Movers have always made a big thing of the importance of professional packing, but until now perhaps, ‘professional unpacking’ has never been given the same attention to detail as to how this company does it.

To help plug the gap in the market, Debra Jennings and Michelle Harley have started a new company to provide ‘unpacking and home staging’ services for customers of relocation and removal companies.  The service will particularly appeal to busy mums, who really don’t have time to sort out the home after the movers have left; corporate executives, for whom time is money; and elderly people who would find unpacking to be a chore.

The company is called Abode Bespoke Home Organisers.  It provides a service, in which experienced, professional women help customers to set up their homes after the movers have unpacked to surfaces. “Right from the start we were adamant that this was going to be a female-led team,” said Michelle. “We wanted to encourage mature women, who enjoy home organising and interior styling and have been out of the workforce for some time to come back in to work on a flexible part-time basis.” All the team are self-employed but are trained by Michelle and Debra to set up homes in an organised and aesthetically pleasing way.

Debra and Michelle launched the new business in January 2020, which they acknowledge was not a great time to start out. “We survived the few first months by concentrating on the ‘concierge’ side of the business,” said Debra. She had made a career out of working with ultra-high net worth clients, including politicians, business executives, sports stars and ‘A’ list celebrities, to run households and manage their properties and private staff.   It was when Michelle was providing private PA services for one of her clients that the two met and decided to set up in business together.

Their previous careers had meant that both ladies had worked closely with removal companies, so it wasn’t long before they were working with some of the industry’s leading movers and relocation companies.

The company offers much more than just unpacking. “We offer bespoke packages to manage clients’ house moves and can undertake tasks such as arranging parking permits, organising move-day child/pet care, and completely setting up your new home by unpacking all your boxes and arranging your personal items perfectly,” said Michelle. “You wouldn’t even have to take the day off work.  At the end of the day, you can arrive at your new home with linens placed on beds, groceries unpacked and champagne on ice!”

Abode is an experienced, professional team of ladies who, having succeeded in the South East, are now rolling out their services both nationally and internationally.

Abode charges £650 per day for the White Glove service and £400 for a half day.  For large moves they can supply multiple teams to work together if required.  They want to encourage moving companies to offer the service to their customers as an important and useful value-added service.  Any moving company interested in finding out more should visit their bespoke home and unpacking services websites.