There are a couple of key steps you must take before allowing your removalists to collect the belongings you've asked them to take to your new home. Carry on reading to find out exactly what these steps involve.
Prep your appliances
If you have several large appliances that the removalists will be transporting for you, then you may need to prep these items before they're taken away. For example, you should check that there are no forgotten washed loads of laundry in the washing machine, as leaving these damp garments in the drum of this appliance for the length of time it takes the removalists to collect and transport your things will result in these items getting mouldy and stinking to high heaven by the time your washing machine is set up in the new kitchen.
Additionally, make sure that you fully defrost your freezer. Although the idea of skipping this dull task might be tempting, leaving lots of ice to melt in the unplugged freezer whilst this appliance is in the removalists' van could lead to the freezer leaking water all over the van interior or, if the seal of the door is watertight, it could lead to water flooding out of this appliance when you open it after it is delivered.
You might also want to remove the glass turntable from your microwave and package it separately, in bubble wrap, as if it is left in the microwave whilst the removalists are transporting it in their van, the vehicle's vibrations and other motions might cause this glass item to shatter, which would then leave you with a big mess to clean up before you could use the microwave in the new property.
Put sticky notes on your items that specify any important handling instructions the removalists might need
If you own certain items that need to be handled in a particular way by the removalists, then you should jot down the handling instructions on some sticky notes and place these notes on the items in question. For example, if you have a very large mirror and you want the removalists to wear gloves when they carry it so that it doesn't get covered in fingerprints and smudges that you will then have to wipe off, you should put this on a sticky note and attach this to the mirror. Likewise, if you don't want your sofa positioned vertically, on its side, in the removalists' van because the arms of this furniture are fragile and might break under this pressure, you should jot this down on a sticky note.
Sticking these little notes onto specific items will mean that you won't have to follow the removalists around whilst they work and give them instructions every time they try to pick up another item. Similarly, they won't have to spend any time wandering through your house searching for you because they don't know how you want them to handle a particular object.