Moving house...

[Flossy2021]

I basically just need a safe space to rant. Please excuse the rambling my head is a mess after a very stressful week. Unfortunately the house we are living in is going on the market so we have no choice but to move. Quite upset as we're very happy here and we knew we'd have to move one day but would have preferred it to be by choice and not by force. Anyway... we have veiwed a house which we love its easily three times bigger then the house we are in, has a much nicer garden, so much space for our little girl to grow (10 months old) and also big enough for any other future babies. The house also comes with long term security so we know after this move we wont have to go through this for quite some years. We have put in an application and are waiting to hear back hopefully by the end of next week. Though the estate agent has informed us we stand a very high chance of getting the house.

I'm walking round our current house and just can't fight the feeling of stress and depression I guess realising how big a job this actually is having to pack up an entire house with a young child in the mix, estate agent visits and viewings for potential buyers all at the same time. Its honestly just making my head want to explode.

The move would be exciting as we would be moving on to much better things but the actual moving an entire house full of stuff is more then my brain can handle.

Has anyone else dealt with this feeling? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading. Xx

You can do it. Just keep breathing and take it one step at a time.

We've just done this. My top tip is be brutal. Get rid of anything you don't use/have too many of/don't need. Not only will it make moving easier, it will be easier unpacking and keeping the new house tidy. Good luck! X

One box at a time, regular trips to the tip and charity shops with things you don't want to take with you. It's quite a big deal emotionally packing up all your things, but it's mostly a practical job, literally putting things in boxes.

I find moving a very stressful thing.
I have moved with a 3 year old and a 4 week old looking after them alone is a full time job.
I simplified my subsequent move by being organised.
Weeks before I moved I started sorting through stuff- taking things to charity shops, going through clothes, books, kitchen equipment.
A few weeks before we rented a storage unit and started moving things we didn't need immediately. Small pieces of furniture, lots of linen, duvet covers, christmas tree, pictures and artwork, kitchen equipment, and extra crockery etc.
When moving day came around my house was sparse- enough for day to day, but cut down the moving process to the minimum.
Once we moved into our new place we slowly started pulling things out of storage as a slow comfortable place- it took a few weeks to decant the contents of the storage unit.
Having the storage cut down the stress significantly.

We’ve just moved twice in 6 months with a 1.5year old. Sold our house and moved into a rented house then bought a new house and moved in there.

Completely agree with @DemBonesDemBones - be absolutely brutal. Go through everything as you pack and clear out as much as you can.

Pack a suitcase each with everything you’d need to get you through a few days - clothes, toiletries, towels, electronics etc so that you’re not having to rummage and find things in boxes as soon as you get to the new house. Pack baby’s stuff and kitchen last at the old house then unpack them first at the new house. Adults can muddle through for a few days living out of boxes etc but you’ll feel less stressed having all baby’s stuff to hand 👍🏻

Fingers crossed for you getting the new place - sounds like it would be a great move. The physical move will be stressful but it’ll be so worth it!

You sound very overwhelmed Op, moving is very stressful.

We did a big downsize & relocation last year, my advice would be, have plenty of boxes, tape, sharpie & black bags.

The thought of getting started was for me the worse thing. As a pp said, be brutal, things you know longer use, don’t like or need, get rid, donate or dump. Don’t stop to look at things, just pack them.

To make unpacking easier, write on the boxes a brief description of what’s inside, it’s not helpful to have say kitchen on 15 boxes when you need to find something specific.

Pack a box/suitcase for what you need for the next few days, takes the pressure of the unpacking.

Good luck Op, you can do it.

Until you leave the current house it is yours to have “quiet enjoyment “. You don’t have to allow estate agent viewings or access to potential buyers if you don’t want to. And if you do you can insist that they are done at a time that suits you. Good advice above about the move, I hope you get good news about your new home soon.

And when you do move the best advice is to get all beds in place and made up first so that when you are totally exhausted you just crawl into them rather than trying to remember where the duvets and pillows are.

@viques Yes, so true, probably the must important thing to remember on moving day.

This may not apply to you, OP, as you are moving to a bigger space, but decluttering anything you don't want to pack and take obviously makes packing and moving easier. Hannah Bullivant has a blog, podcast, etc and if you sign up to her free newsletter you can get her free guide to decluttering. My parents are currently downsizing and moving and I sent this guide to them. It goes room by room/category by category, with checklists, and they found it absolutely brilliant.

Are you using a removal company? If so, get them to pack also. Totally worth the extra money, if you can manage it. THey will do in 4 hours what it will take you 4 sweaty, tearful weekends to do.

Good luck, I do hope you get the new place, it sounds perfect.

I'm in the process of moving, 25 yrs of my treasures (crap)stored in the house.
Get a skip and be brutal, chuck out everything you've not used for 6 months then start packing one room at a time.
Go round the house, take down anything on the walls, ornaments, photos and wrap and pack them in a box
Make a list of everyone you need to tell you're moving and tick them off as you go, redirect your mail.
I work full time,not the same as having a baby, so I'm doing it bit by bit, evening's and weekends, I'm actually doing ok, I'm the most disorganised person you'll meet, actually a little bit proud of myself.
If I had the money I'd pay a company to come in and do it

Hi everyone!! So sorry I've been quiet ...things have been very hectic and stressful but I am reading and really appreciate all your comments and advice! I'm SO relieved to say we have been accepted on the property and are moving in just over a month. Let the stress commence haha!

Xxx

This sounds like you're renting so can you have an overlap of the two houses? Even a few days would help but the longer the better. Failing that storage for stiff you won't need for a month.

Moving house nearly killed me, but I was in a bad place to start with. It will always be very stressful but you will manage.

Firstly get rid of as much stuff as you can. I really mean it. Right down to 'do we need all these pens, or 2 sieves?'.

You can pack as you declutter 'will I need this before I move, if not where will it live in the new house?' then put it in the right box.

For the stuff you'll need right up to moving consider being purposefully inefficient. I once used a moving company who packed at one end and unpacked at the other and they'd take a whole drawer out and just box it with the contents or bubble wrap the whole chest. Clothes stayed on the hangers, zip tied into bundles then bagged and boxed. Every shelf and surface had its own box. It's really bad spacewise but so much easier.

I second the PP who says get the moving company to pack for you. You pack essentials (a couple change of clothes, toiletries, phone chargers, work essentials, and kettle/toaster/cutlery and plates for the first day, bed linen). Put that stuff in the car, and keep vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies aside too. Then let them pack the rest! They will pack literally everything- they will pack your rubbish too. They will label boxes in a rough way (living room; master bedroom etc). After they've left, one of you goes to new house, the other stays behind to vacuum and clean. It would ge great if someone could have your baby for the day too.

Hi everyone, unfortunately a moving company is way our of our budget. With 9 weeks rent in advance to pay, plus a new cooker as the property doesn't have one and we can't take our current one as its a gas cooker and the new property doesn't have gas 😔 plus the van hire to move this move is costing us about 2 grand. However I have about a month so I'm thinking everyday between now and moving day if I pack a few boxes a day by the time moving weekend comes around I should be ready. I'm going to pack all non essentials first and leave the kitchen and bathroom to the day before we move.

I have someone who's going to have our daughter for the weekend we move so that makes things alot easier.

Going to try my best to be super organised as I pack and make sure I label every box with detail so I know exactly which room it needs to go in as we unload in the new place.

Luckily between leaving our old place and moving into our new place we have an 8 day overlap where we have access to both properties which I think will be a huge help.

Still with all of the above I'm not sure I'm physically or mentally ready for this but going to try my absolute best to be as organised as I can and pray the whole move goes as smoothly as possible.

Thank you for all your comments they are extremely encouraging and helpful.

Xxx

sounds a plan OP, but don’t underestimate how long it takes to pack up the kitchen, one tip would be lots of smaller boxes, as the items can be quite heavy.

@EdwardTownsend seeing as op was moving a year ago she's probably fine now