Moving is the worst. Apparently we only do it every seven years on average, and therefore the protocols of making your move in Hammersmith for example can be hard ones to get in to the swing of. We’ll attempt to show you that there are a good few tips and tricks to make your move an easier, if not completely stress free process!
Be prepared and plan ahead. Getting to know the ins and outs of your move well in advance will reduce the number of nasty surprises that you have to contend with during the actual move. These things include starting your packing a good couple of month before the move, at least to the point of assessing how much stuff you need to get in to boxes, and obviously therefore, how many boxes you will need. Packing room by room is one of the move straightforward ways of calming the whole panic down, as you know exactly how much you have left to do at all times. leave a good day or so per room, and be sure to have a good clear out of any unwanted stuff. Some people recommend a ‘traffic lights’ system, in which the owner of the items in the room are armed with a set of stickers, in the colours green, yellow and red. These colours refer to the items which are to be thrown out (red), kept (green), or sold/donated (yellow). This way the piles of each type of item can be assessed quite quickly, and the whole operation becomes a fair bit easier. Selling your yellow items on ebay is a good way of getting some return for your junk, but be aware that filling in the descriptions and taking photos etcetera can be quite time consuming. When you’re throwing things out, be sure that they can not be recycled or even donated to a charity shop first.
Be frugal with the amount of packing you use. Where you can, recycled paper should be used instead of bubble wrap, and when using plastics be sparing. One layer will usually do the trick, and if it won’t, then the item should probably not be in a box!
Check the new house before your move day. Make sure that the place is spotlessly clean before you move your things in. This is also a great opportunity in which to get any decorating done, painting and plastering, even re-wiring and deep cleaning the carpets will be easier without your furniture taking up space. Have your energy services set up and ready to go as soon as you move in to prevent you and your family getting stuck in a cold house, and make sure that the phone line and internet are switched and ready as soon as possible. These things can sometimes take up to five days to work, even without any issues, so promptness is vital, especially if you are working from home and require the internet and phone to make your living.
Start the move day as early in the morning as possible. This will hopefully prevent you working into the night, but will also alleviate the likelihood of your removals team doing overtime and charging you extra fees. It may well mean that you get to travel in the middle of the day, which on a weekday will be the quietest time on the roads by far, to avoid you getting stuck in traffic and slowing you down even more!
The most important thing to remember however, is to relax. Getting overly stressed will only raise tensions between yourself and you family and movers, making things even worse.
