Blog Detail

A guide to moving house!

The time has come, your moving house and you own more then you realise so you start to feel overwhelmed! That is why we have put this guide together with lots of handy tips and ideas on preparing to move house and for when your moved in.

You can choose between moving house yourself or hiring a removal company either way you have to do the packing yourself. We recommend that the first thing you do is plan! This can help save on any major hassle leading up to and on the day of the move. Put together a moving box filled with the following items so you have it all to hand:

• Tape
• Labels
• Marker pen
• Scissors
• Stanley Knife
• Bubble wrap or similar

The packing up process:

• Book the removal company (if you are using one). It is recommended to do this as early as possible as they can get booked up well in advance.
• Gather boxes – ask family, friends, supermarkets, or order boxes online. There are some companies where you can purchase the boxes and return the ones you don’t use for some money back.
• Have a clear out! This is the perfect time to sell, donate, or throw out all those items that are collecting dust at the back of the cupboard. You do not want to end up cluttering your new house up with items you never use so be strict with yourself.

• Colour code and label each box, this way you know exactly which room it is for! You could even write a rating on them so you know which is high priority for unpacking and which isn’t.
• Don’t overfill! Keep the boxes at a reasonable weight you don’t want the bottoms to fall through or for them to be too heavy to carry.
• Which room you start in is down to preference but generally the kitchen is the ideal place to start. Pack all the items you know you wont use in the next few weeks, and keep out essentials.
• Avoid breakages! Make sure you wrap anything valuable or breakable up really well using bubble wrap or similar. A handy idea to protect artwork is to wrap them in duvets, blankets etc.
• Take photos, if you think you won’t remember where wires go into say the TV then take a photo so you can look back when setting it back up. Also ensure you cable tie wires together from each device to save on any mix ups.
• Screws, Nuts, and bolts – if you have to take items apart make sure you put the loose fittings altogether in a sealed, labelled bag.

• Use your suitcases! Place heavy items such as books into your suitcase so they can be wheeled about.
• Don’t take clothes of the hangers just pop a bin liner over them from the bottom to protect them during transportation
• Rather then unpack kids toys boxes just tape them up well and cover with a blanket or similar to avoid damage.
• Finally, Don’t leave any packing for on the day! There will be enough going on without needing to still pack during it all too.

Just before moving day:

Sometimes you can get access to your new house before the moving day, here are some helpful tips for if you do get that chance.

• Give your new house a good clean throughout even if its a new build there can be dust.
• Take photos of the empty house to help you sit and visualise where you want items to go.
• Stock the bathrooms with toilet paper, hand soap, and towels. People will want to use them on the day of the move so best to have them ready. The same with the toiletries for the bath/shower so they are ready for you at the end of the hard moving day.
• Check the lights – are they all working? Do you need to replace any fittings or bulbs?

An essentials box:

This is a box of items you will need on or during the day/s you move. The box should consist of items such as snacks, drinks (tea, coffee), Cleaning items, bin liners, tools, and first aid. It may also be worth packing clean bed linen so that it is to hand once your beds are set up in case it doesn’t all get done in one day.

Moving day:

Your all packed and ready to go! You may have a few days in which you can move from your old house to your new one if you are moving yourself. However no one really wants to live between two places, ideally you want to get it done in one day. Here is what to do for the next stage of your move.

• Babysitter – if you have children, pets, or both try get them looked after by someone to ease some stress.
• Keep your valuable items with you if using a company to help you move, such as passports, jewellry etc.
• Empty your fridge and freezer of any remaining food items, use a cool box and ice packs for the items that need to stay cold. It is always nice to clean the fridge/freezer out at this point ready for the new owners/tenants.
• Ask the removal company to put the boxes in the right rooms that correspond with the labels on the box.
• Some removal companies will help you reassemble furniture at the other end for an additional charge so it may be worth asking for this service to help save some time.
• If you have made a plan you will know which room to unpack first. If you try get one room almost completely done you will have somewhere to relax at the end of the day.
• Order takeaway – you don’t want the stress of cooking on top of everything else.

Unpacking:

• Use your rating system and plan you made earlier to unpack the high priority boxes and rooms first.
• Remember, don’t unpack the items you have kept to donate or store.

For more tips and advice pop to our blog:

https://greenstone-design.co.uk/blog

A guide to moving house!