Packing and moving day hints and tips

RelievedSheff

Start packing well in advance. We started a few weeks before the move by packing away none essentials. This avoids a mad rush the day before you move.

Have a big declutter before you move. There is no point moving a load of stuff that you no longer need or want. We found this to be quite therapeutic.

Do not over fill boxes and write on each box the contents of the box and what room it needs to go in in the new house. This made unpacking at the new house far quicker and simpler.

Take your final meter readings and remember to take your new meter readings at the new house when you get there.

We didn't have loads of stuff to move so we hired a man and van service which turned out to be great. It cost us £300 for a large box van and 3 men to do the heavy lifting. Money well spent as we hardly lifted a finger.

Try and make arrangements for any pets to stay with friends or family. We didn't do this and it was quite tiring trying to look after the dog, make sure he didn't escape while we were packing and unpacking houses. In hindsight we would definitely make sure he was elsewhere if we ever move again, which is unlikely.

Make sure you have a bottle of your favourite tipple so that you can sit back and relax on your first evening and definitely have a takeaway, you won't want to cook after all the hard work.

As others have mentioned get your bed sorted out first and then somewhere for you to sit and relax for your first evening. The rest can be unpacked as and when.

Try not to rush the unpacking and setting up your new home. We took the week off work to get settled in and it worked brilliantly. We were not rushing around and we had plenty of time to decide what was going where.

eamon

I also 2nd & 3rd using professional movers. They know what they are doing and are fast. Wardrobe boxes for hanging garments. Aslo declutter, be brutal if you haven't used something for over 2 years it is likely that you don't need it and won't miss it.