Moving house tips?

[NoTeaForMe]

So we’re finally moving home in 2-3 weeks. No date yet but everything ready. Hoping to complete the week after next.
Anyway, does anyone have any tips for packing and move day? I read somewhere about using bedding to wrap plates etc...is that a good idea? Any tips? Thanks.

Start packing now. Do a bit a day. Label everything by room. Get a removals company to do the heavy lifting. Best money I ever spent.

If you have paid for a removal company, they will pack everything in one day then move you the next day, dependent on what service you've paid for.

One tip I will give you is packers don't move and movers don't pack. The packers will move like greased lightening.

Put your coat, make up bag, selection of kids toys if using especially what they sleep with. Pyjamas if using.

Keep the kettle, tea, sugar, coffee and mugs in a plastic bag and put it in the car so it's to hand when you get to your new place.

Pack clothes and toiletries as if you were going away for the weekend so you've got a ready supply of shower gel and shampoo when you can't face rummaging in yet another box to find where the toiletries are.

Make your bed as a priority when unpacked at the new place.

Run down your stocks of frozen and fresh food. Even if that means a couple of days of freezer roulette before you go.

Clearly write the room you want each box to go in on both the top and side of each box. Bullet point list of basic contents (e.g. cutlery, books etc) on each box. Buy several box cutters and make sure you keep them on you on moving day for opening boxes at the other end.

Pack a bag per person for immediate needs ( PJ's, toothbrush, clothes for day after the move, kids teddies) plus things like paracetamol, and put them in the boot of your car so you know where they are.

On moving day your first priority is getting beds built and made, everything else can wait until day 2 if it needs to as long as you have somewhere to sleep.

We numbered every box and then went to the new house before the removal company and numbered every door in the house. They said it made it easier. Also biggest tip would be declutter as much as possible before you move.

Declutter as much as you can before you pack. Eat as much as you can so the freezer can be defrosted. Label the boxes. Have a box with kettle, teabags etc to put in the car for the other end. Pack a suitcase with bed linen, pyjamas and a set of clothes for the next day with toiletries. Always make your beds as soon as you can you can.

Move clothes in those tall moving boxes with hanging rails in! They're AMAZING! x

I print the movers a large copy of the floorplan which I've edited to be exactly what we'd call each room (e.g) study. Boxes are then labelled accordingly so they know where things are going. Found it most helpful this time when we moved to a large place, not so necessary with smaller houses. Also - buy 'fragile' tape. It's great to put around boxes and impossible for the movers not to notice - only use it on actual fragile boxes so it's not the boy who cried wolf. Towels are great for crockery packing but I always buy a large roll of bubble wrap.

I've done 2 moves in the past 18 months plus had a house full of stuff in storage for that period and helped my mum downsize her house so a lot of packing! All the above is good advice. Get plenty of bubble wrap/packing paper (or newspaper). Foam disposable plates are good to put in between plates rather than individually wrapping (quicker both ends) - you can buy cheaply on eBay. Yes to Fragile tape! You can buy moving box stickers in sets from Amazon/eBay which aren't expensive but save you writing a lot. They also come with contents (eg linen, food, toys) and blank stickers.

I numbered the boxes for each room and tried to keep an Inventory in a notepad - eg bedroom 1 box 1 = clothes, box 2 = shoes, box 3 = bags. Then you can tick off the number of boxes in a room to check nothing is missing and you know which box to unpack for what thing.

I always have a kitchen box with OPEN FIRST on it with kettle/tea/scissors and a couple of plates/mugs/cutlery etc - enough for eating dinner. Get fish and chips/a takeaway. If you're completing on the purchase of a property you'll be lucky to get in before early afternoon and you will not want to cook.

Definitely make the beds ASAP as the last thing you want to do at 11pm is make a bed so you can pass out. Also I would pack a couple of days worth of underwear/clothes plus valuables/charger/essential medicines/wash bag etc in a small suitcase so you can live out of that if you can't find something. Same for kids as well - everything they'll need (what you'd take on holiday).

Good luck!

Thanks all.
We have those Kallax toy storage. Do you think the boxes need to be emptied or can they be moved in the boxes they’re in? If you understand that...?

If they're going in your car, move them in the boxes they're in.

If you have movers or it's going in a van, I'd rebox them in a sturdier box and fold the boxes down.

Send your children to stay with grandparents/other, if you can. Greatly regret not doing that and having them underfoot for the first couple of days of unpacking.

We're packing for a move and also have a few Kallax units and boxes. We have put each one into a medium sized packing box so saves emptying and will be easy to set up at the other end. I think without lids the stuff would go everywhere and the movers will stack things very high in their lorry so won't be happy with lots of loose bits.

We are aiming to pack quite a few essentials in our car, a suitcase each to live out of for a couple of days, medicines, and our essential paperwork, passports, birth cert etc.

We've bought some giant wheelie bin bags which have been great for packing spare bedding, and keeping awkward shaped items together, like blinds and curtain poles, soft toys.

Thank you for the fragile tape suggestion, I've just ordered from Amazon.

If you have pictures, do a cross of tape across the glass to secure it just in case.

If you have pets arrange for them to go into kennels. One of our cats went AWOL 15 minutes before we were due to drive off to the new place.
Sort the loft, sheds, garages etc first.
Pack out of season bedding and clothes first.
Pack books ahead of the move.
Dismantle any furniture you can and selotape, put the screws in a jiffy bag and tape it to the piece of furniture.
Just leave basic kitchen equipment out and pack the rest.
Take stuff to charity shops/leave by the garden gate with a sign inviting people to take it/recycle.
Put a basic cleaning kit and vacuum in your car and plan to arrive before anyone else. Its easier to clean a room with no furniture in it. There may be dust bunnies left after the vendors move their furniture.

@Livinghereisok what are giant wheelie bin bags?! Sounds like I need some!

@Livinghereisok oh my god I’m so dumb! You mean bin bangs for the wheelie bin don’t you?! I had bin bags with wheels on in my head!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Just really massive black bin liners, the size that would fit a wheelie bin rather than a normal sized kitchen bin, buy them on Amazon etc.

Haha yes sorry, nothing too radical, just big enough to stuff odds and ends in!

If doing moving yourself, small stuff is easy. Big stuff isnt, especially if it has to be taken apart first.
Get people power.

Remember to keep time and energy to clean house, after it has been emptied.

Again, if doing it yourself, keep someone near van to make sure nothing is taken.

Professional packers and movers
First night in an hotel
Pets in boarding kennels/cattery
Put hoover in your boot along with bucket with cleaning clothes, dusters and spray cleaner.

Oh, and it is not unusual to actually need a bigger van than you think you need!

We had a giant roll of cling film and wrapped that around our storage box units so they could be moved with all contents still in them. Used it on the small bedside tables with drawers as well. Saved emptying them out.

Be ruthless. Really think about whether you want each item to move with you.

Can I suggest www.flylady.net moving tips? I found it very useful (I found it Googling flylady moving and it came up)

Label boxes with the room they're going to in the new house rather than the room they've come from in the old house.

Learned that one the hard way after arriving at new house with lots of boxes marked "attic" and confused removals guys pointing out there is no attic...