AIBU to ask for your house move tips

My main tips- Look for BAR registered movers. Use “thrift” to get rid of clothes and “we buy books” for books etc.

We hired a storage unit and put as much as possible in there that we didn’t need straight away

Print a map of the new home. Give the rooms numbers. Put notes on your furniture so that the movers can see which piece of furniture goes to which room.

Possibly also give the rooms in your present home numbers if you hire someone to pack for you.

Do NOT pack plates and glasses in newspaper. Then you'll have to give them a proper clean instead of a rinse when you unpack them.

Pay the removal people to do the packing. Unpack outdoors next to a skip, only take into the house what you actually want to keep.

Do you need to apply for a parking bay suspension? Common in London, and some councils require a minimum 14 day notice. So get on that if applicable.

If funds allow I would highly recommend booking a packing and moving service. It takes all the stress out of it. It’s not cheap, but I thought it was worth every penny.

another vote for paying for the removal people to pack, they are worth their weight in gold and will be through the house before you can even blink!

Pack a box with the kettle, teabags, coffee, mugs, teaspoons, milk, sugar, biscuits and make sure that is put in the new kitchen straight away, so that when you're flagging halfway through unpacking you're not desperately looking for them in 6 different boxes.

First job when you've moved everything into the house is make up the beds, so when you're exhausted you don't suddenly realise you've no bed ready to get into.

Work out which stuff will go in each room in the new flat and colour code the rooms - buy coloured stickers for boxes and furniture or do it in big writing with coloured felt tip pens on white labels. If you are using a removals firm, you could give them a floor plan with the colour coded rooms marked on. This worked well when we helped Pils to reloclate.
Keep kettle, mugs, teabags and loo roll handy at all times in their own separate box. 😀

Pack a suitcase each with enough for a whole week not just a few days. Clothes hairdryer shoes and pyjamas toiletries etc

first night tea make it a takeaway with paper plates.

paper cups for cups of tea during t the day

bring as many boxes as you can downstairs before moving day. We put all of ours in the garage but put them anywhere -especially the loft.

Agree with clear labelling on boxes with room detail plus now/later if you don’t want to list contents. I also found these bags from Ikea brilliant for packing bedding and towels, off the bed and into a bag https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/goersnygg-bag-blue-60499261/

When we moved I was ruthless in packing about if I really wanted to find a home for this item in my new house. Even more important for you downsizing. Start with cupboards. Pull everything out, decide what you are getting rid of and pack the rest. Boxes back in cupboards out of the way. As it is only 5 weeks, I would suggest doing some each night. Regular trips to the dump with what you are getting rid of.

I went in holiday and got the movers to pack everything. Absolutely no brainer and worth every penny.

As everyone is saying pay for packing (which I agree with), if you go down this route, please note that they are ruthless and will pack everything.

Last time we moved, they came round the day before and started in the kitchen. I popped out to do the school run leaving my husband at home, and when I had got back they had packed everything in the kitchen. ‘Great!’ I hear you cry….. they had packed ALL of the cutlery, which was fine for dinner, got a takeaway we could eat with our hands, not so great in the morning of moving day when I realised I couldn’t make packed lunches because I had no knife to cut the cheese for the sandwiches 😂 and have kids that won’t eat school dinners

PAY FOR PACKING I can’t stress this enough

and declutter before the packers come

honestly it’s a game changer

Banana boxes!!! Get them from supermarkets, I did the rounds for a few days in the morning and picked up LOADS. They are superb for everything as they are super strong cardboard, nice strong lids. Made everything so easy!!

Hands down hiring a removal company to pack and move us was amazing. Took away all the stress and I will never move without booking this service again.

Best thing we ever did. We had a load of camping gear and bikes etc and just carted it all there in our own time leaving a very straightforward move. We then emptied it within two days of our move..

We got packers. That was incredible. Highly recommend and wasn't that expensive. Due to a family death we hadn't been able to declutter - I'm still finding stuff that we should have chucked 6 years later.

De clutter!!

Every box you fill, write a list of contents and tape it to the top. Saves loads of time when you need to find something. As we tend to pack similar items together it doesn't need to be too detailed if you cba but 'children's books' rather than just 'books' if you have ten boxes of books! Or 'cookware incl blue casserole dish' or baking tins, round and square only. Sorry for the pathetic examples but its all I can think of !!

+1 to tape gun

+1 to start a donations box and keep a black bin to hand at all times for rubbish. A box for recycling as well. Facebook Marketplace is a good place to shift stuff quickly if you prefer to sell - price competitively. Local “freecycle” groups are good too esp for bulky things like furniture.

For packing, we ALWAYS do a proper packing inventory, with numbered boxes

Every box is numbered, and labelled with the room it needs to go in, plus sometimes a word or two about contents eg “books”, “crockery”.

We then have a shared Google Doc or Apple Notes which lists every box by number, and a full list of what’s in it. Sometimes it’ll just say “books” but sometimes it’s quite long. Helps MASSIVLEY post move with all the “where is X” conversations, or wondering what’s in that box you haven’t unpacked yet.

Start a list of organisations to inform that you’ve moved, and services you need set up at the new house. Get broadband organised early - there can be lead times - or get data on phones or mifi device to cover first few days.

My biggest tips are:

• buy a tape box dispenser gun and box cutting tool (it makes taping and opening much quicker)
• pack a small suitcase each with essentials
• write on the outside of each box what is in each box and which room it's going into

Put cats and dogs in cattery/kennels for a few days before you move until after you are unpacked (I had a cat who went AWOL 15 minutes before we were due to lock and leave the old house).

Imagine you're going on holiday, pack for that first.

Make up 3 boxes:

Label name of box: e.g. Bedroom 1
Charity
Tip

For complex rooms e.g. kitchen label by destination e.g. bottom drawer, fridge.

Buy thick colour Sharpies for visual ease, e.h. kitchen in red, bathroom in blue....

Play great music and don't start new hobbies at this time...

Pack a case to live out of for a few days, clothes, toiletries, chargers, purse/cash, tea coffee etc mug, plate set. Bedtime book or whatever.

good luck!