Preparing to Move House

Moving house can be a hectic and stressful time for anyone. The process can never be entirely stress-free but if you organise your move ahead of time you can certainly reduce stress of moving day.  It can help to get a few key tasks resolved even before you start packing boxes.

When moving house it can seem as if you hundreds of tasks that need to be done over the course of the move. One of the most important things to remember is that a lot of these tasks can be taken care of weeks before the actual move. Taking care of these tasks early will take the pressure off once moving day arrives, leaving you to take care of the important things instead of worrying about the details.

• If you are using a removals company try to book them as early as possible. This will allow you to book the most convenient day for you. This can be especially useful if you are planning on moving your non-essential items into the new property before you leave. Leaving this too late could mean that the company is booked up which can cause unnecessary hassle.
• It is smart to ensure sufficient access for the removal van at your new address. You can also arrange parking ahead of time if necessary. Removal companies can take care of this for you but are likely to charge.

While there is still time before the move you can still be taking care of simple tasks that you want have time for in the weeks to come. Many of these things can be done after the move or even during but it’s best to get these out of the way early.

• If you drive you can contact the DVLA and inform them of your change of address, this is required by law so isn’t something you want to forget.
• If necessary arrange any childcare or pet care for the day of the move.
• If you have children, making sure that school transport is organised from the new property or if you are moving further afield you will need to organise any school transfers
• You can also use this period to inform companies such as your bank or television provider of your address change and the date of your move.
• Remember to inform your local council of your move so they can update your detail on the electoral register allowing you to vote.
• Use this time to contact service companies such as your existing television or broadband provider. These can require pre-booking of installations so you may be able to pre-book your installation to reduce the waiting time. This can be especially important as you will need to check service availability at your new address.

As you get closer to the move date you can start to inform certain companies of your move. This is usually a time generally formalities such as redirecting mail or bills.

• Ensure all of your mail is appropriately forwarded to your new address. You might want to leave a forwarding address in the house for the new occupants so they can forward any undirected mail to you after you have moved out.
• You will also need to inform your local council of your new address in advance. This will allow them to stop charging you the day you move out and if necessary adjust your rate to the new property.
• Cancel or redirect any subscriptions such as newspapers or magazines to the new address. This can also be a good time to inform any services such as a gardener or cleaner of your move.
• Use this time to speak to your estate agent and organise when the keys for the new property will need to be available for and where the keys are to be left when you leave property.
• Organise your boxes into essential and non-essential groups. This will make your life much easier when you arrive in the new property as all of your essential items will be together.

There are some unavoidable tasks that must be left to the moving day, but being aware of them beforehand will help the process run smoothly.

• Make sure to take any necessary final meter reading for your utilities as this is easily forgotten on the day.
• Make sure to speak with the removers to discuss what items are to be taken and more importantly which are to be left.
• Be sure to lock the property and leave the keys in the location specified with your estate agent.

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