How little can we bring?

Clothes, documents, a laptop, some books and a few personal things. On a furnished let that is frequently a small van rather than a removals vehicle.

Should we ship a bed?

Almost never into furnished accommodation on a short stay. It is the largest item that most commonly should not have travelled, and the reasoning behind it is always understandable.

Where should the rest be stored?

At home rather than in London, in a planned hold with a written inventory, not in a unit taken out in a hurry.

Why does the inventory matter so much?

Because if the stay extends, the decision about what to bring is made from a document rather than from memory. Memory after a year is not a reliable guide to a storage unit.

Should we buy furniture here?

As little as possible. A furnished let needs very little, and everything bought becomes a hurried decision in the last week before you leave.

What if it turns out not to be short?

Act on the first extension rather than the last. That is the single most useful sentence on this site.

A short stay · A

A short stay

Under a year, almost always into something furnished. The move itself is small; the decision about everything you are not bringing is the part that actually matters and the part nobody plans.

The most expensive short-stay move is the one that was packed as though it were permanent.

What a short-horizon move involves

A small shipment Clothes, documents, a laptop, books, a few personal things.

A planned hold Everything else, listed properly rather than shoved into a unit.

A written inventory Which is what lets you decide later on facts rather than memory.

A review date Agreed at the outset, so an extension triggers a decision.

Advice on what not to ship Beds, white goods and bulky furniture, mostly.

A return plan Sketched now, because a short stay always has an end.

What should actually come

Clothes for the season and the one after it. Documents. A laptop and whatever you work on. Some books. And two or three things that turn a rented room into somewhere you live, which matters more than people expect on a short stay.

That is a car boot or a small van, not a removals lorry, and it is frequently the right answer for somebody who has been quoted for a household.

The bed, which is the usual mistake

People ship beds into furnished flats constantly. It is the single largest item that almost never should have travelled, and the reasoning behind it is always the same and always understandable: you sleep better on your own mattress.

On a stay of this length it is rarely worth two journeys, two handlings and the space it occupies at both ends. It is worth saying out loud because nobody else will.

Where the rest goes

Into a planned hold rather than a unit taken out in a hurry. The difference is the inventory: goods listed as they are loaded, by the people loading them, at the property.

That list is the entire point. If the stay extends, the decision about what to bring over is made from a document rather than from memory, and memory after a year is not a reliable guide to a storage unit.

And set a review date

The moment a short stay extends for the first time, something should be decided. Left alone, the hold quietly becomes structural and the charges outrun what is being held.

It costs nothing to agree a date now and it prevents the commonest and most expensive horizon error in London.

A short stay

Questions about a short stay

How little can we bring?: Clothes, documents, a laptop, some books and a few personal things. On a furnished let that is frequently a small van rather than a removals vehicle.
Should we ship a bed?: Almost never into furnished accommodation on a short stay. It is the largest item that most commonly should not have travelled, and the reasoning behind it is always understandable.
Where should the rest be stored?: At home rather than in London, in a planned hold with a written inventory, not in a unit taken out in a hurry.
Why does the inventory matter so much?: Because if the stay extends, the decision about what to bring is made from a document rather than from memory. Memory after a year is not a reliable guide to a storage unit.
Should we buy furniture here?: As little as possible. A furnished let needs very little, and everything bought becomes a hurried decision in the last week before you leave.
What if it turns out not to be short?: Act on the first extension rather than the last. That is the single most useful sentence on this site.

How long are you staying?

Both addresses, roughly what is going, and how long you expect to be here. A rough answer is enough — the boundaries between horizons are soft and the advice barely changes within one.

Get a quote Ask what to bring