House Moving Guide – The Essentials

This house moving guide is designed to help you get through the process without losing any hair. Moving into a new home is an exciting yet irrefutably stressful time. You have a million and one things to remember, and what if you forget something? Your passports; the fancy China; or the children perhaps? It’s OK, everything is going to be fine.

The house moving process is easiest when broken down into 15 bite-size chunks. Now, that sounds like a lot of steps granted, but when you take a step back and account for everything that needs sorting, you’ll feel a weight lifted. Lets do our due-diligence and get you prepared for the next stage in your life, shall we?

House moving guide steps 1-10 (packing essentials)

Step 1 – Book your removals company
The easiest and most effective way to move house, is to hire a reputable removals company to handle it for you. Unless you have the right sized vehicles and manpower on hand, ready to assist you with the heavy lifting of course. But let’s say that you’re moving from Central London, to the heart of Somerset; do you really want to shift everything that you own, by yourself? Establish your moving date, find the best removals company to assist you (taking into consideration reputation and affordability etc), and then start your preparations.

Step 2 – Declutter your home
Use this house moving process as an opportunity to clear out some old rubbish that you no longer need or use. It’s all too easy as a family, to build up a thriving repository of ‘stuff’, but how much of it is essential? Dig out old clothes and give them to charity; throw away old junk that no longer works; and be ready for a fresh start. Not only will this make the moving out / in process quicker and easier, but you’ll feel good for the cleanse as well.

Step 3 – Start packing ASAP
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t start the packing process a week or two in advance of moving. If you chip away at the task bit by bit, you won’t have to rush around stressing and flapping the night before.

Step 4 – Create an inventory
Take note of what you have in your home so that you can keep track of it throughout the moving process. This doesn’t have to be an exact accounting for every single set of socks in the house, but a rough checklist will certainly help.

Step 5 – Start with the least used rooms in the house
When packing in advance, start with the least-used rooms and items that you can afford to go without for a while. Obviously, you may want to leave the essentials in the kitchen and bathroom to the last minute. There’s no use packing towels and cutlery a week in advance as you’d have to drip dry after a shower and eat your Spag Bol with your hands.

Step 6 – Label everything properly
This might sound rather self-explanatory, but you’d be surprised by how easy it is to rush and forget. Take your time and label each box carefully, with a summary of the items that are inside. That way, when it comes to unpacking, you’ll have a much easier time of it.

Step 7 – Have a system for knowing what’s been packed
You could leave cupboard doors open for example, if they’ve been emptied. Or alternatively, simply tick a room off the inventory / checklist once that area has been cleared.

Step 8 – Photography electronics & displays
If you’re a bit of a technophobe and finally have your electronic entertainment system set up as you like it, then take photographs. If you capture the wires and fixtures at the back, then you’ll have an easier time setting everything up in your new home.

Step 9 – Survival kit
Put some essentials in a little survival kit for the moving process. Things like medicine, toothbrushes & toothpaste, toilet roll, phone chargers, a spare change of clothes, etc. This little kit will ensure your comfort and convenience throughout the moving process.

Home moving guide: What you’ll need for packing

house moving guide - what you'll need

Step 10 – Procure quality packing materials
You will be able to get everything that you need through a reputable removals company, however, you’d be surprised by what you can get for free. Ask around with friends and family to see if you can grab any spare cardboard boxes and other moving materials. That said, it’s worth spending that little bit extra to get a sturdy box that isn’t going to break under the weight. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • assorted boxes (small, medium, large)
  • plastic storage containers (which can be kept and used for in-house storage)
  • sturdy tape (a tape dispenser will make your life much easier)
  • scissors
  • box cutters
  • sticker labels (or masking tape works just fine with marker pens)
  • permanent markers for labelling (various colours helps to stay organised)
  • packaging materials for support (old newspapers, bubble-wrap, tissue-paper etc)
  • felt pads help with moving furniture
  • blankets for protecting mirrors / TV’s etc

House moving guide steps 11-15 (the technicalities)

This house moving guide isn’t just about the packing process itself. It’s important to remember that there are other more time-consuming technicalities that you will want to get out of the way well in-advance of moving. Here are some essentials to remember:

Step 11 – Change utilities in advance
Many people forget about their utilities and then have to spend their first day of moving in, on the phone trying to arrange internet and electricity. Get all of this squared away as early in advance as possible. That way, you can just turn up at your new home, unpack, and relax.

Step 12 – Update your address
Another time consuming detail that is equally as important is updating your new address. Contact your bank, employer, and all other relevant parties with your new address. If you do this several weeks in advance, it won’t have to interfere with the packing process and you can relax.

Step 13 – Update council tax account
Particularly if you’re moving to a new area entirely, you’ll have to update your council tax. You can check with local authorities to see which new council tax band you’ll be in and make the necessary preparations.

Step 14 – Register to vote
When updating your address, don’t forget to register to vote. It’s something which can easily slip your mind, but you wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared and unable to cast your vote.

Step 15 – Visit your new area
This isn’t so much a moving house tip, but an important part of the process none-the-less. You should make a point of visiting your new area in person and getting familiar with the landscape and surrounding community. This is likely something that you will have done before settling on the new property, but if not, you could head over on a weekend. That way, when you do move, you can hit the ground running, knowing where all of the local amenities are located.

Conclusion

We hope that you have found this house moving guide useful. Ultimately, it’s all about preparation and getting as much done in advance as you can. Provided you do your due-diligence, you should’t run into any issues. In fact, you may even be able to enjoy the moving process if you stay on top of everything and follow this guide to the T.

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