It's almost a year now since we upped sticks and relocated. Moving was certainly a stressful time for us and it was relief once we were in our new home and boxes were unpacked.
There are definitely things you can do to make the whole experience a little less stressful.
Research moving companies
We wanted to find a cheap and efficient removal service that met our needs. We researched different ones in our area and got some quotes before deciding who to go with.
Be Organised
Being organised is key for making the moving process run more smoothly.
Lists will be your best friend for listing items you need for packing and for people you need to inform when you move out and who to inform of your new address. It's also handy to have a list of emergency numbers such as for a plumber and even the number for a takeaway as you wont want to be cooking moving day.
Label boxes
Labelling boxes is a must with each room and what's in them. This helps movers when you reach your new home to take boxes to the right room. It's also very helpful for when it comes to when you start unpacking.
It's also important to label any boxes that contain fragile items in so that both you and the movers are aware for when packing up the van and moving items into your home.
Protecting items
As mentioned above it's important to label boxes with fragile items. Its also important though to make sure that when you are packing them that they are wrapped correctly. For example we made sure that photo frames were all wrapped in bubble wrap so that they didnt break. Valuable items we chose to take with us in the car so that we knew where they were and were our responsibility. We made sure we knew where all paperwork and important documents were packed and used bin bags for items like duvets.
Packing essentials
It's a good idea when you are writing your lists to do one for a box of essentials that you will need as soon as you get there. This can include items such as toilet roll, your kettle, milk, sugar, cups, coffee and snacks. Its also a good idea to have a suitcase with clothing and items such as chargers, medication, laptops etc. If you have kids do ones for them too including favourite toys, clothes and other essentials.
When you arrive:
Make sure that you deal with essential items like having somewhere to sleep and somewhere to sit first. Then open your essentials box and enjoy a nice mug of coffee or tea.