5 Tips To Making A New Home Move Go Smoothly

There isn’t much in life that’s more stressful than moving house, and it’s something that we’ve encountered not so long ago. Indeed, last week we celebrated the first year of moving into our new home, and with this we thought we’d share some thoughts on moving home smoothly.

Check Out Your New Surroundings

This might sound like a straightforward one. but before you move into your new home take time to get familiar with your surroundings. This includes your house, and indeed the estate, town or city that you are moving to, especially if it is new to you.

Our recent move was a replacement dwelling, so while we were very familiar with our surroundings, the home was still new to us. We’d watch it get built every day for about 10-months, but you never really get a sense of what it will be like until everything is cleared and cleaned and ready for moving time. So get familiar with your surroundings before you begin your big move.

Pack Smartly

There are a few things you can do as you pack to get it done as easily as possible. First of all, make sure you label the boxes. Thankfully this is something we had sorted as part of our move from the old house before our new build even began. When it comes to packing smartly, be sure to invest in cardboard boxes, plastic storage boxes, bubble wrap, cling film and paper – they will all prove extremely valuable to you.

You don’t have to empty every chest of drawers. Wrap the entire thing in clingfilm and move it that way, so that the drawers don’t fall out. Just make sure that the contents aren’t too heavy – clothes only. You can also buy big boxes so you don’t have to take clothes off their hangers before you pack them.

When it comes to packing though, take some time to consider what you absolutely need, and what you could possibly do without in your new home. Use this as an opportunity to do a spring clean, regardless of the time of year.

Hire The Professionals

Because moving is such a stressful task, it’s a good idea to hire the professionals. They’ll have years of experience under their belts – they’ll have handled moves amid stressful divorces, cross the country, house removals to Ireland from the mainland UK and right back again, with yappy dogs and unhappy cats.

You name it, they’ll know how to handle it, and they’ll also know how to handle your stuff with minimal disruption. Not only will they have built a lot of muscle from years in the business but they’ll also know how to lift heavy things without getting injured. Not much could be worse than enduring a cross-country move with a strained muscle in your back.

I guess we were fortunate that our move required minimal disturbance although we did still hire some professional help to get the house ready for our move in.

Create A First-Night Box

Finally, moving a long distance is incredibly tough, so you should try to make it as easy as possible by creating a box full of things you want to have on your first night and morning in your new place.

This might include shower gel and face wash, towels, clean sheets, food for the morning, teabags – but aside from the essentials, pack a few things in there that will make your new place feel like home, like some favourite toys and framed photographs.

A Sneaky Take Away

And finally, when it comes to spending your first night in your new home, be sure to treat yourself to a wee take away. For us it was fish and chips and a nice night in front of the TV. Moving in can be fairly stressful, so spend your first night relaxing and not having to worry about cooking dinner or doing the dishes – leave that for day two 🙂

Got Something To Add?

Have you moved house recently? What advice would you share when it comes to planning the big move? Let us know in the comments section below.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Helen, Nial and Lewis.