Tips for moving house

Moving house ranks right up there with the most stressful moments in life. Packing up an entire household, cleaning out the clutter and getting everything you own safely to your new home can be a monumental task.

Thankfully, with a little organisation and some clever hints you can make life much easier for yourself, reducing stress and making moving an exciting, rather than a scary, experience.

Here’s our top 5 tips to make life easier when moving house:

1. Don’t leave packing until the last minute. Starting a few weeks in advance will give you time to sort through everything thoroughly. Make piles of things to donate to charity, things to give away to family & friends and things to throw away. De-cluttering while packing means less to move and less to unpack when you arrive.
2. It seems obvious, but make sure you label every box in large letters with what room the contents belong in, and a brief description of what’s in the box. You’ll be glad you did when you arrive at your new home and can’t find that particular item you desperately need.
3. Pack heavy items such as books in smaller boxes, and light items such as pillows and sheets in large boxes. If you are moving everything yourself, your back will thank you! If you are hiring removalists, you’ll be making the move a much quicker (and less expensive) process if boxes can be lifted and moved quickly and easily.
4. When packing boxes, fill the empty space between items with tea towels, sheets or pillow cases. This will help make sure that items in the box don't shift during a move.
5. Pack all of the essentials that you’ll need for your first night into one box or plastic container. The last thing you’ll want to do when you arrive after a long day of moving is dig through random boxes to find the toilet paper or dinner plates, so having them in one box will make life infinitely easier. Include things such as the kettle, tea and coffee, breakfast food, bathroom necessities, medication, snacks, spare light globes, scissors and toilet paper.