Moving House - any good tips??

[fruitandbarley]

I'm moving house to a different part of the country in next few weeks and feeling rather overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have, starting new job, sorting kids in new school and everything else that comes with moving.
Does anyone have any good tips? Things you wish you'd done, or not done? How to cope on moving day etc.. thank you..

Get more boxes than you think, the sturdier the better. Buy a parcel tape dispenser, and don't buy cheap parcel tape, it's rubbish, get the decent stuff. It'll save you hours. Use cardboard wardrobes - you won't need to take anything off hangers.

If you can, clear out one room first, hoover it and close the door. As you pack stuff, put the boxes into that room and close the door again. It'll help keep the chaos shut away and stop you losing your mind in the run up to the move.

A couple of days before moving, pack absolutely everything from your kitchen apart from a plate and a bowl each, minimal cutlery and mugs. Live on ready meals and takeaways until you move.

Have a roll of bin bags out, you'll use them. Have one bag with bleach, one cleaning spray, washing up liquid, cleaning cloths, hoover bags if you need them, a few hand towels (good for a last minute wipe round) and tea towels. Everything else can be packed away in advance. Be ruthless.

I've never needed a skip, and have moved loads of times.

On the last morning, add tea/coffee, milk, the kettle, a loaf, butter etc to your cleaning bag, ready to take to the new house.

Good luck!

@L1ttledrummergirl snap with the one clean room!

Put clean linen on the beds a day or two before the move. On moving morning put duvets, pillows, other linens into a labelled box on the bed. Simplifies making up beds at the other end.

Use professional packers.

Have your old house professionally cleaned.

Pack all important documents in a small suitcase, including passports and keep it with you.

Bugger faffing about with kettles and tea, etc. It's 2023. When you and the movers need tea, order from Starbucks on Deliveroo! Money well spent.

Book an hotel for the first night. You will be exhausted - dinner, a good sleep and a good breakfast and launch into unpacking and putting away when you are refreshed at 9am.

Exchange of contracts to have a clause ensuring complete clearance and professional cleaning of the new house.

Good luck!

I've never moved anywhere that's got a Starbucks within 10 miles (and their tea is foul)

Make sure you have lots of hand cream easily available. I got through gallons of the stuff as my hands were ruined with all the cleaning / dust / paper wrapping etc

When you pack each room, particularly the kitchen, mark the ones that need unpacking first. I had 3 boxes with a box X on these had all the things in that I would need for the first few weeks, saucepans/plates/etc you don’t need your best China or fancy baking tins the day after you move.

secondly and this I think is the most important, each bed is given a black sack, when you get up in the morning, strip the bed, put the bedding in the sack - sheets pillows the lot, including pjs, and a clean set of cloths for the next day. You do this for each person so everyone has their own bed bag. When you get to your new house you have everything to hand to make the bed and clothes for the next day.

pack your toiletries bag as if going on holiday, then put it with clean towels and a loo roll, this goes in the car with you.

When I moved from New York to California, it felt super overwhelming at first. But then I found some great tips on https://threemovers.com/12-long-distance-moving-tips-that-are-dangerous-to-ignore-while-moving/. Planning early made a big difference. I started getting things ready and making lists about two months before the move. Finding a good moving company was really important too. I checked they were legit and compared prices from a few before picking one. Getting rid of stuff I didn’t need anymore was a big help too. It made moving easier and even saved me some money. Carefully packing everything and putting labels on the boxes by which room they’d go in made setting up my new place way easier. Following these steps took a lot of the stress away and helped me handle the move much better.

Its so hard moving, I needed this thank you! I just moved into a house with a basement too, but want to renovate it. Any tips? I asked https://basementconversionuk.co.uk/ but they very expensive.