Moving house. Need your tips!

[Thekindyoufindinasecondhand]

Starting to pack up a 3 bed semi today to move house.

I'm 6 months pregnant so looking for any tips or advice people have on how to make it easier!

Never moved house before and most of my friends still in first homes so they are no good on advice

TIA!

Label boxes on every side- descriptively. So not just kitchen- put kitchen, cutlery, plates. Or living room - ornaments. That way you can prioritize unpacking.

Unclutter as you both pack and unpack.

Tape gun.

Watch the weight of boxes.

Honestly, if you can stretch your budget to it, pay for a packing service. They wrap all fragile items, pack really quickly, and label all the boxes for you.
If you do it yourself then have a box to take in the car/unpack first with kettle, cups, plates, tea, coffee, sugar, long life milk and biscuits. Label all boxes with room they're destined for and a good description of contents.
Sort out as you pack. So things that can be disposed of, charity shopped, need mending...
And budget for a takeaway on the first night so you don't have to find all the pots and pans!

Get help in. Enlist your family/friends and either pay them and/or feed them.

I would personally hire a van and do my own moving but if you don't have someone to do heavy lifting then understand why you would pay someone to do it for you.

Book a room for the last night.
Take down the bed, and pack everything.
Beds in last, put up first.

Pay a remover to pack for you.

Have a bag handy with bread, juice, tea bags so you can go straight to your new house with these things and they're ready for you.

Also the bags for life 50p ones.
We used loads, packed drawers into each one.
Then just unloaded and placed back at end.
Been using the bags for two years, and bonus was they were stronger than boxes, plus no cardboard to get rid of.

Agree with pps - if you can afford it pay for a packing service. They boxed up the contents of my cluttered 3 bed in a day. It would have taken me months weeks.

Pay for packing!

If that’s not an option, de-clutter as much as possible and remember books are heavy - don’t fill a box with books unless it’s a small one!

Oh wow would LOVE to pay someone but unfortunately moving house & new baby means we don't have a lot of spare cash at the moment!

You might be surprised OP. Our packers charged £300 for packing, which included dismantling and putting up of the beds. This included all materials (boxes, bubble wrap etc) which can soon add up. They did most of it the day before we moved but left the beds till morning.

The kitchen takes much longer than you think, as (most) everything has to wrapped, so do as much of that as possible asap.

Declutter first. I find it easier to go room by room and once everything is packed shut the door (better if you could move the boxes into one room downstairs). Make sure you put any fixings for furniture in a ziplock type bag and tape it securely to the relevant furniture.
Use your towels and blankets to wrap breakables.
Pack a suitcase of clothes you'll need for a couple days, school uniforms and school books, so you don't end up rummaging in a panic. As said a box of essentials- dinnerware and cutlery, a pan/pot, kettle, toiletries to get you through the first couple days.
Put important papers together and mark it clearly- I'd take this and any real valuables yourself (if you are enlisting friends and family) and put them in a secure place in the new house. I don't mean in case someone nicks them, more that they may get misplaced in the shuffle!
But whatever be determined to unpack everything as soon as possible - I actually had to enlist a friend to help me unpack the last few boxes still not unpacked a couple years after my last move!

I would save money somewhere else if it meant I could have packers - especially when pregnant. It makes the move as close to stress free as possible. Life changer!

Bin bags for things like clothes and bedding, and get some heavier duty rubble sacks to sweep things into towards the end (There's often a bit more stuff than you have boxes for). Make up a survival kit with some loo roll, soap, kitchen towels, a knife, tea/coffee stuff, anything you'll need on arrival before you start unpacking.

It’s absolutely absolutely worth getting a quote for packing. Ours was £500 but I’d have paid twice that. And w3 had a lot of stuff.

Also even if you get packers label cables. It took us ages to find the tv cables and router cable etc.

You don't need to pack drawers - move them with the contents in, unless it's heavy with stuff like paperwork.

I too echo others in paying the removal company to pack for you. You'll spend almost as much in packing materials, and it saves a lot of time, aching, and tears.

Just be warned if you do use packers, they will pack everything as it is - coffee cup with dregs in for example. They go at a million miles an hour, it's amazing to watch!

I am on house no20 so very used to it.
Number your boxes and keep a loose list of whats in each,
Label the boxes with which room i.e Bed 1 also label the bedroom doors !
Pack all the clothes, meds, toiletries you will need for a week into your suitcases
Have a brightly coloured folder and use it for all the paperwork you will need incl list of phone numbers
Make the beds but put the pillows in the middle on top, wrap the sheets around to make a bundle, just un do in new house
A box covered in giftwrap/wallpaper/ newspaper (unless you are taking it in the car with you) for the kettle, mugs,spoons, teabags as this is the last box you will need in the old house and the first one you will need in the new one, dont forget a pack of toilet rolls, candles, torch and lightbulbs.
Good luck