Online packaging experts The Packaging Store are currently running a great discount code promotion that will help cut the cost of packaging – an essential part of any well-planned house move.

Here are the details:

• Save £15 on any order of £150 or more
• Discount code: PACK4SUMMER

Make sure you enter the discount code into the correct field on the shopping basket page and click “Submit Code” to get your discount.

This code cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount code.

Click here to visit The Packaging Store

If you’re moving house soon and are planning to do it yourself, then I’d like to offer you a few tips that should make your life easier and reduce the chances of any of your furniture or belongings getting damaged in transit.

These may sound stupid and obvious, but it’s surprising how many people get it wrong:

• Furniture won’t protect itself in the back of the van – it needs to be protected with blankets or it will get scratched
• Your back won’t thank you for too much heavy lifting – beg, borrow or steal a sack barrow so that you can avoid having to carry heavy boxes more than a few metres
• Don’t rely on gravity to stop your stuff moving around in the back of the van – get some cheap lashing straps and tie movable objects to the side or floor of the van (click here for tips on loading a van)
• Boxes of books weight a lot – use small boxes and make sure they are strong (so the bottom doesn’t fall out…)

You may be thinking that all of this is an extra cost – well, perhaps. The good news is that many rental companies (like Sixt) will lend/rent you the straps and sack barrow along with a van for just a few quid extra. Proper removals-strength boxes are also available surprisingly cheaply from companies like The Packaging Store.

It’s well worth spending a few quid and a little bit of time preparing and packing for your move properly – it’s what a removals company would do and it will almost certainly save you from damage, delays and unnecessary aches and pains!

If you’re planning to move house this summer we would suggest booking your hire van well in advance – you don’t want to end up with a van that’s too small or even no van at all when it comes to moving day.

If you are unsure what size van you will need, then have a look at our van size guide for some advice on sizes and what they’re most suitable for. As a general rule, if you’ve got much furniture then a Luton van is much easier to fit a lot of stuff in than a panel van. They are also available with tail lifts, which makes lifting heavy items in and out much safer and less back breaking…

As if to illustrate how important this is, I’ve recently had a spare part delivered for a piece of kitchen equipment. It was a flexible piece of metal that was easily bent but came wrapped in just a single sheet of bubble wrap and then put in one of those floppy plastic envelopes.

Needless to say, the first one I received was bent. I complained and was sent a second one – that was even more bent. I’ve now emailed the company concerned and told them to stop wasting their time and money – if they won’t package things properly, there isn’t much point in sending them to people. I’ll have to straighten out one of the ones I’ve got as best I can and make do with that.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. Our favoured packaging supplier is The Packaging Store, who make good quality packaging to suit all requirements – including packaging kits to suit house moves. The Packaging Store is currently running a series of discount codes that might be on interest to you if you need any packaging (remember, all orders qualify for free UK mainland delivery):

Spend £70 ex VAT & Save £5 – CODE: VANMAN (valid until 30/06/2010)
Spend £100 Ex VAT & Save £10 – CODE: MARCH10
Spend £150 Ex VAT & Save £15 – CODE: MARCH15
Spend £200 Ex VAT & Save £20 – CODE: MARCH20

As an additional bonus, The Packaging Store now provides free furniture bags with 2 bedroom house moving kit and 3-4 bedroom house moving kit.

Click here to visit The Packaging Store

If you are planning to move house soon, then you will be in need of a large amount of packaging (unless you’re paying removal company prices for someone else to do it all).

Although some people take the DIY/recycling approach to packaging, building up supplies of used cardboard boxes and old sheets of bubble wrap and newspaper, this is a frustrating a time-consuming way to go about it and, more importantly, may leave you with packaging that simply isn’t up to the job.

Not all cardboard boxes are create equal and some are much stronger than others. This is particularly important if you want to be able to stack them in your hire van when moving house – a bit like this:

Boxes need to be strong to be stacked safely - especially if they're heavy

We’ve teamed up with The Packaging Store to offer a great deal to all MyLocalVanHire.co.uk visitors – simply enter the discount code VANMAN when making your purchase and you will save £5 on purchases over £70 (ex. VAT). All UK delivery is free and they offer complete house-moving kits for different-sized houses – including boxes, bubble wrap and parcel tape.

Click here to visit The Packaging Store now

Kits are available to suit all sizes of houses, along with all the other packing accessories you’ll need – such as parcel tape, bubble wrap and much more.

Our packaging partner, The Packaging Store, is currently running a discount code for packaging customers. Spend more than £100 (exc. VAT) on packaging and you’ll receive a £10 discount – and remember that all orders are available with FREE standard delivery.

The discount code you need is BOXES and it is valid until 31st December 2009.

However, it’s not as difficult to protect and safely package your belongings as the removals industry would have you believe. In fact, it’s fairly simple, especially if you equip yourself with the right packaging materials, like those used by removals companies.

Strong, correctly-sized cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, parcel tape and furniture bags can make all the difference. Throw in a wardrobe box or two for suits, formal dresses and the like and you virtually have your own removals operation! Picture frame boxes will keep your pictures safe and speed up packing, as will bottle boxes for your wine and spirits.

Of course, it isn’t that simple, but it isn’t really that difficult, either. Preparation and planning really do make all the difference when moving house and you can save a lot of money over the cost of using a commercial removals company by doing the move for yourself.

To learn about different types of packaging, visit our packaging page.

For tips on planning and executing a masterful DIY house move, visit our DIY Removals page and download our free, A4-size guide to moving house for yourself.

Finally, to make sure you load your van successfully, take a look at our How To Load A Van page.