They say that moving house is the most stressful thing we will ever do in life. It’s right up there with divorce! As someone who has moved house more than a few times, I can vouch for how stressful it is. It seems to get harder and harder every time too. Before our last move, I made a conscious decision to make things easier. In this post, I’ll share my tricks and techniques with you. Selling your home is hard enough, let’s make moving easy! Just think about how wonderful it will be to settle in after all that hard work.
- Start early – It’s simple advice, yet it astounds me that people still leave it until the last minute! In the weeks before you move, start packing up the non-essential items. You can live with a few boxes around for a week, and slowly pack a little more every night. It gets rid of the mad rush on the night before, and gives you time to prepare. Make an inventory list if you’re worried about losing things!
- Keep your movers in the loop – If you’re hiring professional movers, keep them in the loop from day one. Make sure you coordinate the exact times so there’s no miscommunication. If possible, let them visit your house in advance so they can see the access routes. They can also take note of any difficult or heavy items. I also like to send them a picture and map of the new place. That way, they can make a plan for parking and access ahead of time.
- Use the opportunity to purge – Moving day is the perfect time to purge your house of all the clutter. Everyone has items that build up over time, and we hate to throw them away. However, time to be ruthless! Use this opportunity to throw things away that you don’t need. I like to use the eighteen month rule. If you haven’t used it for eighteen months (and it doesn’t have any sentimental value) get rid of it!
- Label everything – There’s nothing worse than getting to the other end, and realising you haven’t labelled anything. Nightmare! When you pack everything away, mark it with a simple label that reminds you what’s inside. Another good trick is using a colour code to identify what room the box will go to. Every little simple trick helps here, folks!
- Prepare a moving kit – You’ll always need a few essentials with you on moving day, so prepare a moving kit. This should include some snacks for the kids, cleaning supplies, toilet roll, a change of clothes etc. Anything you think you might need on moving day, keep it handy.
- Set everything up at the other end. – Try to make sure all the essentials are sorted at the new house. In other words, make sure the water and electricity are working. Get the internet set up in advance. That way, there’s no overlap.
That’s all for now, folks! Let me know if you have any handy moving day tricks.
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