My tips for moving house- check lists

My tips for moving house- check lists

If like me you are planning on moving house soon, and having a stress about everything that needs to be done, I have come up with a to do list- I have lists for everything- that will hopefully take some of the stress out of the situation. I seem to move quite often so making moving as stress free as possible is pretty crucial, I have done a couple of posts about moving before if you wanted to have a look, my home improvements post is probably more useful 🙂

 

My tips and tricks to save on stress (in theory):

 

Before the move

-Set the date/s of the move, work out how long it will take to transfer your belongings from one place to another and allow yourself plenty of time. If it’s something you will stress over make sure you clear your schedule- take time off work, maybe even take an extra day so you can unpack without so many time restraints.

-Organise internet and phone line in your new home, you can usually do this in advance and it will take a few weeks to set up so if you don’t want to be without internet in your first month I’d organise it before you move.

-There’s also the mundane adult things like looking into the best energy providers, starting setting up for your move, cancelling current bills if necessary or just changing address with your current companies.

-Boxes, lots and lots of boxes, a sharpie pen so you can label said boxes, bubble wrap to protect all your breakables, and to help unpacking on the other end of the journey I would pack per room and where possible in order of how likely you are to need it, maybe pack a box per room of the things you’ll need within the first couple of days.

I always try to keep cleaning equipment, toilet roll, soap and a hand towel handy on moving day. Might be an idea to also keep out your wash bag and a towel as moving is a sweaty task and feeling clean always helps me to relax after a long day.

-Labels! Label the boxes, label cables, chargers, get come colour coding going, assign each room and/or person a different colour, the more organised the packing is the easier the unpacking will be.

-If you’re moving to student accommodation or somewhere temporary that doesn’t have the space for all of your things have a look into storage rooms or sell some of the things you haven’t used/worn for a while, websites/apps like Shpock and Ebay or Facebook for sale pages are useful for quicker sales.

-If you have a lot of furniture or just too much to pack into cars look into hiring a removal van, with or without a driver, moving everything in one go can be a HUGE help.

-Another good way to lessen the stress is to have a removal team with you rather than just yourself or you and one other person. Hire a professional moving team or get a group of friends/family who are available and willing to help, sort this out in advance so you know how many people you have, offering payment in kind or food usually encourages helpers 😉

-If you have children I can imagine moving is even more stressful, depending on their age it can be fun to involve them, if they’re too young though or you have pets maybe get someone to look after them while you move so you don’t have to juggle everything and worry about them getting under your feet or getting hurt by falling boxes or anything, maybe get someone to take them to a park for a few hours, let them play and get rid of some of their energy while you’re doing all the hard work.

 

The Move

-Make sure you’re in comfy clothes and wearing a lots of deodorant. It’s going to be a long day!

-Clean the cupboards, sideboards, bathroom, hoover the floors get everything clean and tidy before you start unloading so the place is ready for the overhaul of boxes to come in. Make sure you leave your old home clean and tidy too.

-Initially just pick somewhere to dump things, if you have colour coded rooms you can sort those but it might be better for you to just put everything all together in one space and then sort things out from there- depends how your mind works I guess 🙂

-Whether you are using a professional moving team, have the help of your nearest and dearest or going solo snack breaks are always a good way to break up the day. It gives you a chance to step back and have a breather. Maybe go out for lunch and/or dinner, relax and then get back to the grind of it all.

-Meter readings and finish setting up electric, gas and water bills. Get your council tax sorted and make sure all your standing orders and direct debits are sorted for all bills, rent/mortgage payments etc. to avoid missed payments or confusion later on.

-RELAX! After a whole day of transporting your things, cleaning everything and feeling exhausted no matter how many breaks you’ve had, the last thing I would want to think about is having to cook, especially if I’m hosting people who have helped out.

  • order a takeaway, sit on the sofa (or floor if you haven’t got your seating yet), put on a film and crack open a bottle of your favourite tipple.
  • Enjoy your afternoon/evening, you don’t have to unpack everything in the first day.
  • If this is your home why not plan out possible ideas while stuffing your face? Think about decorations, painting etc I love getting creative and thinking of new ideas on how to make a place feel like home.

 

After the move

-After planning ideas, do it! Decorate, make this place yours; put up curtains, posters, canvases, pictures, shelving, fairy lights, put out beds, sofas, tables, chairs, ornaments, flowers, incense sticks and candles.

-Unpack, but you don’t have to rush it. One of my favourite bits of moving is finding places to put everything, reordering things and doing it differently to the last house.

-Food shop. I always try to eat most of the food I have in the old house before I move and then do a proper food shop for the new house once I’ve arrived, you might have more or less fridge/freezer/cupboard space to play with and its also an excuse to eat all the treats that have snuck into my home.

-Thought of something you want in the house but don’t have? Go shopping! Ikea, Amazon, Home Bargains, Argos, Primark, Next, Debenhams… Retail therapy is always a good idea, and this time you actually have a reason!

-Think of all the cards and connections you have. Have you changed your address with your bank? On your drivers license? Your cv and on jobsites? With your employer? Now is the time to contact them. Make sure you sort your forwarding address, you can do this via the Post Office and can choose how long to redirect your mail for.

-Other people you might want to contact are friends and family so they can change your entry in their address books, it’s also a good excuse to send out change of address cards when you use them as invites to a house warming as well. When you feel a bit more settled a house warming is always a great way to start life in a new home 🙂

 

 

The most important thing is to enjoy your new home no matter how temporary, make it a place of happiness and make memories.

 

Until next time, TTFN.

 

Are you moving house or recently moved? How did it go? Any tips/tricks you like to use that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments.

 

As usual feel free to like, comment, share, subscribe, follow my other social medias and message me if you want to collaborate.

 

 

About the author

Website | + posts

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.