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

[Cherryjellybean]

I like the walnut tip in the video, I have not heard that one before.

I sort through cupboards and wardrobes in the months before, organising and throwing things away we don't need. It makes packing quicker. We also wrap delicate things in towels and tea towels.
We label the room the box is going into, and clean the room as we go.

[nextphase]

Bin as you pack, and they pay a removal firm to move it all.
Honestly, they are worth the money. Moving all the furniture into a van, and back out again just isn't worth it.

[OPeaches]

Hire a skip a month before you move. Go through every room and the attic ruthleay throwing out anything you don't need. There's nothing more disheartening than unpacking unwanted crap into your beautiful new home.

[Maiyakat]

Take lots of cleaning products! If you're doing a lot of work to the house store belongings elsewhere if at all possible.

[Kipsy]

• EBay/Freecycle things you will not need in the new house - saves having to pack and move things you will be getting rid of anyway
• Designate a box to hold valuables and documents. Keep this safe with you at all times
• If renting, try to overlap the leases so you have a couple of weekends or a few days to move. Leave a readybed, and basic kitchen and toiletries stuff in the old home - that is where you would be sleeping. Make multiple visits to the new home to set it up. Time consuming and costly perhaps, but it does help transition for kids. Also allows you to have the old home clear to clean well once ultimately moved.
• Buy 10 times more boxes than you think you will need! Boxes are expensive, try to store them if you might move in future. Moving companies sometimes provide them at a nominal cost.
• On main moving day, try to house kids and pets with friends or family. Heavy moving with kids underfoot is more trouble than it's worth. Move on a school day when they are in school.

[DoItTooJulia]

Mark the boxes with a contents and which room it needs to go to. Otherwise you are DOOMED.

[PervyMuskrat]

If you can't afford professional movers, ask friends and family to help - you'll be surprised how willing people are to help (although you may be expected to return the favour later!)

YY to leaving the kids in childcare or with family on moving day - your stress levels will be much lower.

If you can afford it and you're moving from rented to owning or rented to rented, a couple of weeks of paying for both properties means that there's less pressure to get everything done in one day and you can give the old place a thorough clean before giving the keys back to the landlord (and thereby improving your chances of getting the full deposit back!)

[Bert2e]

Get the removals company to do the packing - it was the best couple of hundred pounds I've ever spent!

[farrowandbawl]

When getting quotes from removal companies - double check that the price quoted INCLUDES VAT and transport TO AND FROM their depot.

My mate had a nasty surprise when they failed to mention those to her when she got the final price, after they moved her into her new place - just as well I had some money in the bank to help her out as she only had enough to pay them the price they quoted her (without VAT and travel to and from depot).

[CheeryCherry]

Some excellent tips here, especially the overnight bags, making up the beds asap (give that job to those 'helpers' who get in the way!) and keeping tea, coffee and kettle close to hand. Plan the evening meal, either picnic made earlier or take away pizza which doesn't need cutlery.
Leave flowers, keys and a pile of self addresses labels with your new address on for the new owners. Makes it easy for them to send on your mail.

[MILdesperandum]

Small boxes for heavy items eg books, write where the contents of each box came from eg "left hand dresser drawer". Take out drawers of clothes and leave clothes in. Crockery in cardboard fruit crates (from supermarket) and move these yourself in the car = no bubblewrap!

[NumptyNameChange]

my top tip would be that if it's a big move book a b&b for the first night.

there is something really disconcerting about sleeping in a new house for the first time whilst exhausted from the stress of moving and with boxes and stuff everywhere. can make it all seem too daunting and leave lots of room for doubts over whether you've done the right thing etc.

i wish i'd done this when i bought solo for the first time. i think walking away from it, getting a decent nights sleep then coming back and tackling things in the clear light of day would've been better. it wasn't helped by the fact the seller had left loads of crap in the property and left the kitchen and bathroom filthy.

really when you factor in all the costs of moving £40 for a b&b with a clean bed that lets you take a break is nothing and helps you have a proper break and start again renewed.

[mum2eci]

Moving is one of the most stressful times in your life! Especially with kids. If possible have the kids looked after by a relative/friend. Always pay for the best removal company you can afford (some provide boxes and even help you pack!). Labelling boxes is a MUST! makes it so much easier to unpack at the other end :-)

[weepingvipers]

Don't pack the house you have got, pack for where you are going. E.g. you currently have books in each of the dc rooms and the front room but your new place has a book wall in the dining room pack ready for that to save shuffling about at the new house.

Mark your boxes with a priority 1, 2, 3 and tell your movers. Priority 3 boxes go in the garage to be sorted at your leisure. Priority 2 stacked in appropriate rooms and priority 1 go in the room but kept immediately accessible rather than ending up under a pile behind a stacked 3 piece suite!

I like the clip but think most of the tips are common sense aren't they?

[JacqueslePeacock]

Vacuum packed clothes bags (that you do with the vacuum cleaner hose) are great and space-saving.

Label all boxes in full or you will be trying to work out what your cryptic messages meant perhaps months from now.

Any boxes you haven't unpacked a year later can be taken straight to the charity shop! Instant decluttering without much effort. :)

[petalsandstars]

Make the move whilst children are at school or nursery if possible, but remember to collect them on time!

Get the beds made first and know where your dinner is coming from - take away or otherwise.

Label boxes on at least 2 sides and put clothing in suitcases that you'll be transporting anyway.

And get a removal company in to pack all but the very essential items.

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

Treat every week as though you will be moving the following one. Never walk out of one room to another without carrying something that needs putting away or chucking.

Every week clutter clear 1 metre of space. (every day if you are definitely moving within the next 8 weeks) Don't keep stuff out of guilt or because you think one day down the line you might need it.

Don't use boxes where those sucky vacuum bags will do (ie for clothes and bedlinen)

Have one box, clearly labelled with the stuff you will need for the first 24 hrs in a new place. This must include pyjamas, contact lens solution and chocolate.

[MaryannM]

Label boxes as you pack them.

Don't leave it until the last minute.

Clear out while you pack - if you haven't used it in the last year then odds are you never will. So bin it!

Use the see through recycling bags for things like bedding, they are great because you can see whats in the bags, they are free and you can still use them for their intended purpose once you are unpacked.

Pack a box or two for the first night and day. Include games for the kids and a bottle of wine for yourselves! If you can stretch to it, book a room at a premier inn or similar for the first night.

[Lent1l]

Keep removals men/women well supplied with tea and biscuits, keeps them happy and the job moving along.

Make sure you have a kettle and mugs to so this both packing and then unpacking in new house.

Treat yourselves to take-away on your first night, fish and chips is good as doesn't require cutlery!

If possible make a note of the layout of the new house before you move in to have a good idea of where you would like furniture, to avoid moving heavy items again after the helpers have left.

[mindingalongtime]

Just pay someone to do it all, pack up and then unpack, less stress, less effort and worth every penny.

Don't underestimate the number of boxes you will need, double it and some!

Use the wardrobe boxes, leave clothes in drawers - light stuff or kids stuff.

Put it into store and stay in a hotel for a few nights if the place needs to be deep cleansed or de flea'd as ours did!

Eat out or have takeaways for the first week.

Plenty of chilled wine.

[GTbaby]

Label boxes with room they should be put in. And a rough list of what box contains.
Saves you having to go through several boxes all labeled bedroom looking for bedding.

[florencebabyjo]

Pack a box with a kettle, tea, coffee, sugar , milk and biscuits etc so you can have a well earned cuppa when you get in. Also pack a bag for each of your children with books, colouring bits and snacks etc to keep them occupied and out of your way when you're running round sorting things out. Quilts and pillows ready made up and popped in bin bags will also make getting them to bed really easy.

[DoctorGilbertson]

The last time we moved we paid a huge amount for excess luggage and took all the kids toys with us by plane rather than shipping them. Definitely worth it. The rest of our luggage arrived (flood damaged) 10 months later.

[CogitoErgoMum]

Never ever underestimate how much is in your kitchen. No matter how small a kitchen you have, the contents alone will fill a small van - at least.

[StairsInTheNight]

Save 8 thousand million newspapers because you will need every single one when you realise how much china you have hoarded.

Books are heavy. Get heavy boxes. Dont overfill them or you wont be able to lift them.

Label every box on every side. Get lots of marker pens.