Moving homes is an exciting yet stressful time in most people’s lives. They always say that moving house with your partner is one of the most stressful things you will do as a couple, but we think differently. If you have a solid plan and each person has their own job, it’s difficult to get in people’s way and get stressed with one another. When moving out, there are some great tips out there that we will share with you so that you can move home with a lot less stress than people make it out to be. Follow these tips and you won’t have any issues.
Pick a reliable removal firm in plenty of time
Once you have had the “all clear” to move, it’s essential to have already booked your removal company in time. If you are moving on the weekend, or over a bank or school holiday, you are going to struggle as this is when everyone moves. Having this book in plenty of time ensures that you don’t get caught out.
Removal companies are not the easiest things to organise and book as it’s hard to find a reputable and professional company. At the end of the day, they will be handling all of your possessions, so you want them to be looked after carefully at an affordable price. Look for reputable customer reviews and see if they are happy to give you a free valuation. This will ensure that you have the correct van size and number of team members on your move day.
Declutter in advance
One of the first things you want to be doing when moving home is to declutter the house of anything unwanted or unnecessary as this will save you a lot of time when it comes to moving and reduce your stress levels. Donate, recycle or bin anything that you don’t need or want. Look at it in this way, the more you get rid of, the smaller van you will need which will in turn save you money. There is no point transiting something and spending money if you are going to throw it away in the new home.
Make A List
Just to save you from saying it yourself, you Are going to forget things and you will stress out if you don’t make a list. Making a list helps to relieve stress and allows you to think straight about what you need to do and the time frame for that task. You may have only just had your offer accepted, but if you start making a list now, there will obviously be things that you will remember closer to the time, so it’s definitely worth making a list prior to moving.
Start A Packing Plan Early
Just like when you make your list, start creating a packing plan early on so you have plenty of time to get everything sorted stress free. It always takes longer than you first thought to pack all of your possessions, but if you do this as early as possible, you will find moving day is much easier and faster. When doing this, you will also have a lot less clutter from your decluttering, so the best way to start is by packing away the room that you use the least. Once you have packed away your least used room, you then have a room so you can put all of your packed boxes in that room.
Once you have packed, not label your boxes accordingly with the room it needs to end up in as well as a short summary of the stuff in there. For example, if you have plates and cutlery in a box, you could put “kitchen – plates+cutlery” Not overpacking your boxes are essential as they will fall apart, but instead use small boxes for heavy and big or light. If you have any luxury homeware, it is best to pack it individually as you will not want anything bashing around in the van or any other boxes.
Think about what you can’t move
It is important to speak to your removal company about what you can or can’t transport. Chances are, you will not be able to put anything in the moving van like hazardous materials, plants with soil, tins of paint and anything else that can cause a mess in the back. These items don’t need to be thrown away, instead, you can donate, give to charity, or you could take it in your own vehicle.
It is important to think about the mover’s safety when packing. Not only do you need to think about how heavy the boxes are, but whether there are any unsafe items that are packed away safely. An example of this would be garden tools or DIY tools and kitchen knives etc. Ensure all are packed away safely so nobody gets hurt.
Deal with all of your paperwork
If you are organised, you probably have all of this together in one place. But for those who don’t, ensure that you have all of your important documents in one box or folder. This includes stuff like your passports, insurance documents, house deeds, wills and any other important documents that you have. This box or folder should then be placed somewhere that you can’t lose it. For everything that you can make copies of, it is best to do this and pop them on a USB drive or store them on your computer. If you have not cancelled or changed your mail service, then redirect your posts for now, and then you can start changing them when you have some spare time.
Organise Utilities
It’s all too easy when moving house to have forgotten to take your last metre reading, but to make things easier, go and take a picture of it the day of your move out. Sign up for your new broadband provider before you move so that it is all set up prior to you moving in, this is the same for your gas, electric and water. If you aren’t staying with the same providers, it is important to call your providers and tell them that you are moving home and have sold the house. By doing this, you will be able to account for any bills you need to pay.
Moving house is an exciting time and if you follow these steps, you will find that moving is much easier and faster. The whole issue with people moving and getting stressed is the fact that people don’t plan and they certainly don’t pack early on. If you want a stress-free move, pack and plan in plenty of time.