Removalists in Melbourne charge by the hour, so the single biggest thing you control on moving day is how ready the house is when the truck pulls up. A well-prepared three bedroom house can load in half the time of an identical one where boxes are still open and the shed has not been touched. This is what we would tell a friend who was moving in a few weeks.
Three weeks out: book the truck and decide what is actually going
Book as early as you can, especially if you are moving on a weekend or at the end of the month, when demand is heaviest. We work seven days a week, but Saturdays in the last week of the month fill first.
Before you book, walk the house and count the furniture, not the rooms. The number of bedrooms is a rough guide at best; a two bedroom house with a full garage can be a bigger job than a three bedroom unit. What we need to know is roughly how many boxes you expect, what the large items are, and whether anything needs special handling.
This is also the moment to be honest about what you are not taking. Every item you sell, give away or dispose of now is an item nobody pays to carry down a flight of stairs later.
Two weeks out: get boxes and start with the rooms you do not use
We are not a packing company — we do not pack your belongings into boxes, and we do not offer storage — but we do sell boxes and packing supplies in our shop, so you can get the materials and the truck from the same place.
Start with the rooms you will not miss for a fortnight: the linen cupboard, the spare room, books, out-of-season clothes, the garage. Leave the kitchen and the bedrooms until last.
Two habits make a real difference on the day. Write the destination room on the side of the box, not the top, because boxes get stacked. And keep boxes to a weight one person can carry comfortably — a box of books that needs two people slows everyone down and is more likely to fail at the bottom.
One week out: the jobs people forget
- Check the access at both ends. Where will the truck stand? Is there a permit zone, a clearway, or a tight corner? If you are moving into a block of flats, find out now whether the lift can be booked and whether there is a loading bay.
- Measure the difficult pieces. A sofa that came in through a now-removed sliding door, or a fridge against a narrow hallway, is better discovered a week early than on the morning.
- Arrange the utilities. Electricity, gas, internet and mail redirection all take longer than people expect.
- Empty and defrost the fridge and freezer. A fridge must travel upright and empty; a freezer that has not been defrosted will leak in the truck.
- Dismantle what you can. Bed frames, table legs and flat-pack shelving come apart faster at your own pace than on the clock. Keep the screws in a labelled bag taped to the frame.
- Tell us about anything heavy or awkward. A piano, a safe, a slate pool table or a full-height glass cabinet changes what we bring. Pianos have their own page — see piano removals.
The night before
Finish the kitchen, then pack one box you keep with you rather than on the truck: kettle, mugs, tea, phone chargers, toilet paper, hand soap, a towel each, medication, a change of clothes, and the tools you will need to put beds back together. It is the box everyone wishes they had packed.
Strip the beds, bag the bedding, and put the vacuum cleaner somewhere you can reach it at both ends. Charge your phone. If you have young children or a nervous pet, arranging for them to be somewhere else for the loading is kinder to everyone, including them.
Moving day itself
Be there when we arrive, and spend the first five minutes walking us through the house: what is going, what is staying, what is fragile, and which pieces come apart. Those five minutes save far more than they cost.
After that, the most useful thing you can do is stay out of the doorways and keep a path clear from the furthest room to the front door. Park your own car away from the loading space. If there is a lift, hold it. Boxes should be sealed and stacked by the door of each room, not scattered.
At the other end, stand where you can see the truck and direct boxes by room as they come off. Deciding where the couch goes while two people are holding it is the most expensive conversation of the day.
What we bring, and what we do not do
Furniture blankets, trolleys and straps come with the truck and are included — you are not charged extra for protecting your furniture. We are fully insured, and our hourly rates are upfront, with no hidden call-out fees. Our insurance page explains what that covers.
What we do not do is pack your belongings into boxes for you, store your furniture between moves, or move to Western Australia or overseas. Interstate, we run to New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia only.
What it costs, and how to get a quote
Rates are hourly and quoted upfront: a van and man from $40 per half hour, a 4.5 tonne truck with two movers from $55 per half hour, and a 6.5 tonne truck with two movers from $60 per half hour. Which one suits depends on volume and access rather than on the number of bedrooms, so it is worth a short conversation.
We have been moving Melbourne households since 2014, from our base at 7/85 Cooper Street, Campbellfield, and we are busiest across the northern suburbs — Reservoir, Preston, Coburg and Brunswick — though we work right across Melbourne and regional Victoria. For a full home move, see house removals; for a few items, see man with a van.
Call 0452 490 078, message us on WhatsApp or request a free quote.