Preparing to move

GreyQueen

You could focus your efforts by pretending you have no money.

Seriously - none. What you have on hand in your home already is what you will be using. No more, no less. The money saved will come in very handy on removal day.

If you think you can't eat all (or nearly all) of your food stash before you go, concentrate on frozen stuff first, then pick on things in order of spill risk/ weight. Such as prioritising tins over boxes of cereals, for example.

I like to have my little household 'move ready' as the last two occasions I moved home it was with less than a week's notice, so ya never knows.

DigForVictory

I'd also inspect the freezer with the plan of inviting friends for hearty homemade meals which they then reciprocate shortly after the move when you may not yet know & love your kitchen.

Plus feeding up any muscular pals, extra drivers & whomever is Child &/or Pet Wrangling, On The Day.

Seriously - keep the small fastmoving hazards elsewhere. You'll be able to heft boxes & move with resulting limited vision so much more confidently, knowing they are happy, safe, warm, dry, fed etc In Another County.
So yes indeed run down one freezer, deliberately & strategically!

Also, as has been rightly said, decluttering Now is cheaper & easier than Later. Still gruesome effortful, but ye gods why pay to relocate something to then play hunt the tip/recycling/charity shop that takes furniture for At your New Home?! (The exception being photographs - hoard that emotional energy, this quarter.)

Tink_04

Thanks for all the replys! I am feeling a bit better about it, just a but of a worry as one of the chain is pushing for this year so willo be bang on Xmas but im sure there is not enough time to do it before then anyway.

I started making my list and have been good only buying fresh stuff to go with what i have in - need to make a full list of what we have and what needs used - we will not but any more tins or packets but will work through what we have and anything sealed can stay that way!

2 more charity bags have arrived through the door so going to get DH to sort his wardrobe out as i did mine a few weeks ago.

If anyone has any more moving do's and don'ts that would be great as im clueless and rather stressed about the whole thing!!

WantToBeSE

Could you host a new year/christmas party and use up loads of the food
Just ask everyone to bring a bottle, if they drink, and you can use up loads!

GreyQueen

To move, you need a cunning plan. Several dozen cunning plans.

Small persons should go stay with relatives for the duration. At the very least the day before, the day itself, and the day after. Pack and bag their bedlinen and make their beds in the new house using this, don't launder beforehand. The homey smell will help them settle. This trick also works on adults and on pets.

If you have a cat, be aware that their reaction to their territory being packed up is to run and hide, outside if they can, and well away from the upheaval. They may disappear for days. If you can, get them to a trusted friend who can keep them indoors or, if no one can help like this, to a cattery. It's not ideal, but neither is losing Tiddles.

Dogs are more oriented to you than cats and may be better off with you, except for the day itself, when they'll be underfoot and yet one more thing you have to keep track of. If a person known and trusted by your dog can foster them for a day or so, it would be kindest.

To do now; go through all summery clothing, toys, paddling pools etc and check that they will fit or be usable next summer. If not, rehome them now.

Ditto for gardening supplies, garden tools etc. With sports/ hobby equipment, be realisitic about the interest still being felt, before you pack; this might be a good time to let go. Ditto any potted plants - are they ready to go to the great compost heap in the sky?

If you have a loft, shed, garage or outbuildings, go through them and make sure you want everything in there. If there are dodgy things, check if your local tip has a hazardous waste amnesty coming up. Part used paint cans which match your current decor and many other random things can be taken happily by freecyclers/ freeglers.

What you can start doing is packing up less used and purely decorative items. I wouldn't strip the main sitting room of all things of beauty as you need to enjoy living there, but other spaces can perhaps be packed up. You may want to polyfilla the holes, too.

Pictures are best grouped by size in boxes, smallish ones travel pretty nicely in wine bottle boxes. Bigger ones, and big mirrors, travel best bubble-wrapped. Stand all frames vertically, don't stack horizontally. This is physics and about distribution of weight to avoid breakages.

The maximum size of box should be no wider than you can carry in your two hands through doorways without hitting your hands or your wristwatch on the frame. Wine bottle or beer bottle boxes meet this criteria and, when packed with things like crockery, are plenty heavy enough.

Crockery gets wrapped in paper and plates stand on their rims, as do flattish dishes. Rounded bowls are nested upside down, as are cups and mugs. Stemmed wine glasses are a PITA and should be given away before the move (OK, if you're not prepared to go that far, they stand upside down in shallow boxes, nested with newspaper. You may want to put a layer of bubble wrap under their rims and another above their stems).

Boxes of books are hernia-inducers so don't overfill any container with them. If you have cushions and towels, top up boxes of heavies with these, to keep things disciplined without adding extra weight.

For small portable valuables like jewellery and high-end electronics, see if you can take them ahead of time to a safe place like a trustworthy relation's home for safe-keeping for the move. Always consider taking electronics in your car (and glass-framed pix and mirrors) rather than rattling around in a removal van.

Before you move anything into the new home, get window coverings up. You don't want all your worldly goods in there on display. If there aren't curtains on blinds in situ from previous owner, quickly get something up, even if it's a bedsheet held up with gaffer tape. And get a bottle of trad Windolene and a rag and use it to obscure the glass, like they do when shops are empty.

When moving choice items, carry them wrapped up in something unexciting, or even cover the boxes of named desirable items with bin bags. You don't need to advertise your stuff to passing gawkers.

If you're moving a washing machine and you still have the bolts which came with it to immobilise the drum, use them. If you've lost them, on the day, waggle the machine about and find which side the concrete blocks inside trend towards. Transport the washer lying flat on that side. Also remember washers are never completely dry so will widdle untless you wrap up the ends of the inlet and outlet hoses with plastic.

Remember that fridges and freezers are supposed to sit for several hours in their new position before being switched on and that they, and washers, have adjustable feet. If your washer's feet are out of alignment, you're machine will run badly. You'll need a spirit level and a spanner to check and adjust it before running for the first time.

Boxes should not be labelled Misc. Any move will generate a lot more Misc than you would believe possible. Boxes should be labelled on the top and all four sides (so you can read them in a stack of boxes). Have a notebook and do something like this.

All kitchen boxes are K1, K2, K3 etc. The notebook tells you what's in K1, K2 etc. All bathroom boxes could be B1 etc, LR - living room, MB - master bedroom, Kid's room with their initials on etc. You can stick a note of the corresponding letter on the door of each room in the new house. Or go posh and get coloured stickers - yellow stickered boxes go in the yellow room, f'rinstance.

On the day, wear a cross-body bag. And I do mean wear it, it doesn't come off. In it you have the old house keys, the new house keys, the car keys, the hire van keys, the list of crucial contact numbers, essential medications and The List in a sturdy notebook. And several different kinds of painkillers, plasters and medicinal chocolate bars. Do not let this bag go under any circumstances.

You will also need to keep a close eye on The Sanity Box. This is the last thing on the van and the first thing off at the other end and goes into the kitchen. It contains the following; kettle, tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, mugs, teaspoons. Minimum two tea towels (and oven mitts) and a hand towel for the kitchen and one for the bathroom. Soap for both and several rolls of TP. And more biscuits. You may possible have more biscuits on a move than you have biscuit-neediness, but I have to say, I've never, ever known that to happen.:rotfl:

Phew, that's enough for now but if there's anything specific you want to ask, please feel free. HTH.

Tink_04

Really amazing advice! Thank you so much! Does anyone want to come round for a mishmash of food to eat?

Been using stuff from the cupboards and freezer for tea tonight and prepping for tomorrows tea too .... I'm getting there!

greenbee

To add to GQ's list - arrange for a locksmith to come to the new house as soon as possible and change the locks. You have no idea who else might have keys to your new home...

maryb

Grey Queen, you need to publish this! Really! At least write it up for a newspaper as a guest column and get some money for it

Sweetpea69

GQ I wish I'd had your list before I moved in August! I downloaded a 'helpimmoving' list from the internet which was pretty good. Unfortunately I listened to the friends who said it was easier to get the removal company to pack, I got the movers from hell! However I am not planning to leave here except in a box!! My buyer wanted to move quickly, so I had eaten most of what was in my freezer by the end of July (it was staying) cleaned and defrosted except for ice blocks needed for moving day.

Don't forget to read gas, electric and water meters at both ends of the move, and switch if necessary once you are in. My water meter was only installed yesterday- water rates for this wee bungalow are almost £60 a month which as a single person I would only have used in a quarter in my bigger house!

Tink, I hope everything goes well for you. I can only reiterate what everyone else has said, declutter now and don't pay to move stuff you don't want or need.

SP xx

GreyQueen

My local city newspaper editor did approach me to blog on their site (he'd liked some funny stuff I'd had in their letters page) but I read their T & Cs and they'd have the copyright and I'd have nothing.

I did offer them a chance to pay me for writing but that wasn't on the cards (offer's still open, dude, you have my email).;)

************

If you have a gas supply, you really need a gas safe register engineer to cap off the meter (after disconnecting any gas appliances you're taking with you).

Record meter readings of gas, electricity and water and ring them into the utility company immediately (and take note of date, time and service advisor's first name, in case there's ever any issue about who said what to whom and when). Mebbe even photo the meters against that day's red top tabloid, like they do with hostages, to prove it was that day's reading.:rotfl:

My general opinion of moving is that it can be a perverse, if exhausting kind of fun, as long as you approach it with the right kind of attitude. By which I mean, ferociously organised but flexible enough not to go b@tsh1t crazy with the inevitable lunacy on the day.