Collaborative Content
Moving house is a huge task, there’s so much that goes into moving your life from one home to another. Whether you’re renting or buying, there’s a whole legal element involved so you have paperwork coming out of your ears getting it sorted, and thats before you’ve even thought about physically moving your stuff. Once you have a moving date or have an idea when your move is likely to be, you car start getting prepared so that the day itself goes as smoothly as possible. Here are a few things to do in the runup, in the days, weeks or months before the move.
Declutter and Donate
The first step to preparing for a move is to clear out the old stuff you no longer need in your current house. Most of us have years of accumulated junk thats sat around in cupboards, under beds and in the attic that we’ve decided that we might need ‘one day’. Get strict with yourself and anything that’s not super sentimental can be got rid of if it’s not been used in the past year. Depending on the size of the job, you might need to look into skip hire– otherwise you might be able to get away with taking a few loads to the tip in your car. Consider donating any usable items to local charities or even just on Facebook Marketplace as a way to help people out and reduce landfill. Anything that’s worth some money, try and sell on as that way you can raise a bit of cash towards your move too which is no bad thing.
Organise Your Possessions
Once you’ve decluttered, go through your possessions and organise what’s left. Separate things into categories and pack them accordingly. This makes packing more efficient but also helps you find things easily when you’re unpacking in your new home too. Moving house allows you to turn over a new leaf and start fresh, so going into your new home with sorted and organised possessions lets you start on the right foot.
Update Your Address Everywhere
Changing your address involves more than just notifying the obvious places like your work and the bank, there are actually loads of places you’ll need to tell so spend some time planning for this. Make a comprehensive list of all the places that need your updated address. Include doctors, schools, utility companies and even your online shopping websites that you regularly use. This means that important mail and deliveries reach you at your new home- no one wants to order a takeout from their new address to realise it’s been delivered to the old one! It’s easy to overlook these smaller details, but addressing them in advance saves you from future hassles. While you might not be able to actually switch your address over until moving day, having a list prepared means that nothing gets missed.
Start Packing Early
It can be tricky, but start packing up your belongings as early as possible. Begin with items you rarely use and work your way through. Consider using self-storage for things you won’t need until after the move as this frees up space in your current house rather than tripping over boxed but also makes unpacking at your new home more manageable as it doesnt all need to be moved in one day.
