Tips For Moving House

You've done it! You have built your beautiful new home, now comes the hard part: preparing for moving day! Sure, it's an exciting time, but what seems like a straightforward job at first can quickly turn into a logistics nightmare, with a lot more sweat and tears than you bargained for.

With that in mind, here are some of our top moving house tips to help you tackle the Herculean task and become a moving-day hero!

The Planning Stage

First things first, before you can get started, remember to transfer your utilities like gas and electricity to your new home and inform your service providers of your new address. Establishing your new internet connection often comes with a long waiting period so try to have that scheduled as far in advance as possible.

You will also need to decide whether or not you want to book a moving company. Though these services can sometimes be costly, consider how much time and physical labour you will save, and how feasible it will be to take care of the furniture removal yourself.

Create A System

Like any BIG task, things get easier once you break it down into several smaller, more manageable tasks; this is why creating a system that everyone can follow is so helpful. If everyone's on the same page, you will be operating with factory-efficiency in no time! You can use whatever system works best for you, but we recommend sticking to the following advice.

Declutter

Moving house is also an excellent opportunity to go through everything you own - and discover everything you forgot you owned - so be prepared to channel your inner Marie Kondo and do some serious decluttering. As you are packing, sort your belongings into three categories: keep, donate and throw away. When you are making decisions, remember that everything you decide to keep you will also have to pack, lift and move, so it pays to be ruthless.

Create An Essentials Kit

While the actual move will ideally only take a day, the unpacking stage can often take a little (or a lot) longer; this is why you should always pack a separate bag with everything you might immediately need in it, i.e., toilet paper, bedding, electric chargers. Otherwise, trying to find what you need could be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Label Everything

And we mean everything! It may seem like a waste of time while you are packing, but when it comes time to unpack, labeling boxes will save your life - letting you know where everything is and where it needs to go.

The key to great labels is all in the details, so be specific. It's no good merely writing 'books' on a box if you are a family of readers, where each family member prefers to store their books in their bedroom. Similarly, it's helpful to write the room you want the box to go in if you are hiring professional movers to assist you. This way you can avoid any confusion and double handling. An example of an effective label might be "John’s books - left rear bedroom."

Pack Room By Room

Once again, everything gets easier once you break it down into manageable portions. Start with the smaller rooms of your home, one at a time, like bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. Don't stop until the entire place is done. It's also a good idea to start packing the fiddly things first, like cutlery and crockery, before moving onto the larger objects.

General Packing Tips

• Make sure you start to acquire packing materials at least one week before you start.
• Always pack lighter items on top of heavy ones - that's a no-brainer!
• Try to acquire a range of cardboard boxes, from small to large. Though it's always best to keep items together, if you put heavy items like books all together in a large box, moving boxes will quickly become too heavy and slow the whole process down.
• Bubble-wrap breakables.
• Use plastic wrap on delicate furniture and larger objects in cardboard or old blankets.
• If possible, keep your clothes on their hangers to save you from re-hanging them.
• Have everything packed and ready to go BEFORE the actual moving day.
• Try colour coding packed boxes with smaller items to simplify the unpacking process.

Keep The Kids Happy

Let's face it; moving is inherently stressful and tiring. Which is why keeping the kids happy during the move is an essential part of the process. Start by planning activities or games for them to play while they are packing and unpacking to keep them on task and entertained. When all else fails, try a reward system for completed tasks or finished rooms.

We know, moving is a struggle, but once you are done, you will have a brand-new home to enjoy.

What more motivation do you need?