Packing is the part of a move you can either do yourself or pay for. Whether paying is worth it comes down to a few things you can check now, before you book anything.
This guide helps you decide. If you already know you want help, see our packing services in London.
The short answer
- Worth it if you're short of time, have a lot of glass, china or artwork, live up several flights of stairs, or want to walk into a home that's already unpacked.
- Probably not worth it if you have weeks to spare, not much that's fragile, and somewhere to stack boxes as you fill them.
- Somewhere in between if it's mainly the breakables that worry you: ask about help with those and do the rest yourself.
What you'd actually be paying for
With our packing service, our team wraps every item in specialist materials, labels every box, and unpacks everything in your new home to your floor plan. It's an add-on to your move, not a separate job, and it's priced with the move.
On our packing services page, a full pack and unpack starts from £245 and premium fragile care from £125. Both are quoted separately and confirmed in writing before moving day, with the rest of your move.
Five questions that decide it
1. How much time do you really have?
Count the evenings and weekends between now and moving day, then take off the ones already spoken for: work, children, handing over the keys, cleaning the old place. Packing is the job that gets squeezed when time runs out, and a half-packed home on the morning of the move slows everything down.
2. How much is fragile?
Kitchens, glassware, mirrors, framed pictures and anything you couldn't replace take care and time to pack well. If that's a lot of your home, help with the fragile part may be where paying makes the most difference.
3. Can the van keep loading without a break?
London streets don't give a removal van unlimited time at the kerb. In Islington, for example, the council's free moving-day parking for a branded removal vehicle applies only if "loading is continuous (without a break)", and its general loading rule is "up to 40 minutes" (Islington Council, as published on 2 November 2026). Other boroughs set their own rules.
If every box is packed and sealed before the van arrives, loading is the only job left. If the crew has to wait while the last cupboards are emptied, the van sits at the kerb for longer.
4. How many stairs are there?
A lot of north London homes are period houses split into flats, with shared stairs and no lift. Every box goes down by hand, so it needs to be the right weight, properly sealed and labelled. Our guide to moving out of a flat conversion covers what to measure before your assessment.
5. Is there a gap between homes?
If your completion dates don't line up, your belongings may go into storage first. With our storage, items are packed, collected, stored and redelivered when you're ready, so it's worth planning the packing and the storage together.
Three ways to split the work
| You want | The option that fits | |---|---| | Everything done for you, both ends | Full packing service, with unpacking to your floor plan | | Most help with the breakables | Premium fragile care, quoted separately (ask at your assessment) | | To pack yourself, but properly | Packing materials delivered to your door |
If you pack yourself, we deliver the same double-ply boxes, bubble wrap, shrink wrap and packing paper our teams use. On our packing materials page, bundles run from £22 for a studio or a few items to £70 for a home with four or more bedrooms.
Big furniture is a separate question from packing. Beds and wardrobes that won't fit down the stairs whole are handled by dismantling and assembly.
When it's probably not worth it
- A small flat and plenty of notice. A studio or one-bedroom flat with a few weeks to go is often manageable on your own.
- Not much that breaks. If most of what you own is clothes, books and soft furnishings, packing it yourself costs time rather than risk.
- You want to sort as you pack. Deciding what to keep, sell or give away is a job only you can do, and it's easier while you're handling everything anyway.
If you pack it yourself
- Use proper boxes. Sturdy double-ply boxes, like the ones we deliver, rather than whatever's to hand.
- Keep boxes liftable. Books and tins in small boxes, light things in big ones.
- Label the top and one side with the room it's going to, so it's readable when stacked.
- Keep an essentials box with you: chargers, medication, the kettle, documents and keys.
- Tell us about anything high-value or fragile in advance, so we can advise. Whoever you book, it's fair to ask how items you've packed yourself are treated if something breaks.
Getting a packing price
Every house removal starts with a free inventory assessment of your home, done digitally or in person. Tell us which rooms you'd like packed, what's fragile and whether you want unpacking at the other end, and we'll include it in your quote. Your price is confirmed in writing before moving day, and nothing is added on the day without your agreement.
See our packing services in London · House removals in London · Contact us · or call 020 3545 1192.