To ask for your moving tips....?

[Stilltryingtobeme]

More of a WWYD but here it is....

We are a family of four (2dc, age 1 and 4) And will soon be moving (I hope) to a better place nearby, it's social housing, hence the slight uncertainty. So, I hate moving, find it really traumatic! I'm looking for your tips to make it smoother! We will be hiring a van and doing it ourselves with generous friends who we manage to round up. Budget is tight as it's pretty sudden (person above on list had issues so we're up next and it's likely to all happen fast when it does) so can't afford removals.

Help! Shamelessly posting here for traffic!

Having moved more times than I care to remember;
Have an essentials box you pack last and unpack first - include tea, coffee, kettle, mugs. You'll want those sooner than you find them otherwise.
In general allow more time for packing than you think you need, anything you can cope without for a week should be packed at least a few days in advance and will be a while before you get to unpacking.
Have someone (whether you, DH, grandparents) who on moving day has no moving responsibilities except getting the kids well out of the way (local park, grandparents house etc).
Budget for takeaway on the first night - this is an essential cost of moving house.

Get hold of some good strong boxes (not too big or you won't be able to lift them once they're full). Ask around local shops/supermarkets for surplus boxes.

Label all boxes with the room they're meant to go in and put them straight in that room when you're unloading at the other end.

When packing, be ruthless and throw out anything that you're unlikely to use again. Much easier than trying to find room for stuff you might never use in the new house.

Take the kettle and tea/coffee/sugar/milk/mugs etc separately.

Good luck. Moving is exciting but stressful too. Particularly if you're like me and can't stand things not being in their proper place.

Start decluttering now.
When you take furniture apart tape a small plastic bag to it and put the screws etc in it then tape it shut.

Cling film. Especially pictures. Wrap in bubble wrap and then secure with cling film.

I was going to say about labeling the boxes. But we did it with coloured tape round the top of the box (electrical tape comes in red, green, yellow, blue ect) so that you could see at a glance where the box was meant to go.

Red for kitchen
Blue upstairs
Yellow living room ect

Be brutal with what you throw away and what you keep. If you haven't seen or used it for a year, bin/charity shop it.

And yy to labelling boxes and first night takeaway.

Yes to the binning. Go through every room now and ruthlessly throw things away. Each time I move house (about once every 3 years for the last 15 years) I feel like I've thrown away more than I've kept, but still have boxes unopened since I last moved (3 years ago, itchy feet again!).

If you have the choice of keeping the van overnight, keep it the night after you move not the night before, things may overrun and not having to take the van back will ease the pressure.

I find working in separate rooms from your partner works better, you don't get distracted by discussing how to pack the boxes (just get it in, there's no prizes for neatness) or reminiscing when you find something you haven't seen in a while.

Don't worry about wrapping stuff too much, I've never wrapped anything in bubble wrap and so far have only every smashed one thing, packing tightly so things don't move around will save you time and space compared to bubble wrap. If you have to cushion things, use pants, towels etc, things you are taking with you anyway.

Good luck! Enjoy the new house

Pack boxes reasonably logically .... so that you can do as suggested above and label them for rooms. For the kitchen, you can go one step further and label boxes for cupboards.

Although think it through ..... don't fill the box 100% with cook books Half full with heave stuff then throw in a tea-towel to pad it out. Same for ornaments / utensils which you'd wrap up .... wrap in something you'll be taking (e.g. Towels) rather than paper / bubble wrap.

Be practical with storage solutions ..... use suitcases / hold-alls to pack clothes in. Use supermarket shopping bags.

Allocate your helpers specific jobs ...... so one carrying out boxes, someone cleaning etc.

Well I've already started a dreaded clear out so that's something! Husband hates throwing things away so it's challenge! We get there though! Labelling by room is a good call, And yes to first night takeaway!

Lots of good advice here already
For me the key things are

• cull as much as possible before you go. Be ruthless.
• pack as much in advance as possible
• label boxes with the room they're going to and contents.
• bring boxes to the room they're meant for right away
• have an essentials box for tea and snacks, and another for bedtime/ morning essentials.
• give everyone a role in advance
• try to move the big heavy things at the start before people get tired and short tempered!
• With dc, have someone keep them for the day if possible, or plan entertainment in advance.
• if you have enough helpers, have someone at the new house to start unpacking from the start.
• order a takeaway in advance so you don't forget to eat and you take a break asset a reasonable time

And remember not to stress over the little things - you will get moved on time and it will be fine!

Big ikea bags for linens, towels, clothes.

Oh, and make sure the helpers know which room is which (label them) - no point in labelling boxes "sophies room" if they don't know which one that is! 😊

(I think I named them with directions last time eg "main bedroom - upstairs left", "dc room upstairs, straight" etc)

I box all in essential items weeks in advance .. I do a few boxes a night and clear out as I go . I've done this twice on my own and once for my mum .. put all boxes you are done with somewhere out of the way .( stack in corners of rooms ) and label with the room you want it to go to.. do this slowly and gradually pack up the stuff that is least important on a day to day basis . When you get near the day just box it all up leaving out essentials . I was unpacked by the end of the second day at the house we are in now.

When we last moved my aunt and uncle turned up around 5pm with a big homemade lasagne and cottage pie to feed the troops. We all sat round eating on the floor from paper plates and it really cheered us all up after a long tiring day. So if you have any family or friends around who can cook I would highly recommend it!

If your budget will stretch to it, buy boxes, parcel tape and few reams of packing paper. This saves the hassle of saving or collecting loads of boxes and newspaper before you start.

Put clean covers on all the duvets and pillows and put them in ikea bags with the under sheets.
Make all the beds up super quick as soon as you are in and know you all have fresh beds ready for when you give up for the day

In your box of essentials, include a change of bedsheets for all beds and make up the beds early on so that when you are shattered at the end of the day, the beds are all ready.

Pack your duvets in their 'dirty' covers to protect them and save on washing.

Have two sets of cleaning cloths, clean your old house with one set and chuck immediately. Then when you get to your new place you won't have to clean with grubby cloths, have new ones ready.

Meal plan now and use up as much as possible in the run up to moving so you have less to pack. Also try to use up half bottles of toiletries and cleaning product

Change the locks - best to be on the safe side

Look on freecycle for packing boxes - we put ours on there when we were done with them.

Pack the DCs a little bag each with PJs, toothbrush, favourite toy and bedtime story to go straight in their rooms. Get them to help take th feel involved.

Make beds up as soon as you can so
You can just collapse into them when you get shattered.

Pack scissors in your essentials box with the tea, coffee, milk etc so you can open the boxes easily in the new house.

Yes first job on arrival, out together and make up bed's. By the time you need them you'll be too tired to do it!

Serious chuck out now.

Start by packing all the stuff you don't need day to day - most of your books, DVDs, airing cupboard stuff, summer stuff, Christmas stuff etc.

Pack each person a small bag with about 3 days worth of clothes & their toiletries and medicines so they can live out of it for the first couple of days. Keep these bags in your own car so you know where they are. Similarly keep bedding with you, and the kitchen essentials (kettle, cups, biscuits, tea stuff, corkscrew), and a file of paperwork relating to the move with contact details for agents/solicitors/banks and energy companies (meter readings - do these as you leave your house and on arrival at the new place - take photos of the meters).

When you get there, prioritise making the sleeping spaces ready for when you are all too tired to carry on.

If you have pets, book them into kennels/cattery for the day before and the day of the move.

If someone can take your kids for moving day, let them.

Keep paracetamol in your bag, a thumping headache by the end of the day is a given!

Send the littles to grandparents (if that's a normal part of their routine) so that they 'help' with moving until they are fed up and then come back to their new house the next morning,and you are not trying to deal with overtired children while assembling their beds.

It's sometimes possible with a social housing move to hang onto both tenancies for a few days while you clean, move, decorate etc. Worth an ask.

Involve your 4 year old in packing a bag of essential clothes and toys. Box the rest.
Buy a cheap wilko file box and use it to hold all your documents relating to the move, and anything you may suddenly need to produce. tenancy document, van hire docs, insurance, driving license, insurance, kids birth certificates, benefits letters, etc etc.

Organise a postal redirection, and after the move tackle one bit of admin, change of address etc a day.
On the move day take meter readings at both properties, and make sure you don't inherit the previous tenant's debt, or get billed for the energy used by the new tenant in your old home.

Also pack a toolbox with screwdrivers, allen keys, drill etc for taking things apart and putting them together, and put one of your helpers in charge of it.

Get your hands on liquor boxes (e.g. held 12 bottles of wine) and use the interior cardboard to flatten and purr in between your dishes. They will travel without breaking and its cleaner than wrapping in newspaper.

Loo roll.

Pack toys etc into plastic storage crates. No need to unpack at the other end, just stick it in the cupboard.