What to Keep in Mind When You’re Moving House
Moving house signifies a new adventure: new home, new neighbourhood, new address. But it can also signify a lot of stress and confusion regarding the logistics of moving and packing up a whole home. With careful planning (and deep breathing exercises), you can have a more effective and efficient move, even with a family in tow! Take a look at our tips below for some ideas on making your move easier.
Plan and Delegate
If you’re moving on your own, this one is pretty easy, unless you’re recruiting a few friends to help you on moving day. But if you’re moving a larger household or family, it’s important to plan ahead and make a timeline up to the moving day, so everyone knows what they need to do, including you.
Ideally, everyone should pack their own bedroom as this saves a lot of time, but young kids might need help from parents or older siblings. Mark on your timelines when you will do various other moving-related tasks such as booking removalists or trucks, paying the last bills, checking the new house and changing your address officially.
Cleaning Out and Packing Up
Start to pack well in advance of your moving date. Most homes have plenty of non-essential items that can be packed early, like bookcases and kitchen cupboards, that are good for getting out of the way and not leaving until the last minute. Buying some moving boxes and having them in the house is a great way to get this started, and having plenty of time to pack means you can take it slowly. Remember, packing boxes cost money, and getting started early means you can assess how many you need as you go along, rather than having to buy a whole bunch at the last minute and getting too much, or worse, too little.
The moving house also presents a great opportunity to get rid of a whole lot of stuff you don’t use, want or need, so do take the opportunity to get rid of any excess items you have lying about. More cleaning and minimising of the things you have means less you have to move, which all adds up to saved time, money and effort in the long run.
Removalist or DIY?
If you’re a single person or just a couple moving a short distance with little belongings, you can probably pull the move off yourself or with the help of some friends (bonus, if one of those friends has a truck, they’re willing to loan you!). But good removalists are an essential aspect of your move for a family or a household with a lot of heavy furniture they want to move.
Be sure to take care when picking your removalists, especially if you’re moving a long distance or with delicate items. Anyone can drive a removals truck, but few can do it well!
Preparing the New Place
Checking up on your new place before you move in is important to ensure that everything is the way you expected it to be, and that you’ll be able to move in without any hitches. Getting your new place thoroughly and professionally cleaned (if it hasn’t been by the previous owners) is an important step to ensure all old dust, dirt and stains from the house are removed before you fix your furniture in.
This creates a more beautiful and clean environment for you to come into, but it’s also healthier, removing any traces of old dust mites, pet dander, or previous occupants’ debris.
The Practical Stuff
A week or so before you move, make sure you take care of updating your new address with the mailman, the electoral office, and friends and family. Make sure your mail will be redirected to your new address if it is accidentally sent to your old address.
If you find mail addressed to the previous occupants, don’t open it or throw it away. The best idea is to write ‘Return to Sender, not known at this address on the envelope and pop it back in the mail.
These tips will help you keep in mind some essential information you need coming up to the big step of moving house, to make a move smoother and easier.
