Our top 10 tips for moving home

 

It’s been over three months since we moved into our flat and we’re almost all settled in! It’s been quiet on the blog as we have been busy the past few weeks. 

We finally went to the shops to look for a sofa so hopefully it will be delivered before Christmas.  So excited to finally have a sofa! We weren’t keen to go to the shops previously because of COVID-19 but after sitting on bean bags for three months and realising sofas aren’t usually something you can buy and get delivered in a week, we decided to go to the shops to buy one.

We’re sharing our top 10 tips for moving home today and I have also included the links to useful websites which have moving tips and a moving home checklist. We should probably have searched online for a moving home checklist when we were moving into the new flat!

Our top 10 tips:

1. Obtain quotes from several removal companies 

It’s helpful to have options and we realised that the price does vary.  Due to the changing restrictions in the lockdown and as we weren't in a rush to move out of the flat we were in, we ended up booking only a week in advance.  

Our friend recommended a removal company to us but they didn’t have availability on the day we wanted to move so remember to book early! 

Don’t forget to read the terms and conditions and check online reviews!

2. Start to declutter early on

We started to declutter a few months before we moved and it felt so good. It also means fewer items to pack and move.

We started with some boxes that Hubby had packed around three years ago. He had lived in two different flats since packing those boxes and just never opened them again.  Since he didn’t need to open them for so long, there were quite a few items that he didn’t need anymore. 

I had a clear out of my wardrobe too which was definitely needed!

3. Use vacuum bags

I’ve used vacuum bags for storage for a number of years and they’re so handy! The Protect & Store ones from Argos are great quality and durable. We used them for our move which made packing duvets and pillows easier. In the end, I just packed all the clothes in the vacuum bags rather than in cardboard boxes.  

The ones I have from Argos can be used without a vacuum cleaner too and I’ve previously rolled it or compressed it by hand and it still works. It works best when you do use a vacuum cleaner though.

4. Reinforced tape to seal the boxes

Hubby introduced this to me. He ordered this reinforced tape from eBay which was actually much better than the brown packing tape I was using initially. 

The brown packing tape I had used to seal the boxes had started to come off the boxes and I was worried the bottom would just fall apart and all the packed items would fall out! Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I bought the brown packing tape from and it might depend on the brand.

The reinforced tape was more secure so we will be using that again in the future!

5. Label the boxes

When we first started packing, I had written on the boxes which room the items belonged in but after a while we forgot or items from different rooms were mixed in one box. 

Once we started unpacking, we realised that we should have made more notes of what was in each box to make it easier to find items.

Don’t forget to label boxes with fragile objects.

In case you are looking for moving boxes, we found that the StorePAK moving boxes from Argos were good quality and durable. We used boxes which were medium and large in size.

6. Take pictures of cables

I can tell you from experience that it is not fun to be staring at two very similar black cables to figure out which one might belong to the TV!

Next time we move, we will be taking pictures of the cables with the item it relates to and labelling the cable with the name of the electrical equipment so we don’t spend ages looking for the cable and then having to figure out where they go.

7. Use suitcases too

Hubby reminded me of this when we were starting to run out of boxes. I’ve never been so happy about having kept an old suitcase!

8. Have a box for essentials

This is a handy box of things that you would need access to when you first move in.

This is useful because you don’t want to be opening and moving all the boxes just to find certain items.

Some of my essentials include:

- kettle

- mugs

- cutlery

- plates

- towel

- clothes for the first night

- toiletries

- trimming knife to open all the packed boxes

- scissors

If you need more ideas, see this article by moving.com.

9. Don’t finish packing the night before you move

We had booked the removal company for 8:30am on a Saturday which I regretted when we were still packing at 1am that Saturday.  After our experience, I really would recommend either taking annual leave the day before the move or finish the packing earlier.

We thought we only needed one to two hours more to finish the packing after work. We were so wrong! It added a lot more stress to our moving experience and meant we didn’t get enough sleep.

10. Have quick meals planned for moving day

It’s a stressful and tiring day so we tried to minimise the amount of time for cooking. We ended up having microwave meals! If it wasn’t for the pandemic, we would probably have ordered food delivery to celebrate moving day.

Confused.com has a useful checklist for moving home.

Hope moving day goes smoothly for you!

For more property buying tips, follow @adventuresofahomebuyer on Instagram!

Jess