Moving to a new home is meant to be an exciting experience, but often, owing to poor organization and planning, many people fail to enjoy the excitement, and end up spending the entire moving day running around in a state of panic, trying to keep track of everything. Pre-planning, and careful organization are vital if you want to make moving day easy for yourself and your family – putting in a little effort beforehand will save you from a great deal of stress and confusion later.
To begin, make sure you start the packing process well in advance – people often leave this to the last minute, and the results are disastrous. Make sure you sift through all your belongings at least two to three weeks in advance, to get rid of unnecessary junk and draw up an inventory. Having an inventory is vital, as this will help you keep track of all your items on moving day, and enable you to coordinate with the movers.
When packing, tackle all the big items first, as these take longer – dismantle cabinets and wardrobes, and ensure that they are securely packed up. You should also make sure that the bigger items are loaded into the moving van first. Then, move on to the smaller items. Do not pack haphazardly, and do not focus solely on making everything fit inside the boxes – it is best to pack according to where you will be placing all the items in your new home, so make sure you draw up a floor plan for the new property before you begin packing. Label and color-code the boxes, so that the unpacking process is a breeze.
Many families focus on packing everything away, and forget that there are some items which they will need later in the day, after everything has been shifted to the new house. Avoid the hassle of having to dig through piles of boxes for things you might need by packing a basics box beforehand. Include a wash bag, a change of clothes, some snacks, and your cell phone charger in this, and keep it with you so you can use it when you reach the new house.
When hiring a moving company to make the entire process easy, make sure you do not hire the first movers you come across – look at multiple options, carefully study the services they provide, read reviews, and get opinions before you settle on one removal company. Make sure you chalk out your deal with them in clear terms, so there is no confusion on moving day, and exchange numbers with the movers on moving day, so they can call you if the need arises. When the movers are at work, make sure you keep your kids and pet out of the way.
If you are looking to avoid unnecessary expense, and willing to put in a bit of hard work, you might consider executing the move yourself, without the services of a professional moving company. However, this will require a great deal of planning, and you will still need to hire a moving vehicle, and might require professional removers to pack large, special items like furniture.
An important task that many people overlook, and which frequently leads to a lot of panic on moving day, is checking whether large vehicles can easily access the property (both the current and the new home). You should also check beforehand whether other vehicles will be able to use the road while the loading and off-loading process is going on.
Lastly, you will need to plan in order to make sure that there are no hassles when it comes to moving into the new home – find out beforehand the date on which the keys to the new house will be released, and who will be releasing them. In addition, make sure that services like gas, electricity, telephone, and broadband have been set up in the new house.