According to a professional mover, in surprisingly many places when the movers arrive, the lady of the house is sitting on the floor in despair because the packing is still far from finished, they’ve run out of boxes, and there is twice as much stuff as expected. Then, expensive men stand around idly and the bill keeps growing. So, that is a critical point: everything should be packed by the time the moving/carrying crew arrives.
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When I was younger, I worked as a mover. The absolute worst jobs were exactly the ones where the residents and their friends came to “help.” Everything took twice as long.
Just hire a moving company. They are professionals and do the same job twice as fast. Everyone wins. Moving is stressful enough for the resident as it is.
And those moving boxes from Niemi or similar companies make things so, so much easier and faster compared to plastic bags and banana boxes. And those boxes should be right there by the door waiting for the movers, as they always go into the truck first.
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Is there some automatic translation in use on the forum, as English is being translated into Finnish? It’s not turned on in my browser.
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Yep, it’s in use. Instructions on how it works are there. And blah blah blah (characters)
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I will definitely hire a moving company next time I have to move, which will be within the next 10 years. The thought of making the move stress-free in exchange for money is already a very pleasant idea. In general, I can’t even think of anyone I’d have the nerve to bother with a “moving party” in the future, and I don’t want to trouble anyone in my inner circle just because I decide to change apartments, especially since I never host housewarming parties anyway.
Before the upcoming move and my senior years, I should already start “death cleaning” in advance; I especially want to get the cellar space as empty as possible. What on earth am I doing with things I owned as a child and a teenager? The fact that they have sentimental value doesn’t mean they can’t be recycled. Maybe take a photo for a memory, and then it’s time to let go. I’ve already told my mother that she can come and throw the useless junk from the cellar into a trash bag while I watch from the sidelines, as I can’t bring myself to throw them away. 
I want to reduce the amount of stuff I own the closer I get to the crematorium furnace. I’ve seen more than enough from the sidelines how much useless junk people can accumulate in their corners, so I want to do things differently well in advance. After all, it’s nicer to move when your entire property fits into, say, one spacious van, and even at the end of life, less is more.
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Exactly. I’ve been involved in many moves and learned through them. I didn’t mention the pizzas and beers because they’re a given at the end. Good additions and perspectives.
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Proper moving boxes and a rental van definitely help. I don’t know what hiring a company would cost these days, but I’ll definitely consider it if I ever have to move again.
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So if my language is Finnish, but I make a post where a quoted sentence is in English, will it then translate it into Finnish for me? That makes no sense at all.
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Regarding these moves, having moved some stuff a couple of months ago, if you’re moving alone and the amount of items is moderate, reusable bags beat cardboard boxes 6-0. You have to put a box down on the ground at every door (the building’s front door, entering the elevator, and your own door); it’s slow and started to take a toll on my back after a couple of days. Compared to reusable bags, you can stack them on both shoulders, and you don’t have to put anything down to get through a door.
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I moved late last year and used a service that included a light truck and a driver who helped with the carrying (handled most of the loading). 30 minutes was allocated for each end, so we had to move things quite briskly, but there was enough time. The price was just over 200 euros. It was especially helpful not having to drive a large vehicle in the Helsinki inner city.
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I also strive to keep my storage spaces empty. If I ask myself “do I still need this?” regarding an item, I pass it on.
Excess material possessions eventually become a stress factor (a space hog—should you sell it, recycle it, or take it to the landfill?).
My annoyance with extra clutter also guides my consumption. I make sure to ask myself if a purchase is truly necessary.
I hate moving. I bought my current house in '07 and decided that I won’t move again unless I’m forced to. Meaning, when age-related issues become so severe that I have to move from the countryside closer to services.
My father-in-law is a hoarder (raised during times of scarcity), and we’re talking about several warehouses (he’s an entrepreneur). The family is already stressed about what will need to be done with them when he passes away.
@Cezeta, use professional services if possible; the relief that money can buy has a big impact here. At the same time, it is very good to do an inventory and ruthlessly throw away everything extra.
If you can organize a working bee (talkoot), then definitely do that as well. With a good group of people, it can even be quite pleasant.
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I’m probably different from most, but my wife and I have handled all our moves (I think there’s been six in the last 15 years) just the two of us. There’s no one getting in the way; I carry the heavy stuff myself, and my wife helps out as much as she can. It’s fast and cheap. We haven’t even considered divorce yet. 
It would feel really weird to pay someone to do that day’s work for me and charge a fortune for it.
Of course, my wife is a 160cm, 50kg bundle of muscle, so she basically counts as a small forklift. 
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I’ve done all my moves myself up until now, and fortunately, there are now some sturdy young guys in the family and among close relatives who’ll handle the job for the price of a pizza. What stresses me out the most is the outdoor storage, which is full from floor to ceiling with stuff that’s just been shoved in there over the last 20 years. I don’t know who would have the energy to go through it all.
Buying trivial items has dropped to practically zero, replaced by aggressive stock purchases—a very satisfying trade-off.
I also often ask myself more than three times if I really need something, and I might ponder a purchase decision for weeks, months, or even years, depending on the price and the urgency of the need. Since I even tactically chose a 37-square-meter apartment to minimize living expenses, I don’t buy anything extra for that reason either—it wouldn’t even fit anywhere. I am eventually moving from this compact one-bedroom to a larger 45–55 square meter one, but the amount of stuff I own will continue to decrease regardless.
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Moving day beers. 
I remember once during a move back in the day with roommates, when I woke up in the apartment the next morning, I didn’t even remember that we had moved. I was puzzled by the different room, but my stuff was still there.
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I am a paper hand.
e: I intentionally wrote beautifully in German, so the forum’s AI automatically translated it into Finnish. Silly feature!
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A takeover bid for Salzgitter was made in the autumn of 2024 at around 18–19 euros, but it didn’t gain any traction. That’s why I thought that buying at those prices could be a fun cyclical bet on the economy. But this really remained purely theoretical as the stock only briefly visited those levels.
Now it’s at 50 euros.
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This is probably the biggest reason for most people to hire a moving company: I don’t think most people have a C-license or better, which entitles them to drive a truck. With the experience of a couple of dozen moves, I know that otherwise, you could handle the job yourself, but vans are just hopelessly too small even with a reasonable amount of stuff.
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It’s not exactly cheap; in my experience, you can probably budget about one month’s rent for a few hours of work, at least if you use Niemi or other similar professional companies.
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Most people likely understand that as humor, but in case anyone doesn’t, I didn’t actually write that, and I certainly didn’t go and do anything like that.
I am very satisfied with my laggards.
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