Moving House Tips

bubbles_2

Hi..

Am moving house in the near future aand with a young family im trying to make it as efficient as possible. Here's what i have thought of:

Make the beds 1st
put coloured stickers on the boxes to show which room they are going into
put elastic bands around the cutlery (thanks to monica from friends for that one!)

Is there anything else im missing?

Hawksmuir

Get someone to babysit the kids, with all the funiture and stuff being put against walls and piled up, best to have your wee angels out of harms way.

Also take digital photos of your meter reading at old house and new (esp with the date and time on them).
Remember to contact the PO and get your mail redirected before you move (takes a week at least). I never pass on mail to the former owners.

And make a list of anything that is not in the condition it was in when you viewed, think you have 14 days to get in touch with your solicitor if there are problems with the house, run every tap, test all the sinks, and Central Heating, even put the shower on to check the tiles for leaks.

Nile

I agree with making beds as number 1 priority. What about number 1 priority cardboard box too? Things to go inside could be a toilet roll, bar of soap, hand towel......then loo visits are sorted.;) If a regular cuppa is important to you, put a kettle, cups, tea bags, sugar, milk and spoon inside the box too.

My priorities would be to make the beds, check light bulbs are working (or fit them) in every room, put curtains up......because it'll be dark before you know it.

If the weather forecast for moving day is rain or showers, think about laying cardboard down in the entrance hall. It'll mop up most of the dirt and damp from peoples shoes and protect your floor/carpets.;)

If your house has patio doors, get the removal men to bring the sofa etc through the patio door rather than the front door........it will be wider/easier access.

We wrapped cardboard and bubble wrap around some furniture items (chair legs etc) to avoid damage by the removal men.

Good luck with your house move.

windym_2

I agree with others.

Put a bottle of wine, corkscrew and two glasses in your car and unpack them as soon as you get there!!

Also. If you can (and it is a bit tedious) make a full list of everything you are putting in which box, number them all. And if you are a quick typist, whack it onto a pc, so that you don't need to unpack everything at once but know what is in which box by doing a quick word search on your document.

Definitely farm the kids out, but make sure you have some toys/books etc available for their first night back.

Make sure you redirect your mail. Then write a standard 'we have moved' letter on your pc and personalise each one with account number etc and send it to everyone who writes to you whilst mail is redirected. Then go through all your insurances, bills etc and do same. Don't forget things like driving licence and log book also need updating. Don't forget to tell the school of new address.

Arrange your phone connection well in advance so that you know your number and can pass it to friends and family. For friends and family, type up a quick new address card and mail them all out second class.

Cancel Sky, milk, papers etc.

Charge your mobile phone up the night before you go and stick the charger in your handbag!

If you can plan ahead, cook a couple of meals that can be frozen, so that on first few nights in new house you can just delve in freezer and press reheat on microwave.

Log on to http://www.ihavemoved.com/ there are some things that you can do online.

When you shut the new door on the first night, put the kids to bed if you still have them, and open the wine and toast your new house!! :beer:

Good luck. :j

eml_3

Have a change of clothes for the next day ready. When we moved house, it took us ages to find where we had packed my daughter's underwear the next morning!

Have all your cleaning stuff handy - some people clean a house properly before they move out and some people don't.

Packing your stuff will take at least twice as long as you thought!

Destiny33

Pack a case with essential overnight stuff including toiletries (toilet roll is never left and towels). Bottle of wine and check out your local takeaway

First night in new home last year we got beds made up (cot made up as ds was just a baby) put him in bed, got fish and chips from down the road and opened the wine, perfect first night even though we sat on boxes lol

crispeater

i too will be moving soon and taking along my 4 week old and my 2 year old :rolleyes: oh what fun that will be! lol

however i have saved to get a removal company in to pack as well as move, i am a single parent and dont have a lot of family near by so cant rely on anyone for help in packing.. at least getting someone in to do it i can open the door let them in and go :T

i do agree with the local take away and a bottle of wine close to hand though

goodluck with the move

bubbles_2

what wonderful advice-didnt expect such a huge response..there was a million things i never thought of-thanks a million x

Becles

Pack a picnic in a cool box, so you've got sandwiches or other snacks to keep you going while you're busy.

I agree with prioritising bedding, toiletries and an essentials box of the kettle and stuff to make drinks. That way if it goes terrible wrong, you can make a cuppa and go to bed. Things always look better in the morning

Leave all instruction manuals for things you are not taking from your old house in a prominent place, along with window/shed/spare keys. Also write them a letter of useful information such as the day the binmen come and the milkmans phone number. The previous owners did that when I moved into my first house, and I thought it was a really nice welcoming gesture.

Savvy_Sue

Well I'm never doing it again!

Start packing NOW and throw away or pass to friends or a charity shop anything you don't need any longer.

Packing will take 6 times longer than you think.

Get plenty of packing tape in. Running out of it in Guildford and not telling your dw who is about to drive up from Bristol is grounds for divorce. (Although I did forgive him. I don't know why, he kept saying there was no need for me to shoot off quickly, I arrived to a scene of total chaos late on Sunday night, the removal men were due on Monday morning and there was NO PACKING TAPE and all the remaining boxes were still flat!)

Friends. You need friends. As well as the ones keeping your little darlings out of harm's way, it's useful to have one at the old house and one at the new house. They can make tea for the removal men (and you) and hold your hand when it all gets fraught. Meanwhile you and your other half are free to direct the removal men / run round to the solicitors to pick up the key (or shout at the solicitors if there's been a hold-up) etc. If the friend at the new house brings their own kettle and a few mugs you can pack your kettle last. If they're very good friends they'll bring the coffee, tea and choccie biccies! They'll also help with the cleaning and bed making.

If the new neighbours don't call on you within a few days, try to call on them, especially any with children your age, but don't neglect older people, if they've met you and your offspring and you seem friendly, I think there is less chance of them moaning about noise. It doesn't always work, but I'd say it was worth a try!

Good luck!

Sofa_Sogood

Can this be made into a sticky?

It's brilliant

My small input .....

Don't empty chest of drawers, just take the drawers out as is, to ease unpacking.

Stock up on bubblewrap. Lots of the stuff