It’s never easy to move to a new house. Planning, packing, getting to your new house, it’s generally just a hassle all around.
But it doesn’t have to be. Below are 10 tips for making everything go smoothly.
10: Remove anything useless! Sell your old clothes/toys/books/miscellaneous items that you won’t need to take with you. If you don’t want to sell them, give them to charity or pass them on to friends.
9: Pack smart. Don’t throw everything in boxes and call it a day. You’d be surprised what you can fit in a box when you sort it all out right. Arrange everything in the most space-saving way possible. Play Tetris with your belongings! More things in one box equal less boxes used equal more space saved equal less awkward unpacking from moving vans.
8: Plan everything well in advance, and plan for any issues. You don’t want to be caught by surprise because your moving company has suddenly decided they need more time to send people out, or because you’ve remembered you have other matters to settle before moving, or any other problems that may arise. Plan to avoid any delays, and have contingency plans ready anyway.
7: Get a reliable moving company. You don’t want a company that supplies moving vans that they swear “runs like a dream”, but in reality, fail every health and safety test you can throw at it and is driven by a guy that has a second job as a back-alley cage fighter with more facial scars than Michael Jackson in broad daylight. You want the nice, polite people with decent service who can guarantee your possessions will get to their destination.
6: Set the date and don’t be late. It’s not nice to miss your flight when you go on holiday, it’s even worse to keep everyone involved waiting for you to get ready to uproot and move to a new location.
5: Don’t leave behind a dirty house! Other than the fact you don’t want the new owners complaining to you in your final moments there about how everything is covered in a fine layer of dust and errant crumbs from your last meal, it’s just plain rude.
4: Sort out all the formalities. That magazine you subscribed to back in 2014 you haven’t bothered to cancel your subscription to? The owners of your new house are going to be receiving those unwanted National Geographic issues, as well as all your other post. Fill out the paperwork so you don’t miss out on any important post.
3: LABEL THE BOXES! Otherwise, you’ve got your collection of 1940’s decorations (or whatever odd collection you may have) or fragile antiques tossed all around, or used as a pedestal for much heavier things. Invest in a Sharpie.
2: Bubble wrap isn’t only for entertaining your kids. You can also get bubble wrap rolls for a little-known secondary use- to cushion your breakables when you pack them. The more you know!
1: A place for everything, and everything in its place. Putting toiletries with electronics, or cleaning products in the same boxes as food, will never end well.
