Moving houses is both an exciting and at the same time stressful experience for many reasons. The highly anticipated and extremely thrilling feeling of buying a new house and moving into it can bring a lot of overwhelming emotions along the way as well because of the logistics of the move itself.
While the stress is almost impossible to remove from such a lengthy process, it can be minimized to an extent which is not going to completely ruin this exciting time for you and your family.
There may be things which will be out of your control but what you can take care of, you should do, as this will make your experience much more enjoyable. Property experts from the online estate agent House Sales Direct have created the ultimate checklist with tasks you should do prior to and during your move to ensure a smooth process and a pleasant move into your new home.
1. Begin Early
What makes a massive difference but doesn’t look that important at a glance is starting your planning early on. This cannot be stressed enough how important it is to give yourself enough time to organise your tasks, gather essential documentation and map out what needs to be completed before and during the big moving day. This will contribute to how stressful your overall experience will be because preparation is key in avoiding unpleasant and unexpected situations which may cause pressure and anxiety.
2. Declutter
Probably one of the most important parts of moving houses is trying to get rid of as many unnecessary items as possible prior to the big day. When people buy new houses, they are beginning a new chapter in their lives and it’s better not to bring unnecessary items with them. You don’t want to have a pile of old things which you barely even use, do you? Having a little purge with your clothes could also feel rather refreshing and you could make space for anything new. By decluttering you will ensure your experience and process will run much faster and smoother when it comes to packing.
3. Get Packing Supplies
This really touches on the point of preparation as you don’t want to start your packing and then halfway through you realise you don’t have enough boxes, or your tape has run out. It’s going to make your life much easier if you go to the shop beforehand and purchase all the packing and stationary supplies that you will need for packing and moving. Some things which you might want to get are different types of boxes, scissors, tape, bubble wrap and packing paper.
4. Sort Out The Paperwork
Now for the more serious stuff, making sure all the documentation is prepared and sorted is a massive part of the move. There is a lot involved from mortgage papers to changing your address for services you use. Some things take a while to cancel, or it may be difficult to get in contact with so doing this early or making sure you put it in your calendar or to do list is really important. For example, you should inform your GP practice, bank, the council, insurance providers and utility companies of your move. Anyone else who you think should know, make sure you make a list and don’t forget about.
5. Pack Room By Room
It is a good recommendation to start packing your possessions room by room. That will help you when it comes to unpacking in the new house as you will be able to sort out the luggage in one room first before starting to create a mess in another. That way you will end up being more organised and your house won’t be one giant pile of mess.
6. Label All Boxes
Not only should you pack room by room, but making sure that all boxes are labeled and explaining the contents of them is really important. It can be so frustrating trying to find something in what feels like a needle in a haystack so put a sticker on the box with all of its contents or write straight onto it with a marker. Trust us, it will be a massive help!
7. Prepare a Survival Kit
Following on what was mentioned above about not being able to find anything amongst all your boxes, it’s worth preparing a survival kit for the first days of your move. Having some essentials such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, a phone charger, toiletries, snacks and drinks. That will keep you comfortable in the first few days of the move when everything is still in boxes. Think of things which you will need and bear in mind that these can differ amongst different people.
8. Deep Clean
Now that everything is packed and the house is starting to look empty, you can start deep cleaning and ensuring you leave the space as you found it. If there is any damage to the walls, mould forming in the bathrooms or dirty windows that you never got around to cleaning, now would be the perfect time to do so. Make sure you clean those hidden places as well such as skirting boards as well.
We believe that if you check all of these things off of your list, you will be well prepared for the move, and it will make it that bit easier and smoother. Take the time to walk around the empty house, see if you have forgotten something and say your final goodbyes. No matter if you had endured some stress during the process, you will be left with excitement and genuine thrill about starting a brand new chapter of your live soon!
