Please find below our hints and tips for moving house.
Firstly, plan ahead, dont leave it until the last minute. People normally know a good few months in advance they will be moving house, so take advantage of this and game sure you are fully prepared. This will reduce the stress when the moving day arrives and can save you money if you forget to tell someone and forget about a bill or two.
Moving house – the old property
Set a Budget
Moving house can be expensive, if you cannot stretch to booking removals men, shop around locally for van hire and ask friends and family to help.
We would recommend you research companies early and get quotes.
Get rid of old clutter
Now is a good time to go through room by room and de-clutter, if it doesn’t fit, is out of style or haven’t worn or used it in a year then get rid of it. This goes for toys and household items – don’t fill your new loft area with all the stuff from your old loft area!
Packing
Colour-code or label boxes with the destination of each room. A tip could be to take pictures of boxes you have packed on your phone of the content of the boxes which can jog your memory on the day of the move.
Essential Pack
One thing to do when moving house, is to have an essential pack box for things like the kettle, mugs, cleaning products etc. Pack a cooler bag for anything you may need on the day, milk, quick snacks. And dont forget toilet roll in this box!
Delicate items
Ideally you would transport tv’s, computer screens in boxes. If you don’t have the boxes, wrap them in a blanket or bubble wrap to ensure they have enough padding during transportation. Remember not to place the TV screen down and don’t lay anything on top of it.
Eat Up
Try to eat up any perishable food up to the day of moving and run down the freezer, depending on the distance of move and when you get the keys there could be a considerable amount of time that your food is not in a functioning fridge. Once you are in the new property you can arrange to do a full shop.
Kids/Pets
Don’t forget to pack these. Just kidding, have a plan for kids and pets on the day of moving house as they will only be a distraction. Your best bet is to ask family or friends to help look after them. Once you are settled you can arrange to pick them up or have them dropped off.
Make sure your phone is charged.
A charger in your essential box items is a good idea but make sure you fully charge your phone the night before, this will help with any coordination that is required.
Take pictures of meters
Ensure you take pictures of your gas, electric and water meter as you leave your old property and at the new property. This will allow you to get the final bills from the utility providers.
Have a good inspection of your new property
Most people will fail to do this as they day can be a bit hectic, but check every room before you move in and take notes or photos of anything you might need to look at. It’s quite easy to miss things and put a cupboard in front of something to be forgotten forever. Or until it is moved next.
Unpacking
Don’t try and unpack all in one go, take your time. Start with the areas most used such as your kitchen and bedroom. Take a break between unpacking sessions – lastly try and relax and have a glass of wine ready when you have finished.
Settle old bills
Settle up all the bills and council tax still owed on your current property; you don’t want any bills coming back to haunt you when you’re all settled in your new place. A post redirection is a good idea for 6 months from the post office. This will divert post to your new address. It could come in handy if you have forget about a store card or something and get a mark on your credit score.
Notifying people of the move
We mentioned earlier utility providers. But you should also make a list of everyone you need to let know of your move. From doctors, dentists, workplace, mobile phone, schools, friends. etc. The list goes on so its worth making a list and contacting all in one go.
Contact the following people to let them know you’re changing your address:
- Your work
- Your bank, insurance, pension and credit card companies
- The council, electoral roll
- TV Licensing
- Doctor and dentist
- DVLA
- Pet microchip database.
- National Insurance / DSS offices
Don’t forget to delete your old address from all online retailers (such as Amazon, ebay, supermarkets). There’s nothing worse than realising your package has been delivered to an old address.
