Did you know that July and August are the most popular months to move house in the UK? And if we’re drilling down to the exact day, it’s the last Friday in August! With this in mind, we thought we would share our top tips to make your moving day a little less stressful, calm and simple as possible.
As a large storage company in Dorset, we talk to our fair share of homemovers, so we’ve seen house moves of every size, from small 1 bedroom apartments to 5 bedroom mansions. At the end of the day, your moving day should follow a few simple rules regardless.
Preparation is key
If you’ve previously moved before, you’ll know that unfortunately moving house in the UK doesn’t always go as planned. But if you can prepare for every eventuality you’ll be putting yourself in the best position.
Keep a folder of all the house moving documents
Moving house comes with a lot of paperwork – from solicitors, estate agents and mortgage companies. Keep everything in one folder (ideally with sections for each!) so it’s all easily accessible for when you need it. Keep it at the ready on moving day in case you need any of it.
Start packing early
Realistically, you don’t want to wait until the exchange of contracts to start packing up your possessions, especially if you’re packing up 20 years worth of belongings. We know some people say it’s tempting fate by starting early, but it will make moving week much easier.
Label everything
And we mean everything, from the box of fancy dress clothes that have been in the loft, to your special china that no one actually uses, labelling your boxes saves tons of time.
We recommend writing on each box: Room | Items | Fragile / Not Fragile
Pull in the cavalry
Firstly, we would suggest you get your children (and/or pets) looked after for the day if possible, keeping them occupied is then one less thing you need to worry about.
Next up, get a few close family members or friends to help with the move, simply moving boxes in and out can be pretty exhausting if you don’t have support. They can also help with cleaning duties at both properties.
Top tip: Ask the buyers, or the estate agent to leave a little list behind with some key information, such as when bin day is, what keys are for what door, how the heating or alarm works etc. This will make everything much more manageable for you.
Create an essentials box
The last thing you want to happen is that you get your keys to your new home, start moving in and then realise some items you NEED are just nowhere to be seen. Create a moving day essentials box, we’d recommend the following:
- Toilet roll
- Tea / Coffee / milk and a few mugs
- Chargers
- Biscuits and snacks
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Change of clothes
Top tip: Take a photo of the back of your TV unit and wifi box, there are so many cables that you may not know where each one goes when you get to your new home.
Try not to do too much
As long as you’re out of your old home, and have done a triple check (don’t forget the loft) of that house, take your time to move into your new one.
Try to enjoy the process as much as possible, crank up the party tunes, pop open the bubbles and once you’re done for the day, find your local takeaway and relax… don’t forget the hard part is done now, you’ve got your keys you can celebrate!
Book help if you need it
Not everyone is in the position to move their belongings straight into their new home, or maybe you want to buy new furniture but haven’t arranged for your old beds and sofas to be sold yet. You may also decide to re carpet or paint before you move everything in – it’s far easier without all the furniture in.
Having a storage unit ready to move some of your possessions into can just take a weight off your shoulders.
At Hogleaze Storage we work with a local moving company, so we can pick up your stuff, and bring it here without having to burden you whatsoever.
Get in touch with Hogleaze Storage
Hopefully, this article has eased your mind a little bit about the prospect of moving house soon. If you are looking for a storage unit, we have storage facilities in Weymouth and Dorchester. Give us a call on 01305 889777 (Dorchester) or 01305 830000 (Weymouth).
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