Five handy tips for a stress-free house move

It’s hard to know which bit of the homebuying process – whether it’s selling your old house, finding a new home, or then moving into it – is the most stressful.

As we’ve written before, there are steps you can take to maximise the chances of securing a quick sale and, by being methodical, locate and bag your perfect new home as smoothly as possible.

The stress of moving house

That said, we still find the actual move to be one of the scariest bits.

True, it’s a good excuse to sort everything out and get rid of all the junk that’s been hanging around in the attic and under the stairs, “just in case” it’s ever useful at some point in the future (note to self: it never is).

Then there’s the job of packing what’s left of your life up into boxes, and shifting it into your new home at roughly the same time as someone else is looking to move into your current one.

Online tips and guides

Happily, these days there is no shortage of useful tips and advice – and reassurance! – available on the web, whether that’s here at the Property & Building Directory or on one of the other sites that we like, such as Quick Move Now, a company that specialises in buying homes in England and Wales for cash.

One of the best features of the Quick Move Now website is its impressive range of property news and guides. These cover everything from finance and home improvement to buying and selling property, including addressing the age-old question of “How long does it take to sell a house?” (around five to six months, apparently).

Also, thank goodness, there are a dozen handy articles in the moving section alone, tackling moving abroad, packing tips and more. So, to save you the job, we’ve had a read of them all, and pulled out our five favourite Quick Move Now moving tips. Here goes!

1. Pack early and smart

It sounds obvious, but it’s all too easy to put off your packing until the last minute. However, that’s when stuff is more likely to get lost or broken, or where, on moving day, you’ll find your unlabelled boxes deposited in all the wrong places in your new home.

So, get hold of your packing materials in plenty of time – boxes, bubble wrap, tape, labels, old newspapers – and do little chunks of packing whenever you have a spare moment. Yes, you’ll be living among boxes for longer at this end of the process, but it will smooth things out no end when you come to moving day and beyond.

2. Label everything

On the subject of labelling, you can make things easier for the removers and yourself by making sure that each box is labelled with what the contents are and where it needs to go in your new home.

It will make your life a whole lot easier at the other end, and will also help the moving company identify which boxes are fragile and which can have other stuff stacked on top of them.

3. Do some good with your old stuff

We’ve already mentioned decluttering, and it makes sense to clear out stuff that there’s no point moving to your new home – whether that’s old magazines, or the unused juicer at the back of the cupboard.

You can take stuff to your local recycling centre, or, if you have the patience, sell it on eBay. However, we like Quick Move Now’s idea of giving stuff away via your local Freecycle or Freegle group.

It’s quick and easy, the person receiving your stuff will come and take it off your hands, and you get the warm glow that someone else is getting pleasure and value out of your junk. What could be better than that?

4. Choose the best removals company

In the olden days, you might have chosen whichever removals company had the flashiest listing in Yellow Pages, but the web has obviously changed the way that we source products and services.

Whether you ask friends and family in person or via Facebook, recommendations are key. Ask others about their experiences of local removal companies, follow up by checking out online reviews, and choose a remover based on reliability and reputation – not just price.

5. Your first home together?

Moving into a new property together – or having a partner move into your existing home – is often rewarding, but can be a challenge in terms of combining two lots of stuff (even after you’ve decluttered) and getting used to each other’s foibles.

So, enjoy the new experience of living together, but create a space – such as a study or hobby area – that each of you can call your own.

We all need a personal space to escape to sometimes – and you’ll both certainly have earnt some after successfully navigating the big move!

Do you have some top moving tips of your own? Be sure to share them with us below!

Photo credit: Fantastic Removals