Moving Day

Over the past couple of years all our blogs have talked about how to help sell your home, buy the right property, and choose the best location for your lifestyle, the legalities etc. However, there is so much more to consider – the main one being the actual moving day.

Perhaps the biggest part of moving is the actual physical move. Whilst the worry over the length of the chain and the finances is always at the forefront of most people’s mind, the actual move can be just as stressful and tiring, if not more so than anything else involved in the whole process.

In order to make the move easier I have put together a list of practical suggestions you can do to make the move as stress free and simple as possible.

Packing

Moving is the perfect opportunity to have a major clear out of your current house, especially if you’re downsizing, so why not get ahead of yourself and start sorting through all your belongings before the actual move. This way you only need to pack and take the items you actually want in your new home.

Some people prefer to pack themselves; other people like to have a company come in and do it for them. If you like to pack yourself these next few ideas will make packing and unpacking a lot easier.

Wardrobes

If the thought of having to fold clothes and put them into suitcases, then unpacking and hanging everything at your new home is horrifying then I would recommend buying hanging boxes.

These come with rails and are designed so that you can literally just transfer everything without the need for removing hangars and finding space for them.

Drawers

Another simple but really effective way of saving time and energy with drawers is to take them out of their chest with everything still inside. Wrap cling film round them, so nothing falls out, then just put them into bags.

Again, once you’re in your new house all you need to do is remove the cling film and put them back.

Boxes

Make you sure you label each box. The securest and safest way to do this, is to tape large coloured sheets of paper or post-it notes to the boxes.

Use different colours for each room and put the same colour sheets on the doors of each room. This will ensure the right boxes are placed in the correct rooms at your new house and make the actual unpacking so much easier.

Try not to label them with the room names on. Having the word “office” for example written on a box, could imply financial/legal documents, and while I’m positive nothing bad would happen, it’s not worth the risk of opening yourself up to identity theft/fraud etc.

What not to put in boxes:–

When packing kitchen items, toiletries, and certain documents i.e. passports, pack these last and place them in your own car, so that they can be easily accessed once you arrive at your new home.

Most importantly the first thing you will want to do when you get to the new house is put the kettle on. Who can even think about unpacking an entire house without caffeine?

The other thing to take with you in the car is bedding. This way, as soon as you arrive at your new house, you can make the beds. Believe me when you are shattered at the end of a long day, you will be thankful that the beds are already made and ready for you to crash out on.

Removal Companies

If you have decided to take some of the stress of moving day away and use a removal company, then here are a few tips:

Make sure you shop around to find the right company for you.

Think about what you want from your removal company? Do you just want them to take already packed boxes and furniture etc from one house to another? Or do you want them to come in and pack everything for you?

If cost is a huge consideration, see if you can negotiate on the price and remember if you want them to do the packing it will add to the cost, so it’s always worth weighing up time saved versus cost.

Flexibility is also massively important. You might not be able to give them a moving date until the last minute or dates might change. I’m sure this is something most companies are used to, but it’s always worth double checking their cancellation policies etc, because the last thing you want is for moving day to arrive and no way of physically moving.

Finally, and most importantly the best piece of advice I can give: don’t forget to keep everyone topped up with tea and coffee at both houses.

Hopefully some of these hints and tips will make moving day slightly less stressful.

For more house moving tips and tricks, chat with the best estate agents Manchester has to offer, and get in touch with Philip Ellis today.