Tell More Th>n your top tips for making moving home easier - £240 voucher prize draw NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

More Th>n would like to find out Mumsnetters' top tips to make moving home a little easier.

Heres what More Th>n have to say, "Life can be full of little frustrations. At MORE TH>N we want to help, and that's why we love collecting and sharing all sorts of tips and tricks that make life that little bit easier. We like to think of them as 'helping hands', those clever ideas you never knew you needed to know. We're always on the look-out for more great hints to share, so if you've got a top tip, let us know."

To get some inspiration, watch the video clip below and then share your own top tips on this thread.

Do the suggestions given in the video appeal to you, or not? Which, if any, would you try out? Do you have any of your own to add? Do you pack duvets into your cupboards to save on space? Maybe you write the contents of each box on the box after youve packed it to make it easier to find the right box in your new home? Or do you make sure there are lots of biscuits around to fuel the hard work ?

Everyone who adds their comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £240 Amazon voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Agree with having a clear out before you move, and start packing early.

Put essentials in a clearly labelled box, and give them a defined "home" in your new place, to save you looking through everything.

I've never used removal people, but the last time I moved was pre-DS and all my friends with kids say it is worth the expense.

Be hugely pregnant when you move so that you have an excuse not to lift anything

Try and take a pic of the new kitchen you are going to, and spend a little time working out which cupboard is going to be which. Let's face it, the first place you put something is going to be where it stays for a long time, so it's worth working out where the cutlery drawer should be etc.

If you can possibly afford to pay the removal people to pack for you, it will save a lot of stress and staying up for 36 hours straight

Make sure you have the essentials right at the top, or easily accessible - i.e. pet food, kettle, tea, mugs, snacks, 'essential' toys for the children etc. So everyone gets a comfort break before the unpacking begins in earnest!

I'm an organisational freak so I love to be fully armed with labels and marker pens. Try and start packing early so you can declutter as you go. Clearly label what is in each box so you know where it needs to go and roughly what order you need to unpack in.

Pack a bag for each member of the family as if you were going to have a weeks holiday - so essential toiletries, books, chargers, toys etc. That way you won't be scrabbling round in half opened boxes looking for stuff (clothes presumably will stay in the drawers etc but it never hurts to have underwear handy just in case things get blocked in by boxes).

My top tip is if your pregnant and shipping to a different country make sure the stuff gets there in time. Thank goodness Dd1 was late!.

Otherwise, essentials box to include washing up liquid, soap, toilet roll, towel, tea towel, kettle, tea bags, mugs, biccies.

Write destination room on each box so it can be put in room it is for. Make up kids beds as one of first things.

Maybe most importantly do a quick baby / toddler proof check before you let them wander about.

My tip for moving house would be 'junk everything that you don't actually need''.

We are still unpacking boxes 3 years after moving because we have so much stuff. If I'd just been more brutal to start with then I wouldn't have to do it now!

Don't unpack chests of drawers - simply seal them shut with masking tape (careful it doesn't damage the furniture first).

Declutter as much as possible using gumtree and freecycle before the move.

Put plenty of snacks/ cans of juice etc in the car so you know where they are. Ditto any documentation or in fact anything you will need over the next few days.

Make up your mind who is going in each bedroom before you move the bedroom furniture in.
Declutter! Declutter! Declutter!

unload all the boxes to the garage first and then only put the big stuff into the new house that way you can unpack each room as you need to without tripping over boxes

As soon as you get your keys make a spare set

Declutter as you pack have a skip, charity shop and sell pile as you pack up each room that way you wont be paying for transporting things that you will just throw away later

Last but by no means least check and make sure that you are covered by your home contents for outside the house for when your items are at two places at once.

If you're short of boxes buy a big multipack of them (we got ours online). Sharpies pens for writing on the boxes.

Enlist your friends and get them to pack easy stuff like the kitchen! (But unpack the kitchen stuff yourself so it goes where you want it). Don't ask your friends to pack those random drawers of junk in your dresser/bedside table etc! Start early enough and sort the stuff out as you go!!

Clearly number the boxes then keep a separate list of everthing that's in them - when you need to find something it's easier than rummaging through boxes or moving boxes around to see lists that are kept togeter with the boxes

Talk to the phone company/boradband supplier early - in some cases they can make a seamless transfer, but you'll need to tell your seller not to 'disconnect' the line. So find out early. We had phone line and broadband (BT) up and running by 2 pm on the day we moved in and ditto our buyers.

De-clutter at least two months before moving, and be ruthless. Ebay, or freecycle de-cluttered items. Anu money made can go towards removal costs. Pack one room at a time, it makes it less stressful. Label boxes and secure tightly with masking tape. Set aside a bag/box with washing stuff, towels, kettle, tea/coffee and then you can have a shower and drink when you arrive. Set aside duvets and sheets to make beds up too.
If moving with small children, always pack a selection of their toys for them to find easily when you arrive, hence keeping them occupied.
Also, plan ahead finding out local doctors, shops that deliver, take aways etc.
finally a week before you move, pack away all you clothes. Keep two/three outfits and then you'll not have loads of washing when you move into the new place.

We were a military family for many years, my son has moved house 5 times and he is 8 years old.

You do get quite organised though!

First step for me in advance is a good old sort out. What you want to keep, what you might want to sell or give to the charity shop. Work through room by room. Make sure everyone does this - otherwise the removal men pack without prejudice and you may find yourself paying for removal of boxes of oily cloths and empty WD40 tins because the shed has been overlooked at the last minute.

Next, if you are packing yourself or not, start boxing up items you can live without for a few weeks - bookshelves, DVD's and spare bedding can be packed. Label clearly so you can priorities these boxes last when you unpack.

If you have a spare room or dining room you can live without start packing these up, or as a storage area for the packed and labelled boxes.

On the last few days of packing you might want to pack intimate items personally!

Label all essential boxes clearly. Label each room clearly too.

I tend to take the kettle, Teabags, sugar squash and sone cups etc in the car so that you can get a brew going at the other end!

Give yourself a day in your move or lease to deal with the empty house. If you can afford it - get in a cleaning team. If not, rope in some friends to Vax carpets, vacuum cobwebs etc.

Many hands make light work - ask friends/parents to have the kids so they don't get in the way of lifting and loading. Make sure they have a few favourite toys to hand as it may e unfamiliar and a little bit upsetting.

We used to make sure DS said goodbye to the house, and picked his room in the new one if possible as it helped him settle in.

When you move in you can usually ask the removal company to come back and collect the boxes and all the paper that you don't need. They can reuse and recycle it.

Finally - lists, lists and more lists! Utilities to contact. New doctors, dentists to register, post redirection . You can get some good apps to help organised your " to do " lists.

If you are planning a move, ask friends and family to keep not just boxes but other packaging, bubble wrap etc. In 2012 my parents, DP's parents, DP's brother, my grandad and then finally us all moved house!! We reused loads of boxes between us.

If you have room ,keep things like that in the garage or shed. Also, we have been renovating our house, and we keep packaging such as the foam corners that came with our glass shower screen. DP's other brother is about to move and has snapped these up for safely wrapping a large mirror. More importantly, recycling all the above is good for the environment too!!

Leave clothes on hangers and lie them flat in the back of the car and just transfer straight into your new wardrobes. Have a list of what's in each box stuck on the outside as well as which room it's for, saves time when you're looking for something.

Use a removal company. So much easier, saves your back and they have insurance so white goods are covered. Label boxes very clearly: room, contents, fragile.

Think about what you'll do if rooms don't map across exactly. We had a garage in the old house and labelled these boxes 'garage'. No garage in new house. The removal men didn't know where to put them so they ended up in the hall.

If you can, pay a removal company. It made moving across the country bearable for us because the pressure was off and we could concentrate on the DC.

Get ready early.
I know I'll be moving in the summer when my tenancy renews so I'll be starting the preparation soon.
Get rid of junk now, don't use up your valuable bin space in the days before a move with stuff you could have thrown away ages ago.

I really need to take my own advice and start a major declutter/giveaway.

Put clean duvet covers and pillow cases on before packing into black bags and put them in the CAR, then put beds up first when you get to new home, doesn't matter how much gets done on day one as long as you can go to bed when you need to

Start decluttering as soon as you even think of moving.

Pack a bag of essentials so you have them close to hand - kettle, teabags, packet of biscuits, pint of milk, pyjamas, hand towel, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, paracetamol, box of plasters and deodorant.

Find the telephone number and menu for a good takeaway near your new house. You'll deserve a treat by the evening!

Label every box. Write a number too (e.g. kitchen 1, kitchen 2, ...). Then make a note of how many boxes there are for each room so you don't have that "I'm sure there was another box..." feeling.

Ask someone to look after the children for the most stressful/busy bits of the move, but make sure they feel fully involved in the move. It's important that they are there to say bye to the old house and to say hello to the new house. It's amazing how helpful they can be with unpacking. If they've packed a bag each of their "treasures" they'll feel happier and will also be able to entertain themselves for a while when they tire of unpacking.

Get a good removal company, not just the cheapest. Ours were a godsend. Ask local friends for recommendations. And put dc's in nursery/childcare if poss on moving day and day after, much easier to get the inevitable cleaning done.

Name all boxes. Travel with valuables in the car. Have special box in car with kettle, tea bags, snacks, mugs etc.

If possible get the packing service from the removals company (it's often not that much extra but means you can pack the house in 1-2 days, instead of living with a partially packed house for weeks).

Check your piano will fit up the stairs before paying specialists a non-returnable sum to do it.

Have the removal company pack as well as move you.

We had less than 48 hours notice between exchange and completion and didn't have a removal company organised because the chain was about to collapse. But once we got the company booked the stress just stopped. Their pack is quick and secure, plus they knew what needed to be taken the night before and what could be left for the morning.