Throw away your rubbish and separate items that can be given to friends or charity shops. Get boxes well in advance from local shops or supermarkets, and save newspapers for wrapping breakables. For more advice, take a look at our packing tips article.

DIY removals
If you're moving your belongings yourself, start by hiring the right van - too small and you may need to make a few journeys, too big and you may have problems parking. It's often cheaper to book vans on weekdays. But if you move at the weekends you may be able to make the most of special two-day hire rates.

Professional removal companies
Unless you have very few possessions, call in the professionals to help you move house. It will relieve some of the stress of the big move. You can arrange for it all to be done for you, and pay for the privilege, or you can do the packing yourself but leave the heavy stuff to the experts.

Checklist
hire a removal company at least two weeks before you move, get at least three quotes before deciding which one to use, check if the company offers a discount on a weekday, check the fine print in your moving insurance, make a list of your possessions so you can check if you've left anything behind

It will help if you let the company know the following things:
the amount of furniture you're moving, so it can choose an adequately sized truck and plan the number of journeys needed between your old and new home, a rough guess of how many boxes the company needs to pack, so it can estimate how long it will take, the exact time you want the team to arrive, clear instructions and directions to your new property, arrange a parking space for the removal van, always tell the removal firm well in advance of pieces of furniture which won't go through the door. Make a plan of where the furniture needs to go in your new home.