We have moved house 3 times over the last 10 years each a different stage, before kids, with one kid and when pregnant with our second. While im no expert I can certainly share from a practical point of view what worked for us thus making a stressful process a little easier on all involved. Moving can be especially hard on kids. I have actually written about this before so if its relevant to you have a read here.
- Planning – I know this may sound like im stating the obvious but planning really is key from the outset, line up the trades, the dates, the help etc.
Pic Credit: Pixabay
The aim is that it will flow as seamlessly as possible. Having been through this before as much as we all hope it goes smoothly it does take a huge effort to try to achieve this so don’t get disheartened if things do slip a little.
- Removal Company – Unless you have access to a van or lots of help you will like us most probably need to assistance of a domestic removals company. The key here is to shop around, get personal recommendations if you can. You want somebody who will pack and transport as quickly and as efficiently as is possible and if needs be work with your timetable which can often move.
- Charity/ Dump/ Sell – You need to be a little ruthless when packing up. If you haven’t wore it or used it in years what are the chances you will now? Lots of options to either donate good quality clothing, dump or even use site like ebay or local deal site to sell goods. This can sometimes even be a nice way to earn a little bit of extra cash for the house move.
- Labels, labels, labels – I went a tad crazy with white labels and my sharpie, every box had labels, notes, instructions and priority rankings as I was never going to have it all unpacked in a few hours! Slightly related also is a tip from my Dad to take a pic of the cabelling for TV’s etc as for the non techie like me, trying to piece that kind of thing back together wouldn’t be the easiest task. However bad the packing up the unpacking can be twice as bad!! If you can pack up as efficiently as possible room by room it will make the unpacking that bit less stressful hopefully.
- Help! – Take all the help you can for either packing or unpacking or even making dinner until you get sorted. Particularly if moving any large furniture yourself. And crucially don’t stress to have it all done in a day, likely not possible so my advice is to take your time and do it right. It will work out far better in the long run.
Ill be the first to admit moving is so stressful but hopefully with these simple tips it can make it a little easier.
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