More unusual moving house tips

[KatyMac]

Not the easy stuff like take a box with mugs kettle etc or make sure the children are being looked after somewhere else

But what things really make moving out/in easier?

There must be some serious knowledge here on MN

Pop a small bottle of brandy in your handbag , just for medicinal purposes ! At some stage you are going to need it ! I’ve moved many times and it gets more organised but always stressful ❤️

Get all your stuff packed the day before you move in the morning and have the removals people store it overnight. Clean the house in the afternoon and then spend the night in a hotel before moving in to your new house.

Key-rings with paper labels for the door keys/window locks/gates etc to label them.

Are you moving yourselves or having movers? I found it really useful to put large items of furniture / appliances in last, so they were the first things out. It meant I could get them into place and then begin unpacking boxes into and onto them. DH’s experience was very different to mine (we moved in together from separate homes) because he wasn’t as organised: I calmly got most of my clothes unpacked and into the wardrobe and drawers and my books onto the bookcases whilst he was moving his boxes from room to room to make space for bigger stuff coming in.

Pack a suitcase with 7 days worth of clean clothing/work items, medication, hairdryer and ablution items (and bank stuff) was my biggest "win". Everything you need to function that isn't immediately buyable in one easiy recognisable "box".

Before you start unpacking make your beds.

It's the last thing you feel doing later when you are exhausted, and you can just collapse straight into it.

Food! Pack a cool box with lunch, snacks and drinks. And make a plan for your evening meal so you know what you are having and when.
Pets. Have someone else look after them for the day if you can.

We are having movers but packing ourself - love the idea of large pieces of furniture (& beds) last - that's great

I love the suitcase/7 day holiday idea thanks & I have labels with string for keys - great idea

I don't drink but I'll substitute easily digested sugar!! & packed food - fab idea

Making our beds definitely

Cat will be going into the cattery

I worry about packing up early in case it doesn't go through!! I know it's unlikely but...

Put the microwave and air fryer in your car. Sometimes the appliances don't work the other end or they've left you with no oil.

Put each bed linen inside it's pillowcase for each individual bed.

Put pet bowls in the car too and a spare lead.

Carry medication again in the car or suitcase.

Pack the clothes for moving morning in your car so they don’t get lost

don’t clean before big pieces of furniture that haven’t been moved in years come out as dust bunnies will emerge from behind

Our previous owners left us a folder with lots of useful information in it - boiler service certificates, bin day details and even details of what paint colours was used on the walls etc. Very useful.

Pack all essential.documenys separately and keep them with you: passports, NHS cards, share certificates, etc.

Put clean bed linen on beds the day before moving and it all goes into a box on that bed so it's just a matter of unging the duvet and pillows straight on.

Empty the bins, the removers won't and you coukd end up unpacking a full bin!

Self packing will take three times as long as you think so allow for it.

Book an hotel for moving night. Honestly it's the best thing we ever did.

Pack you vacuum cleaner in your car so you can whizz it through at the other end.

Nowadays, unless you are rural, I wouldn't muck about with kettles, mugs, etc. Have bottles of water and if anyone needs tea/coffee, use deliveroo or Just/Uber eats.

Buy boxes, don’t use random ones from the shops, Amazon etc. That way they’ll stack together more efficiently. Label them really thoroughly - not just “kitchen” but “kitchen - mixing bowls, baking trays, utensils”. Then you’ll know which to unpack first and which can be left for a day or so.

Have a change of shoes and socks to hand.
Ware sturdy shoes / boots that will protect your toes while moved the heavy stuff , then change when your putting the lighter stuff away.
Plus a change of shoes always feels good when you have been on your feet all day

Also, on moving clothes, if you have a lot, leave everything that’s already on hangers on the hangers, and just bunch things into bundles, fasten an elastic band or zip tie around the bundle of hooks, cover with bin bags, making a hole in the top for the hangers to go through, then move them all that way. I have a fairly extensive wardrobe and was really dreading having to unhang and rehang everything - but doing it this way meant I just removed the bin bags and ties and put them straight back onto the wardrobe rails.

You can also roll a bundle of clothes on hangers.
Put the pile on the bed, still on hangers, fold down the hangers all as a bundle onto the clothes, and fold again, and again or roll. Then put in a big bag or bin liner.

Tie up bedding using the corners of the sheets.nplonk on new beds, untie. Voila!

Do as much laundry as possible in preceding days.
On the day, put any remaining dirty laundry into a bag or bin liner and take it in your car. You don't want the removal people handling a hamper of dirty laundry.

I had every box labelled where it had to go so I wasnt being asked by multiple people where to put what. We had 2x 7.5t vans, loaded up everything bar mattresses and white goods the night before, our new house was empty so filled up one truck to the brim, stuck it on the drive of the new house and kept the other one back for the last bits in the morning.

Beware the house you move into will likely feel 'grubby', even if the people moving out have cleaned. It may be partly psychological. So take all the relevant cleaning stuff with you in your car and be prepared to wipe (wet then dry) inside all built-in cupboards before you put anything away.

Don't forget to pre arrange buildings insurance and confirm that and contents on the day.

Consider buying additional mobile data because it's going to take a while to sort your broadband. Get kids to download things to watch on devices / music before you leave the old house.

Run down food and cleaning supplies before moving. Then do an online supermarket order ready for the morning after moving in so you can stock up your new cupboards. It can easily be cancelled the day before if anything goes wrong with moving day.

Vacuum bags for massive coats, spare bedding, towels etc take up less space.

Get a tape gun. Also giant cling wrap is good for packing up table legs, brooms and mops, garden tools etc into easy to carry bundles.

You don’t always need to pack up drawers. They can be taken out as is or smaller furniture just moved as a whole. Fridge/ freezer can be moved with stuff in them. Tho do try to eat it down before hand.

We move on Tuesday so right in the middle of it.
We have hired a storage unit (half price for first 2 months) to keep garage and loft stuff which we will empty once house mostly unpacked.
Taking pot plants to my daughters out of the way.
Taking small chest freezer to Mum’s and storing what’s left there until we are in new house.
Put anything not boxed up in car. Have 2 ikea bags filled with clothes as too heavy to box and don’t want them all over removals van.
Dont buy packs of wardrobe boxes then lose the hangers 😂 so you need ikea bags in the car.
We had arranged removals to come on Monday to make a start but this has been changed to full move on the day unfortunately.

Dont complete on a Friday. If it goes wrong you have to wait till Monday. We once had a solicitor (up the chain) go for a boozy lunch and didn't sign off the money so my house was sold, unable to reenter but my purchase didn't go through so ended up in a hotel.
Cost a fortune in extra removals/storage and hotels/food. We we're exchanging and completing on same day due to issues with up chain on day of exchange so no compensation.
So also make sure you have several days clothes, medication and other essentials.
Don't exchange and complete on the same day and choose your solicitor carefully!

Write the contents of the box on the top and two of the sides. It’s annoying to do when packing, but you will be really pleased when the boxes are all piled up that you can check the contents without moving them. Also, make sure the rooms are clear to the movers - a map helps. Number the bedrooms and bathrooms etc.