Preparing to move

Nargleblast

Not sure if anyone has already said this but when you move in, one of your first tasks should be to put the beds together and make them up ready to sleep in. That way, when you reach that point later in the day when you think "Sod it, I'm too knackered to do any more unpacking" you can literally just fall into bed without having to make it up first.

jackyann

Loads of good advice above!
And if you follow it, I think you'll run down most of the food & household stuff.
Do you have a friend / relative who can give you garage space for a couple of weeks; or could you consider hiring a small storage space?

Once you've got rid of all you can, look at the other stuff - furniture, big stuff etc. will move with you.
But I found it useful to pack up stuff like books, some ornaments, rarely looked at paperwork, out-of-season clothes, craft stuff that wouldn't be used until settled - stuff like that - and move it to a storage space. I'm only talking about one or two car loads, but it gets in the way. Move it a week or two before, then have your big move, settle in, and collect it a week or two later.
And don't forget to label everything -buy a load of Sharpies.
I also found it useful to have some large clear plastic bags. Black bags were ONLY for rubbish. Anything else baggable went into clear bags, so nothing was thrown out by mistake!
It's also worth putting a WANTED on Freecycle for boxes, bubble wrap etc.

GreyQueen

jackyann, you're so right about only keeping black rubbish sacks for rubbish, I meant to mention that and forgot; two separate people I know, in two separate moves (I was a helper on one of them) lost bedding this way. One duvet and one beloved eiderdown. It's very easily done.

nargleblast, very right about the beds. When moving, you tend to go on with your unpacking until you hit the wall, exhaustion-wise, and that can be between one moment and another, it seems to me. Bed(s) assembled and made is such a boon when that happens.

Tink_04

Thanks everyone- we have started and have packed DVDs toys and some other bits that are not to be used before! One of the freezers has a little dent in it so I have had a good clear out and re organised them so I know what's there. Have 4 chazza bags came through the door so going to start filling them up and ive stared throwing stuff away every time I go in a drawer of cupboard as there is loads of tat I don't need to take!

Loving all the tips and I'm so excited now

GreyQueen

Tink_04 wrote: »

Thanks everyone- we have started and have packed DVDs toys and some other bits that are not to be used before! One of the freezers has a little dent in it so I have had a good clear out and re organised them so I know what's there. Have 4 chazza bags came through the door so going to start filling them up and ive stared throwing stuff away every time I go in a drawer of cupboard as there is loads of tat I don't need to take!

Loving all the tips and I'm so excited now

:beer::beer: Good for you!

Moving gets a bad press, I feel. I quite enjoy the process. It's a chance to make a fresh start and to drag your goods and chattels out of hiding and into the bright light of day and make them account for themselves.

Envisage yourself in your new home, surrounded only by those possessions which really bring value to your life, having sloughed the unnecessary and unloved as a snake sloughs its skin in order to grow.

ThomasChaney

Congratulations on the new moving. Moving involves a lot of things to be taken care off. ​

fuddle

I've unfortunately carted my family around the country umpteen times.in the last 8 years and about to move again in the coming months.

I can't be a patch on GQs advice and I don't have a lot of stuff anyway but I am a food hoarder. When I moved Southwards I had no choice to run my food stocks right down (little work van had to move us 6 hour drive one way so we had to keep the amount of trips down for our.sanity) and I have to say that I struggled to replenish stocks and even today (after another move last year) they are still not where they were. It bothers me a great deal but I am aware that I have a psychological need to food prep.

I enjoy the process of packing up and only taking the essentials. It's cathartic for me too. I hope you can begin to feel some positive feelings about something that can be very exciting and that the overwhelming feelings subside to make way for them. Enjoy preparing for your new start

GreyQueen

You'll be giving the rest of us masterclasses on moving soon, fuddle, but I hope this last one is to be your forever home.

One thing that I have noticed about just about every move is that people end up shifting Stuff, sometimes nationally or even internationally, that they end up discarding at the other end.

If nothing else, having a good old sort-out and re-homing session before you leave can save money, time and back-ache.

Hard_Up_Hester

We are hoping to move in spring or early summer, so I'll be revisiting this thread then, my L&M & I moved 4 times in under a year, that was fun!

orangesmartie

Ive just packed up my house for moving next week. Echo everything GQ said. My move is a bit different as I am moving out of my flat, most of my stuff is going into storage until i find a new house i want to buy, but in the mean time i'm lodging with my partner (week days) and my parents (weekends) so i had a bit of leeway for spreading round all the food. However, i gave away bags of stuff to my sister and the charity shop. We've been eating weird food combos from the freezer for weeks. I've hired a professional moving company for the actual move (first floor flat and proper packing of the storage locker) and they gave me lots of free packing, a huge roll of bubble wrap, a wodge of tissue paper and a seemingly unlimited supply of boxes, so if you're using a mover, its worth asking.