Packing Tips for a Glasgow Flat Move: Room by Room

Packing is where a move is won or lost. A well-packed flat loads in half the time, arrives without breakages and unpacks in an evening. A badly packed one is bin bags splitting on the landing and a box of plates that sounds like a wind chime. After years of loading Glasgow flats we have seen both, so here is what works.

Get the boxes right

Use proper double-walled moving boxes. Supermarket boxes are fine for light items but they are all different sizes, which makes stacking in the van harder and less stable.

Box	Typical size	Use it for	Do not use it for
Small (book box)	35 x 35 x 35 cm	Books, tins, records, tools, crockery	Nothing light, it is a waste
Medium	45 x 45 x 45 cm	Kitchenware, toys, shoes, folded clothes	Books (too heavy to lift)
Large	60 x 45 x 45 cm	Bedding, cushions, lampshades, plastics	Anything heavy
Wardrobe box	Tall with a rail	Hanging clothes straight from the wardrobe
Picture box	Flat, adjustable	Framed pictures, mirrors, TV screens

Rule of thumb: if you cannot lift the box comfortably on your own, it is packed wrong. Heavy items go in small boxes.

Budget for more boxes than you think. A one-bed flat usually needs 20 to 30 boxes, a two-bed 40 to 60. We can supply them, or you can pick them up from local shops and online marketplaces in the weeks before.

A labelling system that works

Every box gets:

• The room at the new address (not the old one)
• A one-line description: "kitchen, pans and baking trays"
• A number, matched to a list on your phone
• FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP where it matters

Write on two sides and the top so the label is visible whichever way the box is stacked. Coloured tape per room is a nice extra, and it makes unloading much faster when the crew can see at a glance that green means bedroom.

What not to pack

Some things should travel with you, not in the van:

• Passports, birth certificates, tenancy agreements, the paperwork for both properties
• Cash, jewellery, small valuables
• Medication
• Laptops and hard drives
• Keys for the old and new flat
• Pets and anything they need

And some things we cannot carry at all: paint, gas canisters, petrol, aerosols in bulk, fireworks and open bottles of liquid. Use them up, give them away or take them to the recycling centre.

Room by room

Kitchen

The kitchen takes longest, so start it a week out and leave only the essentials to the last day.

• Wrap every plate individually in packing paper, stack them on their edge like records, and fill gaps with scrunched paper. Plates on edge survive; plates flat crack.
• Glasses go upright, each wrapped, with paper between the rows.
• Cutlery in a tea towel, rolled and tied.
• Knives wrapped in cardboard and taped, labelled clearly.
• Pans nested with paper between them, lids separate.
• Tins and jars in small boxes only.
• Empty and defrost the fridge and freezer at least 24 hours before. Tape the doors shut for the journey, or better, tape them slightly open once they are in the van so they do not smell.
• Washing machine: disconnect hoses, drain them, and fit the transit bolts if you still have them. If you do not, tell us so we can secure the drum.

Living room

• TVs go in the original box if you kept it. If not, a picture box or a duvet folded round the screen with cardboard on the front works. Screen facing inwards in the van, never flat.
• Photograph the back of the TV and any speaker set-up before unplugging so reconnecting is easy.
• Books in small boxes, spines down.
• Lamps: shades in a large box on their own, bases wrapped.
• Sofas and armchairs get wrapped by the crew on the day. Remove loose cushions and bag them.

Bedrooms

• Wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes are worth every penny. Straight in, straight out.
• Folded clothes can stay in drawers if the drawers come out, or go in medium boxes or strong bin bags labelled clearly.
• Bedding and pillows in large boxes or vacuum bags. Keep one set aside for the first night.
• Mattresses go in a mattress bag. Glasgow weather makes this essential, not optional.
• Dismantle the bed frame the night before, fixings in a labelled bag taped to the headboard.

Bathroom

• Toiletries in a sealed plastic bag inside the box, lids taped.
• Towels wrapped round anything fragile from other rooms.
• Keep a bag with the things you need on the first morning.

Hall cupboard, loft and everything else

• The hall cupboard is where the odd items live: hoover, ironing board, tools, Christmas decorations. Pack these early because you rarely need them.
• Bikes: pedals off, bars turned, or ask us to carry them as they are.
• Plants travel last on and first off, in open boxes, and honestly, Glasgow winters are not kind to them in an unheated van.

Fragile items

• Wrap first, then box, then fill every gap. A fragile item that can move inside the box will break.
• Mark the box on all sides.
• Tell the crew. We load fragile boxes last and on top.
• For genuinely valuable or sentimental items, take them in your own car.

Wet-weather packing

Glasgow moves are frequently damp. A few habits that help:

• Mattress and sofa bags, always.
• Tape every box fully closed. Cardboard soaks water through the joins.
• Put a runner or old towels inside the flat door so nobody tracks rain across the floors.
• Keep the van doors shut between loads.
• Do not stack boxes on wet pavements while waiting for the van.
• If a box does get wet, unpack it first at the other end.

When to book packing help

Doing it yourself is fine if you have the time and the flat is small. Consider a packing service if:

• You are working full-time up to the day before
• The kitchen is large or full of glassware
• You are moving with young children
• You have a lot of framed art, mirrors or ornaments
• You want the crew to take responsibility for breakages inside the boxes

A partial pack, where we do the kitchen and the fragile items and you do the rest, is the most popular option for a flat move and keeps the cost sensible.

Need a hand?

Whether you want boxes delivered, the kitchen packed or the whole flat done, request a quote and tell us how much help you want. Or call Peter on 07481 469221 and we will sort it out over the phone.