Moving day tips

[adoptivemummy87]

Anyone moved recently and have any tips or hacks to make it easier or less stressful?

We have a bit of a complicated move as we're selling in Scotland and buying a new build in England, 100 miles away. Luckily there's only our buyers (who are in rented) us and the house builder in the chain but we have to do it all in one day with a 3 year old and 4 month old kitten 😭

We are completing next Monday so still have a week but are both working all week and so much packing still to do.

Make sure you take a box with you (not movers), with kettle, tea, toilet paper, biscuits etc.
Ensure boxes are labelled with rooms and get your child’s room set up as the priority.
Some people like the movers to put boxes in rooms they are labelled for. Never worked for me as I’d be slow in unpacking so got them to put boxes in room groups in garage (only works if you have one) and I would then work myself room by room and saved tripping over boxes everywhere in rooms for weeks until I got to them. I’d also have certain boxes labelled ‘immediate’ and knew these were the ones to prioritise and unpack to enable day to day living to occur while I took my time over the other boxes. Sure everyone has a different system though.

I'd get packers to pack for you - that's my number one tip.
Can someone take charge of child and kitten for a couple days?
All really valuable stuff that you can't bear to lose or would cause hassle to replace take with you in your car (like important papers, jewelry etc).

Make your bed first. I promise that you will be so glad you did.

But instead of making fresh beds, take the bedding off your beds and roll/fold it up. I have fitted sheets so you can pop off the corners and turn them over the duvet. It will help the toddler settle better if their bed smells right (and yours too if they end up joining you in the night)

Would your movers assemble your furniture? I was so glad that ours did we would completely stuck otherwise.
Will you have curtains in the new house? We had disaster with the pole in DD’s bedroom very late in the evening. Luckily we’ve got dark blue bedsheet with us so just put it around the window but it’s stressful.

Have a box in your car with overnight essentials for the first few nights. Include toilet roll, toothpaste, change of clothes. Be ruthless in decluttering whilst packing and unpacking.

Buy some paper blinds from Amazon or similar before you go. We ended up relying on them for nearly 2 months in DDs’ bedrooms, otherwise we’d never have got them off to sleep as we moved in a summer month when it stayed light until late.

If you can't get packers in then ask friends or family to help but get packing. Get time off if you can.

With a week to go you just need to pack. No sorting as you go, no faffing. Just pack it and sort it when you unpack. Honestly. Now is too late!!

Farm child and kitten out if you can especially on the actual day so they are not in the way!

Declutter as much as you can and pack as much as you can now.

Have an essentials box with the kettle, mugs, snacks for the little one, kitten food, litter tray and litter, tea, coffee, milk and wine. Pack a suitcase with your bed linen for each bed, towels, toiletries and an outfit each. Put all the important documents in a bag. These things and the kitten go in the car with you.

We moved with 2 cats and we waited until everyone had gone before they came out of their boxes. Some people like to find a quiet room for cats to decompress.

Get your movers to put together your furniture. Make your beds as soon as you can so you can just get into them.

If you get you and yours in and can get to the running water and the bathroom without climbing over stuff you've done well!

I concur with the getting packers to pack - best money I’ve ever spent! Dismantling and assembly is also very desirable.

Bed linen and clothes can go into bin bags if necessary.

Obviously keep a box with kettle, tea, coffee, cups, plates and cutlery. Failing that get some paper plates.

Label all your boxes for what room you want them to go in.

Print our floor plans with rooms labelled to hand to your removal people if your using them.

Have a box that you take with you with the kettle, mugs, cups, juice, snacks, tea, coffee, milk.

Have a travel suitcase with you with fresh bedding, PJs, toiletries and clean clothes for the next day.

Suss out the nearest takeaway and get that sorted for your tea.

Good luck :)

We moved house a month ago. No children but 1 cat. We hired a van and also 2 men and Luton van.
We used a lot of clear plastic tubs/boxes to pack things in . We still haven't fully unpacked but can see where everything is !
With the cat , we emptied one room first and shut the cat in there with his litter tray some treats and the cat carrier with some blankets. I put a no entry sign on the door and he was last to be "packed " once everyone and everything else was out.
I bought a few packets of antibacterial wipes to final clean floors and surfaces.

We had someone look after baby until all packing done, out of old house and keys to new one available, and then picked up baby and went to new house. Had removals company who put furniture back together in new house. Shut cat in the bathroom (and made sure there was nothing in there for removals guys to get to, and that everyone knew not to open the door), when house was empty and ready to leave got cat. As soon as we got to the new house put cat in bathroom with food and shut the door - again let everyone know not to open the door. Cat is very nervous anyway but coped surprisingly well.

If you can have an idea of the meals you will have when you get there. Say for 3 nights. Lessens the mental load. If you haven't decluttered ghis end then do as much as you can when you unpack. Honestly everything you own needs tidied, make it as easy as possible.

You might be too late to get packers, but I'd ask if I was you. If you've got someone to take the cat and child for even a few hours that would be good. We popped the cat round to a neighbour's house while the move was happening.

Or put the cat in the bathroom with a big notice on the door saying do not open. And do the same at the new house.

Make sure the cat has water in the crate in the car. You'll have to keep checking for wee and poo.

We packed the bedding for each bed in big zip up cases so they just unrolled when we got there.

I moved with a box filled with the kettle, cups, coffee etc in the car and I bought a bottle of milk from my new local shop. I got back to my shiny new house, put the kettle on and realised I had no spoon! DON’T FORGET THE SPOON.......🤣

If you can get packers it's money well spent! I took everything out of a bathroom and shut the cats in there with their litter tray, food and water, right as the movers were done they loaded the litter tray and food bowls, we put the cats in their carriers.
I second taking your bedding and your childs bedding so you can make the beds up before anything else.
Take away night before move and first night in new house, make it easy.

I offloaded the (nappy size) children and the cats to family for the day. Made life much easier. I was able to supervise packing and cleaning up behind intelligently. I also spent the night with children and cats in relative's home, bless my sister forever. We progressed to New House in the morning. DP was already there, he'd somehow lost the very important box I'd packed with kettle, electrical lead for kettle, coffee, sugar, milk, and biscuits. Twit. But I do still love him

Pay for packers

It's easily done in a day if you don't pack yourself. The extra cost is a drop in the ocean in terms of total moving costs and means you aren't dancing around boxes all week or stressing about being packed up in time for the removal firm. Packing yourself is a false economy.

Following with interest.
Average fees charged by packing and moving companies? Can we get an idea from people who have used them?

Reckon id pack wine too!

We moved today. Did it ourselves. Wouldn’t recommend unless you own a van. Have willing and able friends 🤣 and are only moving minutes away!!! All of which was true for us but was still faffy!!

We were quoted between £940-£1200 NOT including VAT (9 minute drive between old and new house) Some of these didn’t include packing 🙈 which is why we did it ourselves.

@Wheretobuy - we've used the same company twice and will be using them again. We're going from inside M25 to just outside M25 and including packing will be about £1400 (ex VAT). Honestly it's worth every penny - I have a shoulder problem so can't lift very much.

I quite like my husband and don't want to get divorced.

They pack on day 1 - and they pack EVERYTHING that's not nailed down or you've told them to leave - they did our 3 bed house in 0.5 day last June. Day 2 they load those boxes, dismantle the furniture, load that - move - then do it all in reverse including remantling (not a word - but should be).

If we were to move again, I’d put money aside and have it done. Just to relax a bit more and not feel as though I had to do EVERYTHING myself.