Moving home is one of life’s experiences that’s often stressful, no matter how much we try to prepare and foresee any hiccups along the way. But planning ahead and making contingency plans can make all the difference between smooth sailing and hitting a bumpy road. Here are some suggestions for making moving memorable.
Don’t Leave Moving Until Moving Day
If you’ve got a moving date, you should already be organizing your move. In fact, the moment the exchange of contracts has occurred, which is when you’ve legally committed to buying your new home, is when you should seriously start planning.
If you’re unsure about the mortgage process, speak to your mortgage lender about important dates to be aware of at the start of the process. Alternatively, if you’re using a mortgage broker, like Trussle, they’ll use your application to see which lender has the best mortgage deal for you.
In the process, they’ll be able to tell you how different lenders operate, including how they typically organize dates of completion and exchange. This could be useful if you have to work around commitments you may have.
Start Packing!
The minute you know you’ve got your new home, it’s worth starting to pack. This way, your back isn’t against the wall when it comes closer to the moving date. Decide what you want, what can be chucked and what can be donated. This way, you’re limiting waste, giving items a second chance at being used, and reducing the amount of stuff you’ll be taking with you.
Get boxes and label them. Include the room the items the box belongs in and what’s in the box. Make sure the writing is in the same place for each box, so people know where to look. Use a marker, so people can clearly see the writing without having to get right up in front of the box, and make sure your writing is legible.
Let People/Places Know You’re Moving
A list of people and places, from your existing home to your new one, can be compiled before moving starts. This gives you time to make sure you have all of them, and reduces the chances of you forgetting anyone. Also, if you’re unable to contact them all at once, you can organize them into groups and notify them accordingly.
The sooner you let them know, the earlier you’ll be able to arrange appointments for things like internet installation, and getting a new doctor. It makes the transition easier knowing you have all this in place and organized before you move.
Prepare Some Hand Luggage
Just like when you go abroad, you have hand luggage of all your essentials. For hand luggage when you move home, it’s a similar principle, however the items may be different. For instance, your phone, charger, overnight clothes, a change of clothes, toiletries – basically everything you need for the next few days.
This will make your life a lot easier in the first day or so, when everything’s in boxes, and you may not have got around to unpacking all you need.
Keep Kids Busy
If you have children, and they’re with you on moving day, making sure they have things to occupy them will free you up to carry on with the moving process. Drinks, snacks and activities, including books, tablet and handheld games are all good.
They may want to join in moving boxes, so you could give them a few light items to place in the right rooms in your new home. Perhaps they could start sorting out boxes in their rooms. This will not only keep them busy, but help you out, as well.
Have Refreshments Handy
Whether you’ve got a removal company helping you, or friends and family, there’s a high possibility that you’ll have some help. Moving is a mammoth task that often needs more than one or two people. Taking this in consideration, having regular breaks and providing refreshments will motivate people to keep going. You’d be surprised how well drinks will literally go down!
If you’re calm when moving day arrives, anything unexpected that happens is unlikely to faze you. This would mean less stress and a more positive approach to what naturally can be a stressful situation.
Being prepared, and preparing in time, is an important part of this. Although you have to expect the unexpected, being able to have everything else planned for will ease anything unanticipated.