Moving home is an important step in anyone’s life. You don’t just move house. It’s about completely changing your habits. You change neighbourhoods, neighbours, your favourite local bakery, school … So you might as well make sure that this exciting moment doesn’t turn into a stressful one. As removal professionals, we can assure you of one thing: the key to a successful move is organisation. If you do things hastily, without a key plan and without thinking things through, you run the risk of stressing yourself and your family out. That’s why we’ve put together a checklist of the essentials for planning a house move and making sure everything goes smoothly and without any headaches.
Before moving day
Let your landlord know you’re moving
One of the first things you need to think about before or after finding your new home is notifying your tenant. It may seem obvious and not that important, but it is. Most landlords require you to give notice if you are moving. In other words, you have to give them a certain number of months’ notice before you move out. And if you don’t give this notice, you risk losing your deposit and even legal proceedings.
Choose the day of your house moving
Setting a date for your move is important. It allows you to be better organised in terms of deadlines and avoid doing things at the last minute.
Contact your utility suppliers
Don’t forget to contact your water, electricity, internet and TV suppliers and tell them where and when you’re moving so that they can stop or renew your contracts in your new home. This way, you’ll avoid having to pay your bills in two different places.
Make an inventory of all the items you own in the property
Make an inventory of everything you own. This will not only make it easier to organise, but also prevent you from forgetting things or taking items that belong to your landlord.
Compare and choose removal companies
Make an inventory of everything you own. This will not only make it easier to organise, but also prevent you from forgetting things or taking items that belong to your landlord.
Here are a few tips for choosing the right removal company:
- It’s a well-established Nationwide Removals Company
- They offer rates tailored to your needs
- They have positive customer feedback
- They communicate clearly
- They listen to you
- They are experienced and reliable
- They have removal vans in good condition
- They offer packing, unpacking, loading and unloading services
Make an inventory of what you want to keep
When you’ve lived in a home for several years, it’s not unusual to accumulate a lot of objects and furniture. Moving house is the ideal time to get rid of things you no longer need by selling them or donating them to charities.
On moving day
Look after your children and pets if necessary
The big day has finally arrived, or is about to. There’s no doubt that planning a house move is stressful and tiring. That’s why, to reduce the stress, we recommend that you arrange for your children and pets to be looked after on the big day.
Remember to keep water and food aside
Once you’ve moved house, it won’t be easy to cook for yourself for the first few days. So if you want to avoid eating out, it’s a good idea to keep a few quick meals on hand until you’ve got all the kitchen equipment in place.
Label your boxes
It’s been said time and time again: organisation is the key to a successful move. And that means labelling your boxes. It may take time, but it’ll save you precious time when you’re putting your stuff in its place.
Organise the order in which you are going to start the move
Organise your move room by room, from the least important items to the most important.
After moving day
Do a deep clean-up before handing in the keys
Do you want your deposit back? We recommend that you give your old home a thorough cleaning. You can either do it yourself or hire a cleaning company.
Redirect your mail to your new home address
Remember to redirect your letters to your new address to avoid missing out on important correspondence.
Make sure that all your water and electricity contracts have been terminated in your old home
Don’t hesitate to contact your water and electricity suppliers to make sure that your contracts are no longer running in your old house.
Start installing the most important items
Start with the most ‘vital’ rooms, such as the kitchen and bathroom. Then move on to your bedrooms and finally the living room.
Conclusion
Planning a house move doesn’t have to be so stressful if you’re properly organised. Use our checklist to help you. Of course you can add to it as you wish. The aim is to really know where you’re going with the move and to make it an exciting experience rather than a tiring one!
