During my childhood, almost no year was complete without a house move, and I’m still a bit of a nomad. With 20 house moves in 25 years, I’ve picked up a few tips to streamline the process. Here are five tips to make sure that the big day is smooth and painless.
1. Getting grounded
Everything you move has to go through your front door, so it makes sense to have your belongings as close to the departure point as possible. That means getting all boxes and items down from the loft/attic (or up from the basement/cellar) before moving day. Most of the stuff in there you don’t use every day anyway and can well do without for a few weeks. Put the boxes in room you can do without for a while (this is usually the dining room as you can eat off trays for a couple of weeks) and stack them three or four high, big boxes at the base, small ones at the top.
2. Name calling
Label, label, label. Don’t just label boxes by where they’re going; label where they’ve come from as well. You’ll have a much better idea of where to find that elusive vase for the welcome flowers the new neighbours have brought you, because you’ll know exactly where that was in the old house. Label boxes on the top and at least two sides (four if you can’t be bothered to be careful about how they’re put down). That means you won’t have to lift every box to find out what’s in it. Make some signs for the new house (Bed1 Bed 2 etc) for rooms where there might be some confusion. Then your move-day helpers can easily find out where each box should go. Invest in a few thick black or dark blue marker pens (at least one for each of the main packers). With multi-coloured boxes you can write on the tape.
3. Holiday time?
Use those empty suitcases to pack your folded clothes; the hanging ones can be transported over the back of a car seat. The carry on bags are great for packing a couple of essentials so you can have clean clothes that evening and the next day and take a tablet if the move has given you too much of a headache.
4. Back to basics
Get together a ‘move day essentials’ box. This should have a kettle and enough mugs for everyone who’s helping you move, as well as coffee, tea and sugar (those packs you get at hotels are perfect) and a carton of UHT milk. A bottle of mineral water is also a good idea, as are a couple of snack bars and a roll of toilet paper. Another essentials box should have your hammer, drill, screwdriver set as well as a few nails, screws and wall plugs. A couple of light bulbs may also come in handy, as will a roll of bin bags and some large dust sheets in case it’s a wet day (you don’t want mud all over the new carpet, do you?)
5. Food frenzy
On move day you should take your perishables out of the fridge and box it up. Leave the food that’s in the freezer; that’s where it’s safest. As long as the freezer door stays shut, you should be able to move the fridge and plug it in again without any losses. Of course, if it will take several hours to get to your new home, maybe you should empty the freezer in the weeks before move day. And take this chance to throw out any out of date foodstuffs.
Final thoughts
If you do all this, you should have a relatively hassle free move. Of course that won’t stop the movers from double booking themselves, or the previous tenants from leaving a full skip in the driveway, but at least you’ll have sorted the elements you can control. Happy moving!
