Short practical pieces about packing, timing and the small jobs people forget, put together by the men and women lifting the boxes.
Your quote within one working day
A personal price from the oldest moving company in Haarlem.
Feitsma has been carrying furniture in and out of Dutch homes since 1927, and we have done it more than 50,000 times. These guides are the part of the job that happens before the van pulls up: which boxes hold their shape, how to pack a plate so it survives the ride, and what to sort out six weeks ahead rather than on the morning itself.
They are written for people moving here from abroad as much as for anyone else. A Dutch staircase is steeper and narrower than most newcomers expect, which is why a wardrobe often leaves through the window on a moving lift instead of round the turn of the stairs. The weight limits we quote come from the Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, the Dutch labour inspectorate, and they are the reason our packers stop at 15 to 20 kilos a box even though the cardboard would take 40.
None of this asks you to book anything. Every crew that turns up at your door speaks English, so if a guide leaves you with a question, put it to the movers on the day.
Written by Maarten Honnebier, owner of Feitsma Verhuizingen.
Six weeks out you cancel contracts, two weeks out you label rooms, and the night before you set aside a bag holding kettle, chargers and keys. It also covers what people forget: start defrosting the freezer two days ahead, and photograph the meter readings the moment you arrive.
Read moreSupermarket cartons split at the worst possible moment, so here is what to look for in a decent box and roughly how many you will need. Count on 16 to 20 boxes per person, packed heavy at the bottom, a layer of paper in between and every gap filled until nothing shifts.
Read moreGlasses stand upright, plates travel on their edge and paper goes between every layer, which is most of what breakages come down to. The four mistakes our movers meet most often are a box packed too heavy, plates stacked flat, gaps left open and the kitchen packed too early.
Read moreA full crate of paperbacks weighs far more than it looks, so use the smallest boxes you have and lay the spines flat against the base. A small box of paperbacks already comes to around 15 kilos, closer to 22 with hardcovers, which is why books never go into a large one.
Read moreEvery guide above stops where the work begins. These are the English pages that pick it up, whether you want the whole job taken off your hands or only the lift outside the window.
The packing guides assume somebody else does the carrying. We load, drive, carry and put the furniture back together, and you decide how much of the packing you hand over.
Read moreThe advice about not wrestling a wardrobe down a Dutch staircase has a practical answer. The lift reaches the eighth floor, takes 400 kilos and goes in through a window or a balcony, with one of our people on the controls.
Read moreWhen the two key dates refuse to line up, the boxes you packed wait in our heated warehouse on the Izaäk Enschedéweg in Haarlem and come back out on the date you name.
Read moreNo box count in a guide beats somebody standing in your living room. An adviser walks through every room with you in about twenty minutes and counts what is really going along.
Read moreDownsizing to a smaller flat or a care apartment takes more patience than a straight move, so the crew unpacks, hangs the curtains and makes up the bed before leaving.
Read moreAn office or a shop is emptied and set up again so staff can start work the next morning, against an inventory list that is agreed and signed in advance.
Read moreOur depot stands on the Izaäk Enschedéweg, so a Haarlem job usually begins with a van that is already parked round the corner from you.
Read moreTell us where you are moving from and to, and you receive a written price within one working day, setting out the hours, the crew size and the materials.
Read more
