[AD] They say that moving house is up there with the top three most stressful things in life alongside the loss of a loved one, divorce or loosing a job – and I would have to say I agree to a point. Although with a bit of forward thinking and organising a lot of this stress can be alleviated and made into the exciting new adventure it should be.
Moving house puts strain on you both physically and emotionally. The expense of it all, the packing, the trying to fit everything into a tight schedule, along with cutting emotional ties can be overwhelming. But if we sit back and think of the exciting new journey ahead and set a plan to minimise the stress then moving can be turned into a much more positive experience.
Below I have left some of my top tips for getting ready for the big day and I hope they will be of help:
Book Your Removal Firm – The majority of people try to move over a weekend, which means that slots for good removal firms such as The Removal Man – House Removal get booked up well in advance. Different companies offer different packages so you need to make sure that the one you chose fits your specific needs.
Checklists – Start to make a list as soon as the ball starts rolling on your move. The list can start with things that can be done well before your moving date, right up to the big day and beyond.
Declutter – This is one of those things on the list that can be done well before moving day. You will be suprised by how much stuff you have collected over the years and for me getting this sorted is always a huge weight off of my mind.
Start by sorting things that can be sold on selling sites or given to charity and then sort the rest by taking stuff to the dump or even hiring a skip.
Packing – Label, label, label. One of the most infuriating things is moving into a new home and having to root around hundreds of boxes looking for things are they have been randomly packed or not labelled.
Think of each room separately and keep the contents in the boxes solely for that room. As well as labelling it for the said room also add an idea of what each box contains i.e. plates, kids clothes, bathroom accessories.
Sort Paperwork – Make sure that all paperwork is stored in the same, safe place that is easily accessible. Once this is sorted go through everything and make sure all the people such as banks, doctors etc know about your move. It is also a good idea to use the Royal Mail redirection service to make sure nothing gets missed.
We learnt the hard way with this and had a huge credit card bill run up by a new card going to an old address!
Utility Bills – Getting things like this sorted early makes for less of a headache. Making sure that things like broadband providers are booked in to your new adress in plenty of time means you haven’t got to wait to get things going once you are moved in.
Take all your meter readings for gas and electricity so that final bills can be met and you can start a fresh in your new home.
And most importantly of all enjoy it! Embrace the new start, look forward to your new journey and take it all in as you go!