We all know that moving house is a no-easy feat. It has rated consistently and-home/the-hassle-free-guide-to-moving-house-2196590.html”>as one of the most stressful life experiences one can go through, ranking higher than even divorces! However, whilst it’s not something many of us enjoy doing, it is something that is mostly unavoidable. In fact, about 11% of the population move each year! (iammoving.com) At some point or another, whether it be moving into your first home, moving house due to a growing family or a new job, we all need to pack our things up and make somewhere else our home. But what is the best way to go about moving home? Well, we’ve come to your rescue! We’ve collected all the very best top tips when it comes to moving home to make the experience less stressful and hopefully less expensive too!
Notify people early
Sure, it is quite likely you will want to tell your friends and family that you are intending to move in the next couple of months or so, but when we talk about notifying letting people know early we mean the following:
- Schools
- Your doctor’s surgery
- Your bank
- Companies that you have any credit or store cards with
- Insurance companies
- Loan providers
- Council tax
- Phone companies
- Your internet provider
- Any other utility services, such as water and gas
- Pension and share providers
- Cable providers
Doing this as early as possible can help make the process of letting companies know less stressful. it is also extremely important as any bills that you end up not receiving could end up damaging your credit file in the future, it could also increase your chance of ID fraud. However, do consider using comparison sites when it comes to your internet provider and other utilities for your new home. Don’t automatically choose your old one – you could end up getting a much better, less expensive deal elsewhere.
If time is not on your side, how about looking at sites such as www.iammoving.com? They let you change your address details and on your behalf help to notify up to 1,500 organisations and its all for free.
Redirect your post
Use the Royal Mail’s Postal Redirection service if you don’t know who will end up living in your old property. By signing up for this service, it means that any mail or bills sent to your old address will be able to still reach you. The post can be directed for up to twelve months but can be organised directly with Royal Mail if you find yourself still getting a considerable amount of post being sent to your old home. It costs around £32 per surname.
Label all your boxes
One of the things a lot of people hate when it comes to moving is both packing away items and then once in their new property, trying to search through what feels like millions of boxes to find essential items. It is annoying and stressful. So, anticipate the potential problems and label all the boxes beforehand, with a description as to what is inside, as well as the room their final destination is supposed to be. Place these labels all around the boxes so you can still see clearly where they should be placed inside your home.
In addition, we would really recommend that you pack an ‘essentials’ box. Why? Well, unless you are superhuman (which congratulations, if you are) it is probably fairly unlikely you will be unable to unpack absolutely everything in the very same day you have packed up and left your old home. You will be likely to be totally exhausted. So, this essentials box intend to make that first night easier. Pack this box in the front of the car, with perhaps some of the following:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Kettle
- First-aid kit
- Toilet paper
- Plates
- Utensils
- Kitchen cloth
- Shower products
- Toothbrush
- Snacks, such as crisps, cereal bars and fruit
- Change of clothes, including pyjamas and clothes for the next day
- Chargers for laptops and phones
In addition, be savvy about the way in which you choose to pack. Pack as early as possible, as the process always end up taking much longer than you anticipate, in addition when loading the items into the removal van, remember to pack away the items that you need the least first. Don’t make the unfortunate mistake of realising of realising too late that all your utensils and plates are at the very back of the van!
Compare removal costs
It is recommended that you try not to go for the very first removal company you find. Try and get at least three written quotes from well-known removal firms. Even better, try to contact relatives and friends to see if they have any removal firms they would personally recommend. It is important that you check that they are members of one the following:
- The British Association of Removers (BAR)
- The National Guild of Removers and Storers (NGRS)
When comparing quotes, make sure they are like-for-like. Do they all include VAT? Do they include insurance on your possessions? Make sure you try to organise removals as early as possible, as you can often get a cheaper price too. It is also worth getting cancellation protection too, in case, for any reason you are unable to move on the designated day.
Have a clear-out
We tend to accumulate many items over a number of months and years, and it tends to be even more if you have been living in rented properties for a number of years. However, it is really quite unlikely you need all these things, and that means you may well be taking a load of unnecessary junk into your new home.
Instead, why not take some time out to go through your belongings. Decide which things will go to the local charity shop, e-Bay or a boot sale, and then other items that aren’t useful to you can go into the bin. You will probably feel a lot better for it too, and maybe earn some money at the same time. Not bad right?
At Octagon Capital, we are always trying to help our customers get the most information possible for working on a new or existing development project. We specialise in bridging finance, allowing you to get access to funding in a short space of time and purchase a property with a tight deadline. For more information, feel free to read our FAQs or our contact us page.
