Remember these packing tips

There are several things you can do to make a move less stressful for everyone involved.

• Disassemble your flat-pack furniture. "Your flat-pack furniture isn't built to last — or be moved. It can fall apart at the slightest provocation," Don't take the risk. Packing it down will hugely increase the odds of being able to use it again.

• Empty your drawers. "Empty your stuff — carrying a chest full of drawers that wasn't even made to be moved empty is dangerous."

• Don't water your pot plants the day before moving. "Plants are really heavy when they're full of water."

• Tape your boxes on both sides. "When you're trying to stack stuff in the truck, it helps."

• Use similar sized boxes where you can. It makes stacking easier.

• Don't recycle boxes that are too worn. "Sometimes you'll be on a move carrying someone's china in a shoebox and it just disintegrates in your hand."

• Be clear about what needs to be moved. Often people have things they plan to throw out or sell online by the time they need to move, but it doesn't happen in time. "That can mean an increase in cost, or the removalists might not even have the right truck to move that amount of stuff,".

• Disassemble and assemble baby cots. "Things like baby cots shouldn't be touched by removalists because without instructions, it can cause problems later on."

• Highlight fragile goods. "If you have anything you want looked after carefully, tell the removalist about it when they do their walkaround."

• Don't give a removalist valuables. "That includes documents like passports — you don't want to be in situation where they get lost."