Moving home tends to be one of the more pressurised things we deal with in life. As well as the problems involved in finding a new home, selling your old house and buying and your new one and all the challenges that that entails, there is also the emotional side. Leaving friends behind and possibly family can be painful, though we may be happy to leave some of our neighbours. On the upside there is the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends, which brings us on to our first tip.
Top tips when moving home
1) Meet the neighbours. Getting on with your new neighbours is important and our top tip is to introduce yourself to them as soon as you are able to do so and get off to a good start. Even better is to meet them before you move; it can even pay to knock on their door before you decide on your new home.
2) Get rid of unnecessary clutter. The longer we live in a place the more clutter we tend to accumulate. Why bother packing up clutter that you will never use? It is far better to de-clutter before you move. Sell what you can on eBay or at a car boot sale and throw the rest away. If you haven’t used it for a year or so the chances are you don’t need it.
3) Take your time. Allow plenty of time for packing; it always takes longer than you think. Make sure that you have ample materials such as cardboard boxes, sticky tape and bubble wrap. Write on the boxes what they contain and in which room you want them to end up.
4) Get several removal quotes. There can be a huge variation in what different removal companies charge. While some companies may charge you under a thousand pounds, others may charge several thousands of pounds for the same job, so shop around.
5) Let people and utility companies know. Make sure that you contact your utility providers and arrange for them to read the various meters in both your new and old homes. Also inform your banks, credit card companies and any other organisations you deal with. Set up a mail redirection service with the post office.
6) Dealing with children and pets. Moving home can be very stressful for both young children and pets. Neither of them will understand what is happening and they are likely to feel very unsecure with all the activity that is happening around them. Possibly a family member can look after your young children on the day, and you might consider using a boarding kennel for your pet dog or cat.
7) Keep important items handy. You will probably want to clean your old house after everything is packed up and in the removal van, so keep your cleaning equipment such as your vacuum cleaner handy. Other important items might include your kettle and tea cups.
8) Stay cool. As we have said, moving home is stressful so it’s important to stay cool and don’t panic if the unexpected happens. Make contingency plans and although you should always hope for the best, sometimes it is useful to plan for the worst; not all moves go as smoothly as they might.
9) Change the locks. Whether you are moving to a rented home or you have purchased one, it is very important to change the locks as soon as you are able to. This is strongly recommended by Locksmith Tunbridge Wells as you never know how many people have had access to the keys to your new home. This also applies to new builds where many contractors can have access to your keys.
10) Chill the champagne. Once the move is over you can relax and drink a toast to your new home, so don’t forget to chill the champagne. And remember in which box you packed the champagne flutes.