unsure if this is the right place for this question.

How much stuff did you take to Canada in removals?

We are planning ahead and trying to decide what we will take. I have read the wiki on electricals so we know that the majority of those will have to be replaced on arrival.
But what about other stuff. furniture, cutlery, pictures, ornaments, you know the kind of things we tend to get rather attached to....

also any recommended removals firms here in Blighty that will do a good job??

thanks in advance

We have just had several quotes from different companies. Pickfords was very professional and the man worked out whilst there what size container we needed. Someone on here did a survey on the different companies that people have used and I think they came out top with regard to customer satisfaction. I also thought their prices were good too. Most people say take everything - why go to the bother and extra expense with the poor exchange rate of having to replace what youv'e already got. My thought. FWIW

Guess a lot depends on what you want to bring with you. We knew a lot of our furniture needed replacing so decided to get rid of all and only bring boxes which we packed ourselves and discussed with a local company and they worked cost out on cubic feet and 7 weeks later stuff arrived in Canada

You'll get loads of different opinions on this one but here's my thoughts

We ended up leaving most of our furniture as it was all pretty cheap stuff that we'd had for many many years, plus we had some friends who needed/wanted to buy it all so it worked out well.

But we did take pretty much everything else, apart from electricals. All those useful kitchen odds and ends, cutlery, tupperware etc. You'll likely not get much for them if you try and sell them, but it'll cost you a lot to replace them all once you get here and you'll forever be cursing yourself that you miss your favourite potato peeler or whatever!

Once here, we bought really amazing quality second hand furniture through Kijiji. We now have mostly sold wood furniture which cost us a lot less than it would have been to ship our chipboard stuff over.

It all depends on the quality/cost of what you currently have I guess and well as how emotionally attached you are to your 'stuff'.

It's certainly a good incentive for having a good clearout! You'll be amazed what other people will buy, whether it be through an ad in the local paper, car boot sale, send your friends a list of everything you have for sale, have a leaving party a month beforehand with a list on the door of what's still for sale etc.

Yes, I agree, it all depends on the individual and whether the furniture you already have is decent or past it and whether cheap or expensive.

We opted to bring just about everything with us and was glad we did. Like someone else mentioned, you can buy decent second hand furniture on Kijiji. We bought some extra stuff from there (our house here is a lot bigger than our UK one so we needed more furniture). However, I think to buy new furniture here can be quite expensive. There is of course always Ikea for the cheaper end of the market too.

Again, it's all the little bits and pieces that make your home yours; all your personal items as it were. Worthless to someone else but mean a lot to you. Also, like someone else said, you wouldn't make much money selling all your kitchen bits and bobs but it would cost you a lot to replace them all.

That said, we were quite ruthless in getting rid of the "junk" before we moved - stuff that we just didn't use anyway or bits the kids had got too old for. We too drew up the list for friends and family but also sold the majority on Ebay and a couple of car boot sales.

We knew we would have a lot of expense when we first moved what with a new house, new cars and having replace all the electrical items etc etc so didn't want to have to spend more than was necesssary on buying new furniture.

Something I hadn't realised before moving over (and don't quote me on this as I don't know if this is a general thing to our area or country wide etc) but when you buy a house, the seller is under a duy to leave 5 appliances. This is what our realtor told us. So, when we moved in, they had left the cooker, dishwasher, microwave, fridge freezer and another undercounter fridge in the basement.

Also, if you bring beds with you, the bedding sizes are different. For example, a UK single duvet cover is too small for a Canadian single duvet. Just make sure you've got enough covers etc!

So far as removal companies are concerned, just make sure you get several quotes as we found the quotes we were given varied greatly, as much as GBP2,000! We were moving from Surrey and went with a company called Whites who are based in Bournemouth. If they cover your area, I would certainly recommend them. We found them very efficient and had no problems whatsoever.

Anyway, all the best in whatever you choose to do.