Packers are happy people. I admire them. They are organised, tidy, and unwavering. They arrive at nine, pack till eleven, have a break, pack till one, have a break, pack till three, have a break, then pack till five.

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They label computer flexes, pack curtain hooks in little boxes and place them right beside the relevant curtains. If a paperclip is found at the bottom of a junk mug in my kitchen, it will arrive at my destination marked 'paper clip: kitchen'. The only mess in my house at the moment is the mess I have created, in my efforts to 'sort'. This is what I sorted yesterday for them to pack today.

This is how they packed yesterday:

And when, bleary-eyed, my autopilot took me to the exercise bike this morning, this is what I found.

But I rather like the minimalist look they leave behind them:

And we are finding innovative ways to make the house still look - and feel - like a lived-in home.