Congratulations – you’re almost there. Make the process as painless as possible with our guide to moving into your first home.
Create a master list of all the things you need to do for your move
Moving is a massive task with a lot that goes into it. Keeping a list will help keep things straight in your head.
Put everything on it, no matter how trivial, because chances are you’ll stick a crucial item somewhere strange and having this knowledge written down will save you from pulling your hair out.
A physical list is likely to go missing in the madness of the day so having a digital copy is a better choice.
Good packing strategy
If you’re moving from a rented property or previous home try to pack room by room because in all likelihood, everything you have in your old kitchen will go into your new kitchen.
Having everything in the correct box when it’s time to unpack will make life easier at the other end.
Make sure to have a black marker and white labels so you can mark each box with as much information as possible, for example, ‘kitchen crockery’. That way you’ll know where to find plates to eat off on that first night in your new place.
When labelling your boxes, make sure you write on each side as just writing on the top will be no good to you if the boxes are stacked on top of one another.
Colour coding is another good system to use, this way you can just stick coloured post-its or tape to each box depending on which room it belongs to and then put the corresponding colour on the door of its room so the movers know where each box goes.
Remember to pack an overnight bag
Pack an overnight bag with essentials. Chances are you won’t get everything unpacked on the day that you move.
Having a bag with toiletries, pyjamas, a change of clothes, a towel, and anything else you think you might need that first night will make things feel a little bit like home and save you from tearing through boxes looking for your toothbrush at the last minute.
Removals
Once everything is packed, it’s ready to be taken by the removals company.
Make sure that the moving company you hire has insurance to compensate you for any damages that may occur. Take pictures of any fragile or valuable items as you may need to use them as proof of their prior condition if they do become damaged in transit.
Stay with the movers until the last box is in the removals van.
When the van arrives at your new home, go through the inventory carefully to make sure that everything has arrived and in the state that it went into the van.
Once you arrive at the property, there are a few things you can do to make the settling-in period less stressful.
Unpacking
You probably had to take apart furniture, including things like cabinets and your bed.
When you take items like your bed apart, check that you have the correct instructions to be able to put it back together again. The removal company may offer to disassemble and reassemble furniture, so check this in advance.
You will most likely have cleaned your new property but your furniture will probably have gathered a nice layer of dust during the move.
Before you bring anything into your shiny, new place, wipe it down in the removal van - you can give it a proper clean once inside.
Make your bed first. Doing this will allow you to crash at the end of what is going to be a very long day instead of being faced with a bare mattress and a tired brain that has no idea which box the sheets are in.
Taking your time
Take your time and don’t feel like you have to unpack everything that first day or even first couple of days.
Take stock and consider where everything will go. Take out the essentials and start putting those in place but get used to living with a few boxes around you for a little while.
You have all the time in the world, so play around with your new space. It’s all yours, so enjoy.
Remember to update your address
Update your address in advance of your moving date.
This might seem like a no-brainer but making sure you have the correct address registered with your bank and utilities providers, as well as Amazon, Asos, or Ebay makes sure that bills, bank statements and deliveries all reach their new destination.
