Moving house tips please?

[hotchocolate86]

It’s likely I will be moving house in the next month or two. Can I ask for your top tips to make it as easy and painless as possible?

[MilkGoatee]

Put small stuff in small boxes which fit into larger ones. For example if you put cutlery and the like (drawer by drawer) into a shoebox each, then pack that into a larger box it's better manageable. Smaller items have a habit of getting lost, too, so that risk is diminished in a small box.

Know where your furniture goes so you don't have to move it again. If you have bookshelves, get them unloaded first and put in place. You can then unpack your books quick and easy and get rid of the stack of boxes. (Says she who moved close to 5,000 books last time.)

Essentials in overnight bags, enough to go for a day or two (or three). A plate each, a mug each, etc in a box and keep it with your overnight bag, put it in your car (if you have one) away from the rest of the moving stuff.

Use (spare) pillows and chair cushions to bolster boxes with awkward/breakable stuff - the pillows/cushions are bulky and take up a lot of space, this way they've got a useful purpose.

And definitely declutter and don't move what you do not need. The local charity shop can always handle stuff, be it clothes or knick-knacks.

[Gunpowder]

Marking place

[meg54]

Avoid moving on a Friday. If anything goes wrong (buying), you will struggle to contact estate agents, solicitors, banks, loan companies etc, If renting same applies, but to a lesser extent. Keep all relevant documents handy.
Photograph utility meters as soon as you arrive and leave.
If you can check the barrel on the lock, buy a replacement, or fit a door chain.

[OnwardsAndUpwards10]

Have a good clear out first. And hire someone to do it for you.

[Missingstreetlife]

Movers will suppply boxes. Try to get your internet sorted early, take your contract with you, if you are not moving far you may be able to take your landline phone number with you, or take over one at new place. Keep important documents and valuables with you, don't empty drawers just cover and stack them, they can move as they are.
Get the bed made up first, then when you've had enough you can just get in it, leave some unpacking for another day

[Blobby10]

Best tip I ever had was 'start with the loft/attic then do the garage'. Oh and dont leave the kitchen til the last minute as everyone forgets how many cake tins and saucepans etc that they actually have!

If you haven't got a helpful mother in law and her friend (like I was lucky enough to have) to clean each room as it was emptied, have a deep clean about a month before you leave then just keep on top of it every week thereafter. Its much easier than trying to clean yourself whilst packing and organising kids and making tea and coffee for the movers. And they like lots and lots of drinks. Biscuits not so much as mine all went to mcdonalds on the way to start the job

[Sallycinammonbangsthedruminthe]

I have moved house 24 times in my 40 odd years OP..what works for me is to start in one room ...pack away anything that is not essential then clean as you go...so for example under my kitchen sink where I keep all the pans and cookware...I would pack the everything but maybe 3 pans,then i would whilst the cupboard is emptyish clean the inside of the shelves and put my 3 pans back...everything else is boxed and labelled kitchen...by doing that on moving day there is minimal cleaning to be done which saves loads of time...same with linen and bathroom cupboards...do we really need 25 towels...err no pack em and leave out 4 ..vac pack bags are great for this ..can we manage with 1 set of bedding out and pack the spares ?yep cos we can sling it in the wash and reuse..it does save loads of time and the amount of stuff you can suck in those bags is fabulous! again wipe out the cupboard as you go ,,no need to do it again....I am not going to wear my summer stuff in this weather so pack em..job done! Also if you can weed out anything that is never going to fit again dump it its daft lugging it with you!!! Kids toys ugh...anything like mine they wont part with anything...keep out what they love then pack the rest by the time they move they will have forgotten what they had and toys will be like new toys once again to them! Pack books and dvds now too ...you can manage without them for a bit...anything you can do now saves so much stress on the moving day! Happy New Home!

[Maelstrop]

Buy a couple of the huge builders’ rubbish bags, they’re about £6. Put clothes still on hangars in them. You can drag them downstairs/into can. Don’t drag on concrete, you’ll put holes in them. Easy to carry between 2 if you haven’t overloaded them. All bedding can go in there too.

I echo packing all the essentials now, don’t wait til the last minute. Great time to have a clearout, too. Do bags for chucking, charity etc.

[IdblowJonSnow]

If you've got some precious, fragile things that can be stored elsewhere, I'd do that. It took a lot of stress out of the main move for me as i was worried about certain things being broken. Have a big clear out now and be ruthless so you're not moving crap. We had packers and they left clothes in drawers which saved some needless packing/unpacking!

[echidna1]

• removal company to pack your stuff for you - if you can afford it. It was worth every penny.
  
• a cleaning company to come & clean your place as soon as the 1st room is cleared-again, worth every penny.
  
• a cleaning company to clean your new place once the sellers have moved out. Nothing worse than having to clean someone else's filth!!

[IwantedtobeEmmaPeel]

I have done my own packing for several moves and the only breakage I have ever had was the one time I used the removal men to pack - never again. You need plenty of paper (newspaper is free) to wrap all breakables and plenty of padding on the bottom of boxes and between the breakables to cushion them in the event of rough handling.

Make sure the day before your move that you have packed everything not needed for that night and the following morning because the more organised you are the quicker the removal men can get you moved. Put the kettle, mugs, milk, tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits in one box, together with packed lunch/snacks to keep you going throughout the day and put that box in your car so it is the first thing you unpack. I second the marking the boxes by room so you can direct the removal men to put the boxes in the right rooms - saves you a job.

When you are in your new home, the first thing to do is always put up & make up the beds, especially the kids' beds. When you are ready to drop later that evening & can do no more, the last thing you will feel like doing is sorting your beds, so do that job first.

Make sure you sort redirection of post. Good luck Op.

[MissClareRemembers]

Pack your essentials and vital docs (medicines, passports, insurance, driving licence, estate agents docs, solicitor docs etc etc) in a box.

Make a cleaning kit. Include bin bags, toilet roll, cleaning spray, cloths and bleach, batteries and light bulbs.

Label both of these boxes with a sign saying PLEASE DO NOT PACK THIS BOX!!!

[rosesarered9]

Have your post redirected

[hotchocolate86]

I will be tackling my daughters room today with her to see if we can thin her things out a bit and start boxing up a few bits she rarely uses.

[hotchocolate86]

I have loads of books so I will put all my shopping bags into use for them I think or small boxes. Might need to stock up on the shopping bags I think.

[Adversecamber22]

HVe a sort out and throw and charity shop anything you don’t need no need moving stuff you need to get rid of.

[SweetLathyrus]

If you have books, use sturdy shopping bags rather than boxes - if you know the smaller Sainsburys orange ones with the elephant on the side and something like "I'm small but strong". They are easier to lift and move than boxes of books, any thing larger is too heavy if you are doing it yourself.

[Twistedinknots]

Wine boxes are the perfect size for books, are neatly stackable and keep the weight down.

[catcreptin]

Start packing non essential items as soon as house goes up for sale, get rid of anything you don't use and probably won't in the new property, I used a local freecycle website and offloaded masses of stuff.

As soon as you enter the new house, make up the bed or beds as a priority, the last thing you want after a stressful day and feeling absolutely knackered is to then have to make up your bed when you just want to pass out on it. It was the single best thing I did when I moved four years ago.

[CorporeSarnie]

Pack a room at a time, label up boxes with destination room, I only bothered a little with contents where I didn't think obvious. Movers will supply wardrobe boxes which mean clothes come straight out again, amazing things.
If you have overlap and are not taking old fridge freezer you can leave that overnight and come back to get the contents, this was great for us this time.
If you're using moved, they are always busiest on a Friday as so many completions. We got 10% discount for moving on a Thurs. Others offered NHS discounts, so with asking if any discount might be available. We self packed this time and it was ok, took a day for a big three bed house.
We did send some stuff to storage beforehand which allowed us to get uncluttered photos and encouraged a declutter. This was picked up as soon as we were able to get the new keys and have a clean round.

[Returning2thesceneofthecrime]

Ikea bags are your friends.

DH always complains that we forget them and need to buy new ones at Ikea. I have told him to stop complaining and we will need more for our next move.

[NewName54321]

Put toilet paper, soap, lightbulbs, a torch, phone chargers and the TV remote control in the box of essential items already mentioned. Also pack a suitcase for the first night, with clothes, toiletries and medications. Keep these, and anything else you will need on the day, in your car.

Pack books in supermarket bag-for-life bags.
Make up the beds first. When you are fit for nothing else, you can at least have a rest. Everything else will wait until tomorrow.

[BreakfastAtSquiffanys]

Make up the beds as soon as they are in the bedrooms.
Nothing worse than starting to wrestle with sheets and duvets at midnight when you're knackered

[Returning2thesceneofthecrime]

I moved a week ago. It was my most disorganized move ever. Moved countless times. Major difference was that this time my DH was involved.

My top tips are to do what I used to do with more successful moves.

• tidy before packing - a place for everything and everything in its place
  
• pack yourself (the packers/movers we hired were shit despite being recommended. I think my friend got the A team and we got the B team.
  
• hire movers or a man with a van. You direct operations but don’t do the moving labour
  
• pack early
  
• pack a picnic basket of supplies for moving day
  
• don’t bother trying to move frozen food. Either eat it or throw it or give it away, it is not worth the hassle. Even if you are on,y moving five minutes down the road.
  
• put cling film over cutlery trays etc to hold things in place.
  
• empty the contents of a drawer into a plastic bag, then put it in a box or suitcase
  
• books go in the smallest available box. Ignore the idiots that say they can handle it.
  
• label the boxes. Your system, not the movers. You need to have the destination room AND the contents on there
  
• pack paintings and ornaments and decorative items first. Unpack them last. Not having things cluttering up the space makes it easier to both pack and unpack
  
• use bin bags when possible. Buy a colour that you don’t normally use for rubbish so you don’t get confused and make sure everyone in the house is aware
  
• use uniform size boxes. This is important! So much easier to move and stack if the boxes are all the same size. Yes, you may end up using a few more boxes but I swear it makes life easier!

[Fluffyears]

Keep enough cutlery and dishes. DH had to eat his breakfast yoghurt with a knife. De-clutter and bin as much as you can, be ruthless. Take drawers out and wrap them in clingfiln then you can just put them back in unit the next day. Have a box that is just essentials for first few days, bedding, crockery, cutlery, kettle, pans etc so you can get everything easily. Packs case with a few days toiletries, medication and toiletries.