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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Tips or advice needed plz :)

11 replies

Pinklaura80 · 25/08/2006 11:06

Hi there

I will be moving in about 6 weeks, it's 40 miles away from where I live now and I was just hoping for any tips or advice on how to make it go smoothly.

So if anyone has any wise words, even the smallest little thing, I would love to hear from you xx

OP posts:
mumoftwoangels · 25/08/2006 11:10

It may sound silly but label the boxes for the rooms they are going in. Keep a box of things for you dc to use when you get there, so you get time to sort the rest out in realative calm.
Know where the kettle and tea/coffe is!

Bucketsofdinosaurs · 25/08/2006 15:15

Pay for packers, absolutely priceless.
Start de-hoarding now, do a trip to the dump and charity shop EVERY weekend. Tip:When was the last time an adult in your home played an audiotape? Chuck them all out, you can always download obscure hard-to-find songs later.
Tip re babies/toddlers: I got a tassle-y lampshade for my DS' room and everytime he went for a nap I brushed the tassle on his head and he'd laugh. It was a great way to familiarise him with the new room and remind him where he was when he woke in the night.

nell12 · 25/08/2006 19:25

Unpack the kids bedrooms first.. down to curtains and pictures on the wall. That way they should settle to sleep reasonably well on their first night in their new room and you will have precious time to unpack/flop in a corner!
Keep money to one side for a take-away on your first night
Have a box in the car with kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, squash etc for when you get to the house and nothing is unpacked!
Make sure your contents insurance covers you for a house move
Good luck!!

waterfalls · 25/08/2006 19:30

A few days before, pack as if you are going on holiday, suitcases for clothes etc, that way clthes and toiletries are at easy reach for the first few days

cleaninglady · 25/08/2006 19:45

i did the move thing about 6 months ago - about 30 miles away with two lo's as well - gulp! paid for movers im afraid - best money ever spent but good tips here about getting rid of as much as possible beforehand and i also made up a4 sheets to pin on each door in new house with a list of the items to go in that room as we had a completely different layout so it really helped! oh and get someone to have children for you even overnight if possible - that was a godsend!

southeastastra · 25/08/2006 19:47

ask removal men if you have to take everything out of drawers! i did and they said i shouldn't have bothered argh

janeite · 25/08/2006 20:12

We moved a few months ago and the best things we did were:
Pay removers to pack everything, disassemble and reassemble furniture, disconnect and reconnect washing machine etc

Send the girls to nanny's for the day and overnight - that way they came back to lovely new bedrooms, all ready for them

Remember where the kettle is at all times!

Have takeaway delivered for supper

Get the bed ready with lovely new sheets and duvet and do that before anything else, so could sink into a lovely cosy bed as soon as ready!!

Bucketsofdinosaurs · 25/08/2006 20:37

Re washing machine: this is actually really easy as long as you can get the thing out of its hole, esp if it's fairly new it's only connected to the cold water and has a little tap thing on the pipe.

sorkycake · 26/08/2006 13:42

When you box items I label with the room but also have an inventory list of what's in the box, that way my Dh doesn't start frantically digging and if you don't have time to fully unpack straightaway you go directly to the right box.
If you have older kids they can help by shouting out what's going in the box and you write it down or vice versa.
This is the way my loft is organised!
I'm proud of my freakish need for organisation tho

foxtrot · 26/08/2006 23:42

Agree with cleaninglady, especially to get the packers in, you will not begrudge a penny spent and compared to all the other costs of moving it is peanuts.

Ask about the company's policy on emptying lofts - some refuse to go up and bring stuff down and you must you do it yourself.

Read your meters as you leave and phone them through to the utility companies - most have a homemovers number you can ring in advance to set up the details of your move. Do the same when you arrive at your new house.

Don't forget to have sugar to go in the removal men's tea, they seem to expect a cuppa every hour and a little snack doesn't go amiss if you want your stuff treated nicely! My DH always makes them bacon sarnies, even while they're trying to pack up the kitchen (but i wouldn't recommend this!)

If you can take the kids to see the new house before the move so they have an idea of where they are going, ask if you can take some photos of their bedrooms. We went to ikea to choose some bits and bobs - new bedside lights, duvet covers etc for 'their new room'.

Try and plan where all the furniture is going so you can stand in the front garden directing the men as it comes off the van.

Don't get too depressed when you open your new front door and see your new house looking sad and empty and probably a bit grubby. By the end of the day it will be stuffed to the gills with your stuff and hopefully, after a takeaway and bottle of wine, will feel like home.

Oops this is a bit long - Sorry if anyone's fallen asleep.

Bucketsofdinosaurs · 27/08/2006 16:00

Ooh yes , plan where you're going to fit all your big furniture in advance. I only had a vague idea after the first viewing so I wrote down measurements of the biggest pieces before the 2nd viewing. Then I drew a plan of the house as we went round it measuring spaces (eg chimney alcoves) and checking our pieces fitted as planned.
I then drew up a new smart map with our furniture on it, put sticky room labels on the furniture so anyone could work out where to put what. The house was really liveable straightaway, apart from the boxes obviously.
It's always worth another viewing if you haven't got a clear picture in your head.

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