Moving house can be a stressful logistical nightmare but, if you plan ahead, you can make your big move a walk in the park. Let's get cracking on how to make moving day stress-free and easy.
From clever moving house packing tips which will make sure everything fits, to smart moves which will save you money on removals, you'll find it all in our bumper moving house list. Let's get packing!
1. Pack before you estimate
First up on our moving house list: don't give your removals company an estimate before you have an accurate idea of how much stuff you need to schlep. It's easy to look around a room and think: “Hmm...about 5 boxes?”, it's less easy to pay up for additional charges when it turns out you have much more stuff than you expected. If you can bear living out of boxes for a couple of weeks, do your best to pack up most of your stuff before you give an estimate. This will make your quote more accurate and spare you any unexpected last minute charges.
2. Box everything. Yes, everything
You might think that some items don't need boxing up. Especially if they're awkwardly shaped or easy to throw on top of a pile of boxes. This is the wrong approach. Boxing all of your gear up will help you keep organised, ensure you don't lose anything, save your removals guys from having to deal with random bits and bobs (which will make you their least favourite person, we promise you) and protect your possessions from getting beaten up en route.
3. Get ahead of the game by disassembling furniture
Moving day is stressful enough without finding yourself on your hands and knees underneath your 3 seater sofa with a screwdriver. One good house moving tip is to prepare for moving day by disassembling any bulky furniture which won't fit out of the door ahead of time. This will save you a lot of stress, keeping your move on schedule and your doorway unjammed!
If you want to be really organised, why not pop your pre-prepared parts in storage to keep them safely out of the way on moving day, then come back for a second batch when you're ready to handle those trickier bits?
4. Be ready
It might sound like one of the simpler moving house packing tips on our list, but you'd be surprised by how many people are totally unprepared for moving day.
Save your removals team time and yourself stress and money by making sure you're all ready to go – with no little extras to sort out – on moving day itself.
5. Don't move useless items
Before you've even started putting things in boxes, it's time to a have a great big appraisal of everything you own. Do you really need this, do you really want that, will anyone ever use that duck-shaped teapot you inherited from Aunt Aileen?
Throw out anything useless, then put anything you don't want but could sell in a separate box. Popping these “to sell” items and boxes in storage will make sure you don't have to deal with useless nonsense on moving day, and help you earn a little money after your move once you get on eBay!
6. Think logistically
Before you talk to your removals firm or jump in your rented van gung ho, take some time to really look at the logistics of your move. Is there anything obstructing your way out of your property? At the other end, are there any potential logistical problems at the new place? From narrow, walled driveways to having only one key for the new property, there are all sorts of problems which can surprise you and turn your move into a nightmare. Prepare for them properly by casing the joint before you hit the road.
7. Make use of self storage
After all that packing, moving and unpacking, arriving at the new place to an ocean of boxes can be overwhelming. A good moving house tip is to move in bit by bit. Hiring a self storage unit can take a lot of the stress out of moving in.
Decide which boxes and items are essential and pack them off to the new property. Then put the rest in self storage and pick up a few boxes each time you clear more space in your new home. This step by step approach also makes it easy for you to do your move yourself, with no need for professional movers.
8. Clean up before you move in
When you arrive at the new place, chances are it's going to look a little grubby.
You can save yourself this nightmare by talking to the seller or the landlord and arranging to get it cleaned before you move in, either professionally or by your own fair hands. This will make moving day much less stressful and save you that sinking feeling when you finally arrive with all your boxes.
9. Label your boxes
To save confusion and hassle, it pays to label your boxes properly. Include the room they should end up in and a description of what's inside. Follow these handy moving house packing tips and you should enjoy a relatively smooth and stressless moving day! Good luck!
Originally posted 03/07/2015 by Holly of Easystore Self Storage, who provide self storage facilities in Cardiff and Bridgend, South Wales. Follow us on Twitter: @easystore_uk
Your Move Press Office communication.
