Help me think through our house move

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

We complete on our house purchase on Monday. We are not selling the house we are leaving so can have a slow transition to new house.

we need to be in the new house by 5th sept for DCs to start at new school. We are moving 60miles away.

we have ordered new sofas to be delivered to new house in 5 weeks. We don’t want to take our current sofa as we will only have to get rid of it.We have bought new high sleeper beds for DCs to next week. We will order a new bed frame for us to be delivered at new house.

some of our furniture is broken so we are planning to dump it.

we have integrated appliances in the kitchen.

so the only large things to take are mattresses, tvs, tv unit, stand up shelving, Chest of drawers, white goods washing machine, fridge, chest freezer, kids toys, kitchen stuff,

We are going on holiday on 12th sept of a few days at its DH birthday. So I am
planning to book removal company for large items for 20th sept when we are back.

so basically could we move in as of it’s a holiday house for a few weeks? As long as we have clothing, toiletries , school uniforms they can start school?

my DH has a really big computer game collection, music equipment and gaming equipment. He has packed it all up into boxes. I feel like we need to get that moved first so we can have space to
move rest and clear
our heads bit. So have booked a transit van for next week and will do that ourselves.

how would you do it if you were me?

I would get cleaners in and get the carpets cleaned before any furniture goes in. We did that as moved from rented and had an overlap, it was well worth it. They did inside all the cupboards and everything. I’d get everything ordered now, beds built etc at the new place. Run down your freezer. Empty the furniture that isn’t going and tip it/sell etc. Take the gaming stuff and any other ready packed boxes.

Are you all packed?

No I am not packed. That is partly what I am panicking about.

Yeah it’s pants but just need to crack on. Places like big yellow storage sell cardboard boxes, you can get the ones with hangers as well for clothes. Couple pairs of scissors, tape. Sharpies for labelling- write which room each box is for on them to make easier on moving day. Declutter as you go- clothes/toys/everything. Regular tip and charity shop runs.

It will take longer than you think so good to start now, even a few boxes a day. You could always start with easy bits- the kitchen stuff you don’t use all the time, books, artwork on walls etc. We cleared one room first and then put everything that was packed/dismantled ready to go in there so there weren’t boxes everywhere which made it easier to see what was left.

And be ruthless with the decluttering, when we unpacked there was loads of stuff I thought ‘why did we bother bringing this.’

Honestly OP whole families without access to professional removals pack up and move from one house to another on the same day.

Stop overthinking and get start packing. Winter clothes. Seasonal items such as Xmas decs.

If I'm understanding correctly, according to your timings, you'd be living there for about 2 weeks with no mattresses, fridge, freezer, kitchen stuff, TV or toys, so it wouldn't be like a holiday home at all, it would be a nightmare. I'd just do the cleaning and possibly some decorating now if you can, pack up (or pay for packers) and move everything on 3rd (assuming you need it to be a weekend). Unpack the main things immediately and do the rest gradually.

I agree with getting carpets cleaned then allowing 24 hours for them to dry if you can - you can hire a machine and diy if you are organised and can take time off work.

I suggest you load up the car with cleaning supplies, then on completion day drive up and scrub the place. Even when tidy clean people move house, shifting cupboards often reveals dirt and dust and drags it through the house.

Surely you will need to move the mattresses and washing machine in the transit van?
Also will your new house have curtains?
What about Wi-Fi - for us that’s as essential as running water unless you have good data on your phones?
what about something to sit on until the sofas arrive? Have you selected a new table and chairs to be delivered in week one?

Also if you have a garage or garden shed I expect there could be other large things like bikes, lawnmower, etc. Do you have nothing like that?

I definitely would NOT be prioritising packing up and moving dh’s gaming collection. focus on things you’ll need to live. For a while you need to live among boxes at both old house and new house - if you don’t have a spare room then shift furniture and stack them wherever you can.

I would be getting dh to drive the transit van and I’d follow by car, filling both up with:

• mattresses


• curtains


• washing machine


• fridge


• clothes horse (if you have one, ours is huge but we use it loads!)


• box of towels and bedlinen


• pillows


• One box for each kid of pencil cases, toys, books, games


• box of cleaning supplies


• mop and or broom


• kitchen bin


• box of toilet brushes, tea towels, pegs, washing line, dishwasher tabs, fabric conditioner and washing powder, bucket


• box of miscellaneous useful stuff like bin bags, screw driver kit, alun key, sellotape, pen and paper. Sounds like you have a lot of diy with building new beds etc.


• Vacuum cleaner


• Box of crockery, cutlery, glasses


• Box of snacks, tea, coffee, squash, pasta and jars of sauce etc


• Box of basic kitchen equipment - knives, sieve, tin opener, saucepans, frying pan. Like you said - think holiday home essentials.


• Box or two of clothes each.


• kids scooters or bikes or skateboards


• boxes of coats, shoes, school bags, umbrellas, sports stuff, wellies


• box of electronics - extension cables and plug adapters. Laptop/iPads, chargers, bedside lights for the kids, etc (we could easily live without tv but maybe that is just us)

you can’t live like it’s a holiday home as it is a shell of a house. You need to be thinking about the basic essentials then build out from there.