Decide how much of it you are actually doing
Before anything else, settle one question: which parts of this move are you doing, and which are you paying someone to do? Everything downstream — the budget, the timeline, the insurance position — follows from that answer, and most of the confusion around removals comes from people never quite deciding.
There are four realistic options.
Do everything yourself. Hire a van, recruit friends, pack and carry it all. Cheapest on paper. The real cost is fuel, van hire and insurance excess, congestion and ULEZ charges where they apply, equipment such as trolleys and blankets, two days of your own time, and the risk of injury or damage with nobody insured to cover it.
Man and van. A driver and vehicle by the hour, with the crew doing the carrying. Right for a studio, a single room, or a few large items. Wrong for a whole house, where hourly billing across multiple trips usually overtakes a fixed price. Our guide to how a man and van booking works covers where the line falls.
Part-packed removal. The crew packs the kitchen and anything fragile; you do the books, clothes and linen. This is the option most people should consider and rarely do. The kitchen is the slowest room in any house to pack properly, and fragile items are where the insurance question bites.
Full service. Survey, packing, dismantling, loading, transport, unloading, reassembly. The most expensive and the least demanding of your time, and the only version where the firm is responsible for how everything was packed.
What each option costs you in time
Money is the obvious axis. Time is the one people underestimate.
Packing a three-bedroom house yourself is realistically three to five evenings and a weekend, spread across a fortnight. A professional crew does the same house in a day or two, because they do it constantly and are not stopping to reminisce over photographs.
If you are working full time, moving with children, or already dealing with something difficult, that difference is the whole decision. There is no prize for exhaustion.
Getting quotes you can actually compare
Three quotes, all based on a proper survey, in person or by video. A quote produced from a web form is a guess that changes on the day.
Compare on the things that differ, not the headline:
- Crew size and hours allocated. Two firms quoting the same price may be sending very different numbers of people.
- What is included. Packing, materials, dismantling, reassembly, VAT, and any storage.
- Insurance. Goods in Transit limits and, importantly, the exclusions. Self-packed boxes are commonly excluded, which changes the maths on packing it yourself.
- What happens if the date slips. Chains move. Ask before it matters.
On negotiating, which the removals trade is quieter about than it should be. Asking for a discount rarely achieves much. What works is changing the job:
- Move midweek and mid-month. Fridays, month ends and bank holidays are the premium slots.
- Reduce the volume. Less to move is less to pay for, and it is the only lever that reduces the real cost rather than the margin.
- Take something out of scope. Ask what the price would be without packing materials, or with you doing the dismantling.
- Be flexible on timing. A firm with a gap in its diary may price a job differently from one being asked for a specific Friday in July.
Comparing three like-for-like quotes also gives you a genuine reference point, which is worth more in a conversation than asking for money off.
Materials: buy, order, or included
Three ways to get boxes and wrapping, and the cost differs less than people expect.
Buying from a shop is usually the most expensive per box and involves carrying them home. Ordering from your removals firm means delivery to your door and, often, a lower price when materials are part of a booked job. Some full-service moves include them entirely.
Our own packing shop delivers boxes, bubble wrap, wardrobe cartons, mattress covers and tape. Whichever route you take, buy proper double-walled boxes rather than collecting supermarket cartons, which have already carried something heavy and split at the wrong moment. Our practical packing guide covers the technique.
You can book storage on its own
Worth knowing, because plenty of people assume otherwise: storage does not require you to book the removal with the same firm, and a removal does not oblige you to use their storage.
Storage earns its place in three situations. The old property must be emptied before the new one is ready. The new place is smaller and some things have no home yet. Or work is happening before you properly move in.
Container storage collected from your address avoids the depot trip a walk-in unit requires. Allow a few working days' notice for a return delivery rather than assuming same-day access.
Managing the day itself
Whatever mix you have chosen, three things make the day work.
One decision-maker. Somebody on site who can answer questions immediately. A crew waiting for a decision is a crew being paid to wait, and on hourly work you are paying for the pause.
An inventory. Especially if anything is going into storage or across more than one vehicle. It is the only way to know afterwards whether everything arrived.
Being genuinely ready. Packed, labelled by destination room, boxes stacked in one place, route clear, parking sorted. Preparation is the cheapest thing you can buy.
The moving house checklist sets out the full sequence, and two weeks to go covers the final fortnight.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to move yourself or hire a removal company? Doing it yourself is cheaper in cash terms for a small load, once you count van hire, fuel, insurance excess, congestion and ULEZ charges and your own time. For a whole house, a professional crew is often comparable and considerably faster, with insurance behind it.
Should I pack myself or pay for packing? Packing yourself saves money but is commonly excluded from transit insurance, so anything damaged in a box you packed may not be claimable. A part-packed job, where the crew handles the kitchen and fragile items, is a sensible middle option.
How many removal quotes should I get? Three, all based on a survey so you are comparing the same job. Look at crew size, hours, inclusions and insurance rather than the headline figure.
Can you negotiate with a removal company? Sometimes, but changing the job works better than asking for a discount. Moving midweek and mid-month, reducing volume, or removing something from the scope all shift the price legitimately.
Can I book storage without using the same company for the removal? Yes. Storage and removals can be booked separately, though using one firm for both means a single point of contact and one insurance arrangement.
How long does packing a house take? A three-bedroom house takes most people three to five evenings plus a weekend, spread over a fortnight. A professional crew typically packs the same house in one or two days.
How we can help
RMV Storage & Removals has run moves across London for over fifteen years from our base in Enfield, with house and office removals, man and van work, full or partial packing, materials delivered, and container storage delivered to your door, across every area we cover including Enfield and North London.
Tell us what you would rather not do yourself and we will price it that way. Get in touch with your dates and postcodes.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published March 2016. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.