Moving house tops the list of stressful experiences. However, they can go smoothly with proper organisation.
We have prepared the following tips to make life easier between the initial decision to move house and the day you finally move into your new home.
Before you even think about boxes, you can start by sorting out your clutter. Throw it out, sell it or give it away – but get rid of everything you won’t be taking with you.
Don’t make the mistake of taking everything with you and imagining you will sort through it at your new address. You won’t have either the motivation or the time as your priority will be settling in.
You can never have enough on moving day! Where can you find them? Easy – ask a local shopkeeper, supermarket, the last friend who moved house, or visit a Foyer agent.
Also prepare sticky tape, scissors, labels, marker pens and bubble wrap. Labels are very useful for indicating the contents and destination of each box (tip: write on the tops and sides of boxes so you’ll be able to see the labels even if the boxes are stacked).
Whether you use professionals or a group of friends, this is ultimately the most important ingredient in a successful move.
Professionals will do almost everything: packing, dismantling furniture, loading, transporting and unloading. Using them makes things simple and almost hassle-free.
With friends, you are choosing a cheap and cheerful move. Just make sure you have pairs of gloves and sufficient provisions for everyone.
When you move, you are the only one who knows your new address. It will no doubt take you time to notify everyone of your new details.
To ensure that post doesn’t get lost in the meantime, you can ask the Post Office to automatically redirect letters to your new home.
You will need to pay for this service, which is time-limited. And the Post Office will not notify your correspondents of your change of address.
You will therefore still need to communicate your new address to your friends, officials and suppliers.
On the day of the move, all your belongings will be packed, stacked and scattered. Pack one box with basic necessities, such as toilet paper, tea and coffee, toiletries, etc.
You’ll be grateful later on, when you don’t have to open 20 boxes to find your favourite pillow to go to sleep.
Keep your valuables together and close to you. This means jewellery, as well as important documents.
Moving house is always a great opportunity for thieves and bad luck to strike. Avoid tempting either of them.
Don’t forget to take readings (or photos) of your water, gas and electricity meters.
If the new tenant or owner has the same supplier as you, you can complete the transfer documents together. This will avoid the cost of stopping and restarting the meters.
In addition to any well planned organisation, it is important to be properly insured when you move house. We advise you to inform your insurance agent of your change in situation without delay.
