Moving house tips

[Pollydoll110]

We're moving in 2 weeks, relocating 2 hours away, with 2 young children (2 and 6 weeks)

Slowly packing the house up and making to do lists...
Any tips for a smooth 2 weeks and removal day?
(we're doing the move ourselves hiring a van)

Haha, I was about to say do not do it yourself. It was the best £500 I ever spent!

Otherwise, label boxes with rooms, not what's in them. Pack a first-night bag. Pit the kids' beds in the van last so they are first out.

Might be worth searching on the chat board, as this question comes up on there quite regularly.

I’d just hire someone to do it, even with that I spent all day cleaning (once you start moving furniture etc it’s very surprising how much dust/mess it throws up).

Be absolutely ruthless about throwing things out/taking to charity shop.

Pack an overnight bag so you have essentials in one suitcase for the first night, and have details of a local takeaway planned to order dinner

Try to have someone at the other end to collect your keys in case there's a problem. We had a packed van on a wet and windy day, the EA wouldn't release the keys because the person at the vendor's end had gone to lunch, returning an hour or so later we were told the person wasn't returning to the office until Monday!
As has been said, chuck stuff out before you pack and have a lot of bin bags for your arrival, you'll be surprised how much you still throw out when you unpack.

Wrap your plates / glasses etc in your clothes! You need to move both anyway and saves on packing material.

I've begun wrapping crockery for our move and I'm using Christmas paper! It was a revelation! I've always got rolls left over...and it's all battered looking so I won't use it next year.

My tip is to box or bag everything and keep it in the room it's come from...so currently, my office has boxes of books and photos etc and they're piled next to my desk which is all that;s in here in the way of furniture.

When we move, each labelled box goes from it's room to it's new room.

Easy.

Write the room on one long side and one short side so if the boxes are stacked you can still see what's in them.

Have a box with kettle, cups, hammer and screwdriver.

We moved recently. Always pack a box with kettle, teabags , mugs, glasses, tea towel , wash up liquid , loo roll and dettol wipes. It will be the first thing you want when you arrive at the new house so keep it in the car with you.

Always keep handy an envelope with the important move docs , solicitor number, removal co. paperwork etc.

Also pack a bag or case with clean bedding, towels, pjs, fresh clothes and overnight toiletries in. So you have everything you need for the first night. You can make up the beds without having to go through boxes looking for bedding and towels.

I also had a bag with cleaning items, bleach, dettol spray , disposal clothes and gloves in my car. The house was spotless but you never know and obviously at the present time , wiping down surfaces and door handles is a good idea.

Hope it all goes ok.

Oh yes the tip about writing the room and a brief description of the contents on both sides of the moving boxes is a good one. We did this, so glad we did

I was going to say don’t do it yourself. Removals companies take apart the beds, you don’t need to empty drawers or wardrobes and when we moved the van was loaded up in 40 minutes and unloaded in 1 hour. Whilst they were doing that I cleaned rooms they’d emptied and then we went out for lunch (pre Covid).
But if you’re definitely doing it yourselves I’d say have a box with kettle, toilet rolls and essentials. Label boxes for rooms and just have the stuff you need for the first night accessible.

I was also going to say don’t do it yourself..
But, if you are, my advice would be pack clothes in bin bags or boxes, and use any suitcases you have with wheels for heavier stuff. Much easier to wheel a case of books than pick up a box of them for example.

Leave out enough food to get you through the day - just had to do a mid day run !

And don’t let your movers pack your new house keys away in a box by mistake 😳

Are you sure about doing it yourselves? And are you very sure the van is big enough? Do you have any extra help on the day (muscles or childcare)?

We moved with a slightly younger baby, and I was extremely glad that we had removal men - and we were only moving a few miles. (When DH and the removal men left, we were mid-feed - a friend brought her car to pick up me, DD, beanbag & Moses basket.)

when we moved two years ago each person in the house had one box for everything they need for the next day ie uniform for school/work, bag of toiletries, travel card etc. When all the boxes got taken into the house each persons 'must have' box was placed in their room so no matter how late we were up unpacking, no one was rummaging around the next morning over-tired and can't find their items.

Be ruthless in what you’re chucking out. If it’s in good condition I find stuff goes very quickly if you put it on Facebook marketplace or olio for free - explain its collection only and let them come to you.

I find those heavy supermarket bag for life bags (the strong plastic ones with the fabric handles, not the carrier bags) are great for odds and sods, easy to carry and can squish them in the back of a packed boot/van as they can move unlike boxes.

Also packing heavy books in wheely suitcases saves lifting them in a heavy box!

Get a takeaway the night you move in. Even if you can find the pots and pans boxes you’ll be knackered and won’t want to cook after a busy day.

Thank you for all your tips!
A week til move day! Eek.

Unfortunately we just cannot afford removals, I've been quoted £700+ to move us, that's a months rent near enough!

Weve got my OH and my brother and 2 vans.
My mum is around (childcare bubble) to help with the kids.
I'm under no illusion this will be easy but so worth it I'm sure.

Get your beds made up as soon as you're in, that way however tired you are later there will be a comfy bed ready for you.

You will need more boxes than you think. Phone around local supermarkets/shops that are open and ask them to keep them for you. Do as much as you can in advance. Even if your DH thinks you're starting too early. he's wrong. Speaking from experience

For various reasons I've had to move a lot over the years, sometimes having to do it with the help of friends and family and sometimes being lucky enough to be able to afford professional movers.

Very good advice from lots of people here about labelling and boxes and making up the beds as soon as possible.

1. You will definitely need more boxes and containers than you think. I like Really Useful boxes but they're not cheap, we've had to build up our collection over the years. A great tip I was given by one of the professional moving companies was to use those big strong Ikea (or similar) bags for things like clothes etc, as they're much easier to carry than bin bags

1. If you can, get hold of a sack truck as it will make things easier when taking things to the van to be loaded (most hardware stores will sell them). Wheeled bags/suitcases are a good call too. And sometimes putting things on a sheet and then dragging that down a corridor, say, is a faster, easier way to transport things than carrying them by hand. (Depending on floor surface and safety aspects of the space!)

1. Do be ruthless about what you chuck out, though depending on your rubbish pick up day this might be easier said than done. For books, CDs, DVDs and old computer games, if they're still sellable, type the codes into Ziffit or Music Magpie or WeBuyBooks, you might be able to sell some and make a little bit of cash to help you with your costs. It's a relatively quick process and straightforward, especially if you live near a pickup point, and depending on how old your kids are this might be something they could help you with.

4.To get rid of clothes and small bric a brac in good condition, there are a few options, your local charity shops if they're taking in donations; the British Heart Foundation is also doing pickups via the collect plus scheme, you can print a label off from their website at www.bhf.org.uk/shop/donating-goods/post-your-donations There are other more time consuming options like ebay, Vinted, your local Facebook selling groups, and isecond that (you get a percentage of the selling price if your clothes sell) - I don't know if you'd have time to do this, though. We're trying to clear things out at the minute (not moving, just clearing) and the whole tip situation is a real pain, it makes it really difficult to get rid of stuff that can't be sold or donated.

1. Definitely pack tea, coffee, milk, snacks etc in a separate bag, and make sure you have any documents you need in a safe place, including passports and the like. Also loo rolls, tissues, bathroom essentials including towels, phone chargers, undies, change of clothing. I always like to imagine I'm going on a long haul plane journey (remember those?!), what would I need to get by for a couple of days if the airline lost my hold luggage (yes, this has happened, more than once).

1. And absolutely yes to having a takeaway the first night, even if it's just a ready cooked chicken or something from the local Tescos. Or for a treat and to kick off your new life in your new home, if you're in a Deliveroo or Ubereats or Just Eat area check the local ones or see if any small companies are delivering directly.

1. And breathe!

Hope it all goes smoothly, best of luck.

Boxes you might not unpack for weeks or months- write down every single thing that's in there on the outside. It's worth a few minutes.

Second everything that's been said. My main tips would be to label each box, preferably colour code them with large stickers and when you get to the new house, stick an A4 sheet of paper with the room name (eg bedroom 3, bedroom 4 etc) and the colour - this way the removal men don't have to keep asking you what bedroom is which, they can quickly see the colour/name and shove the box into the correct room.
Don't over pack the boxes, especially things like books. They weigh an absolute tonne and the men may refuse to lift them. Stack books at the bottom and some light things like pillows or cushions at the top.
Pack your hoover last, if you are doing your own cleaning on the way out. Its amazing how much dust and grime collects behind furniture that is not moved a lot.
Set up the beds first.
Get as many boxes as you can, freecycle etc often have them from people who have just moved.
Ikea bags are great for clothes and are strong.
Final tip, if its a wet and horrible day, you don't want to ruin your new carpets , you can get this sticky cling film stuff that you unroll over your hallway/stairs etc to stop dirt tracking all over the house. This is from my experience of just moving last winter and having our brand new carpets unintentionally ruined by the removal men after walking through our as yet un-turfed mud pile of a front garden and then all over the house. Disaster.
Good luck with the move.

Weird tip but one I wish I'dve used. To put some paper plates, serviettes and plastic cutlery in your unpack first bag box - we were knackered and wanted a Chinese - would've been much easier than faffing about unpacking plates and cutlery ( plus no washing up after !) after a long day when everyone's tired and grumpy! Ooh and we wished we'dve checked our mobile phone signal as we didn't get our wi fi for two weeks ( we could've got a 30 day SIM with EE , The signal with 3 wasn't the best )

Bedding, stand at the bottom of your bed, pick up the sheet and mattress protector, with the duvet still in place, roll everything up including the pillows. When you get to your new home just unroll the whole thing.
Clothes, make sure that all your hangers face the same way, take them off several at a time. Secure the hangers with strong tape, then transfer them to your new wardrobes.

Don't take your clothes off their hangers, cable tie all the hangers, with clothes on, together and the pull a black bag over the clothes, that way you're just hanging them straight in the wardrobe!

Get rid of as much stuff as possible; its amazing the junk we all accumulate. We put loads of stuff on Freecycle and ppl came to collect it. Gumtree, Nextdoor or similar also an option for giving stuff away (or selling if worth it).