fragile" if unusually fragile. Label them with the contents if you have spare time and are anally-retentive.
  

When I last moved, I packed it all myself, then paid a local removal firm to load up a van, drive it up the road, and unload it. I obtained a significant discount on the usual rate by dint of mentioning that I work with one of their former employees. The amount of stuff I have now definitely exceeds what you can get your friends to do. However, I've been part of the van-and-friends method enough times to know it works if you get people who can pack and carry well.

Nicolai, bastard removal man in his spare time

[reddragdiva]

We have two awkward things: the mattress, the telly and the telly stand. Three awkward things! The mattress, the telly, the telly stand and the Sun monitor ...

(and thank you for the latter :-)

Might hire a trailer for leunnammi's car. We may actually be able to fit everything other than the mattress into the car. We really don't have much stuff here.

"Nicolai, bastard removal man in his spare time"

I used to drive a VW microbus. I have much experience in this field.