Moving house doesn’t have to be stressful. Follow our simple steps and check off our easy tips – you’ll be sorted in no time. After all, this is supposed to be exciting!
First and foremost: Declutter
You’ll thank us later. There’s no point in spending days packing up all your belongings to realise that you don’t even want half of it. As a rule of thumb, dispose of any items that you haven’t used in two years. Take broken or useless stuff to the tip and sell worthy items on Gumtree for a bit of extra cash. Club the whole family together to sweep the house top to bottom, armed with bin bags. Be ruthless! When it comes to actually packing, the whole process will be a lot easier.
Second: Prepare your materials
An entire house worth of stuff is not going to fit into your holiday suitcases. Stock up on cardboard boxes in the run-up to your move – ask around at local supermarkets as they usually give away boxes for free. You’ll also need things like a tape gun and marker pens for securing and labelling your boxes! Oh yeah, while we’re on that topic, please don’t forget to label your boxes whilst packing. It will make things SO much easier when you get to your new home. A good idea is to note what items are in the box and which room they’ve come from.
Next up: Get packing
Once you’ve got all the resources ready, it’s time to get cracking. Start with rooms that don’t really get used as often such as the spare bedroom and the garage. Alternatively, pack any room you like first but just keep our ‘key’ items that you really can’t live without. Wall hangings, trinkets and DVDs can probably be put away from the living room, but maybe leave out your TV remote!
Top tip: Survival box
You can thank us later for this one! Put together a see-through plastic box of essential items that you’ll definitely need on your first night in the new house. This should include cutlery, phone chargers, box cutters, kettle and tea making stuff, and bin bags.
Be extra organized!
These next tips are for the more obsessive planners. Take a photograph of the back of your TV so you can remember where all the wires come and go from. Also, create an inventory of all your items (if you really have the time and inclination) so that nothing gets lost in transit. Alternatively, you could assign a room to each family member so that everyone can chip in making lists and looking after items. If you’re on your own this will be tougher, but you’ll also probably have less stuff to cart over!
Moving day
You could kindly ask friends and family to lend their car boots for a day or two. However, don’t be afraid to call in the professionals. Hiring a ‘man in a van’ for the day can often take away some of the stress and make moving just as exciting as it should be! If you decide to go all out and use a removal company, they’ll usually provide you with boxes. However, bear in mind the extra cost this will incur.
If your moving-out day comes before your moving-in day, you may have to utilise local storage companies. Get a quote early on and ensure that you have a place to stay whilst you’re waiting for your new keys. Some good Chester storage companies include Storage King and Big Yellow!
Prepare for the new address
Redirect your mail with the Royal Mail for a small fee and alert doctors and banks of your address change. This is an obvious one but can sometimes be left until it’s too late and you miss out on important documents!
