Moving into a new home can be an extremely exciting experience and represents a new beginning. Sadly, the whole process can become a rather stressful, maddening process, which in many cases is down to poor preparation and planning. With this in mind, we’ve created a moving house checklist to help those of you keen to avoid the tumult often associated with relocation.
Start packing well in advance
It’s always a good idea to start packing well in advance of moving – but we’re not talking mere days here. To keep stress levels at a minimum consider beginning the process months in advance. If your house is large try packing one box a day, around two months before the moving out date. For smaller houses, one month should suffice. Packing in a stress-free environment without a deadline hanging over your head will improve organisation.
Pack items which are least used
It makes sense to start packing items that aren’t needed on a daily basis. Things like garden tools as well as seasonal items such as winter/su
mmer clothing or Christmas lights are typical examples. These can be boxed up with a minimum of disruption to your daily life during the lead-up to your house move.
Essentials
Make up an ‘essentials’ box for items that you’ll need straight after moving – it’s amazing how often this is actually overlooked. Things like canned food, kitchen utensils and toiletries are going to be among the first things to include. Be sure to mark the box up clearly and leave until last, so that you can easily lay your hands on it once you’ve moved in.
Watch the Weight
Moving home can be back-breaking work at the best of times so try to keep weight levels at a sensible limit for all of your boxes – 30 pounds is usually acceptable. Anything over and the chances of strain injuries are going to increase markedly. The box may also break as well which is going to raise stress-levels. The heaviest boxes should be loaded first so that they don’t crush breakable items. Squashed boxes can also become a big headache so be careful how you stack.
Label all Boxes
Obviously you’re going to want to label your boxes so that you know what goes where. Write on the sides so that they can be easily identified if stacked. In addition, use a bold marker when labelling so that the room in which the box belongs can be easily made out during the unpacking process. It may be also be the case that lighting is initially inadequate in your new house, so clear labels are going to be a big help.
De-Clutter
During the packing process, it’s a good bet that you’ll come across items that you don’t need or use any more. If you’ve got the time, group all these items together and consider selling them on. eBay, charity outlets and car-boot sales all offer a great way of off-loading surplus items. Alternatively, consider taking advantage of specialist rubbish collection companies to help in your de-cluttering efforts.
Things You Might Need
- House removals company
- Cardboard boxes
- Parcel tape
- Bubble wrap
- Marker pens (to label boxes)
- Dust masks (areas like the loft can get dusty!)
- Bin bags / refuse sacks
- Important paperwork
- New house keys
- Wine and bottle opener (trust us, you’ll want this close by)
