10 tips for moving house

My partner and I just moved into our first home three weeks ago. It was the first 'big move' for both of us and was a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. We have learned what not to do (like hiring a conveyancer after choosing a house) but we also managed to pick up a few moving tips along the way.

If you are a checklist-kind-of-person then you could use one of the moving checklists off the net but it didn't seem to work for me. I printed out a checklist and intended to follow it but I ended up making it up as I went along and the checklist remained untouched in my handbag. Do whatever works for you :)

1. Redirect your mail & update your address 

This is something that most people will probably think of automatically but somehow it's something I nearly forgot to do! Luckily I remembered the week before we moved and AusPost only takes 3 days to commence the service. Just sign up for the redirection service with your local post company then start notifying friends, family and businesses of your new address before the redirection ends. 

2. Organise utilities

Arrange utilities at least one week before you move in. Shop around for the best rates. Sites like Go Switch do the comparisons for you.

3. Pack a "necessities" box

Make it easier for yourself to find the things you will need as soon as you move in. I packed things like remote controls, laptops, shampoo/conditioner, valuables, etc. Then take it in the car with you rather than in the removal truck to keep it safe. There is one thing that I wish we packed in the necessities box and that is the nuts and bolts for our bed. Even though Mitch put them in a bag and taped that bag to the bed frame they must have been separated in the move. The boys went to work to set the bed frame up and couldn't find the bag of nuts and bolts anywhere. We were just beginning to accept we would have to sleep on the floor when Mitch found them next to some boxes in the garage. Phew!

4. Label boxes per room

To prevent being surrounded by dozens of unmarked boxes at the end of your moving day with no idea what's in each box or where to start, it helps to label them as you pack. I labelled the top and sides of each box with the room it should go in and what was inside. Eg - Bedroom>Clothes, Kitchen>Fragile and even a fancy dress box. I didn't know I had enough fancy dress to fit into a box either. My name is Chelsey and I'm a fancy dress-a-holic.

5. Have a garage sale

You don't realise how much Stuff you have until you have to pack it all into boxes. I can guarantee that you won't want all of the Stuff and the best way to get rid of that Stuff is to have a garage sale! Earn a few dollars and put it towards something for your new house (we got a toaster and a microwave from our garage sales earnings).

6. Clean before you move

You don't really need to do this but, trust me, it makes things SO much easier - have a day to clean everything from top to bottom before you move in. Maybe it's just the OCD in me but I wanted to give the whole house a good vacuum and scrub before it was filled with furniture. It's no fun trying to clean around, under and over furniture and boxes. And I am so glad we did this because our place was fiiilthy! One vacuum bin full of dust, hours of weeding the garden and three scrubs of the kitchen and bathroom later our home was just starting to feel liveable. 

7. Hire removalists or gather friends

Whether you own a lot or a little I recommend getting some help. It just makes things easier and you probably have other things you'll need to stress over, so this will take off some of the load. We hired removalists because we had a few tricky pieces of furniture to move (ie- how do we get the piano upstairs?!) and thought it would be best to leave that to the professionals. We also had a whole bunch of friends helping out on the day and it seriously cut our moving time in half. Celebrating at the end of the day with a BBQ, a few drinks and your mates isn't a bad way to end the day either.

8. Moving pets

Furry family members feel the stress of moving as well so try to make it as easy as possible for them.

-Ensure they're fed and hydrated before the move (but not so much that they'll need to pee on the way).

-Make the trip to your new home comfortable. Give them their blanket and fave toy for the ride.

-When you arrive let them explore their new home and have food and water ready for them. It's exciting for them too. Evie went crazy running around the house and sniffing each room.

-Keep cats inside for at least 1-2 weeks to get used to their new surroundings.

Most importantly, keep calm. Your fuzzy bubbies can feel when you are stressed. So keep calm and hopefully they will too.

9. Meet the neighbours

Introduce yourself to the neighbours and maybe you could learn something about your new home/area. Our neighbours told us about a certain tree that the bush turkeys try to nest in (goodbye tree), that we can help ourselves to any mangoes from their tree that come over to our yard (yum!) and that bin night is Tuesday nights (always helps to know this). 

10. Have a plan B

If something doesn't happen the way you planned, which is often the case, be prepared.

We thought we had organised just enough time to be able to move into our new house after the settlement of our old house but because of complications with the seller of our new house we ended up having a five week gap between settlements, which left us with no place to live. Our backup plan was to stay at a caravan park for those five weeks. However, luckily for us, some friends invited us into their home (thank you Maroni family! xoxo).

You might not experience something as drastic as homelessness, on the other hand you could experience something much worse, in any case, it's good to be prepared. Even if that just means having some extra $$$$'s saved up in case of an emergency.

3 things I learned from this move that I would do differently next time:

- Get a pack of water bottles for the moving gang (because who has time to pour glasses of water?)

- Put the bag of nuts and bolts for the bed frame in the Necessities Box.

- If possible, take more time off work to settle in. That first day back at work was the hardest, I spent the whole time thinking of all of the things I needed to do at home. 

Lastly, go out and explore your new area! Find your local shops, vet, doctor, petrol station, etc and just walk around and take everything in. This is my favourite part :) 

H a p p y   m o v i n g!

Do you have any good moving tips?