Moving out of your parents into your own space is a pretty big milestone, whether you are starting university and are moving into halls of residence, or have found the perfect place to truly find your independence and spread your wings.
Leaving the parent’s house is a big deal, and there is a lot to think about. So to make things a little easier for you, we have pulled together this helpful guide full of tips to make the whole experience as stress free as possible.
We should state that we are assuming that you have already done the hard bit and found somewhere to live …. unfortunately, we can’t help you with that!
Give yourself time to pack
Leaving packing till the last minute will make the whole thing very stressful.
You should have a bit of time between securing your own place and actually moving there, so use this time wisely. Make a list of everything that you will need in your new home. Think about what you have got and what you haven’t got? Then you can plan where you are going to get everything and when.
Once you have this sorted you can start to plan where you will start with packing; which room will you start with, what items?
By giving yourself time to pack, you will be allowing yourself time to be organised which will help the process of packing, moving and unpacking go smoothly.
Go through your belongings
Before you really start packing everything up, it is a good idea to go through your belongings and get rid of anything you don’t want (or don’t need!).
You might not have quite as much space in your new place, so it is important that you think about what you will really need in the space, and what might just get in the way.
Your parents might agree to keep a few things for you, maybe they will store some childhood treasures in their loft for now, but asking them to keep your lifesize Captain America cardboard cutout might be pushing it.
Try to be ruthless with what you do and don’t need, and remember things that you no longer need don’t have to go in the bin. Recycle, sell, gift or donate them; this is easy enough to do these days with platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree.
In the moments that you are struggling with this, just remember that this exercise will mean that you have less to load and unload when you actually come to move out. Future you will be thankful.
If there are a few things that you would like to keep that your parents are saying no to, self storage might be a solution. Hogleaze Storage has a variety of unit sizes for you to choose from to store any of your belongings. Our smallest unit is just 25sq ft, this is the size of a walk-in cupboard and is perfect for small loads of personal items.
Collect cardboard boxes and packing material
Obviously you will need something to pack in, and if you are organised with this you don’t have to spend a fortune on it.
Quite often apps that look to recycle everything and anything, such as Trash Nothing, will have ready made or flat pack boxes going for free to anyone who has a use for them. Scope out these apps to try and get your hands on what you need.
Alternatively, ask friends and family if they have any boxes lying around that were going into the recycling. That Hello Fresh box makes for a great storage box!
Don’t forget that there are eco-friendly alternatives to bubble wrap and other materials, so if you are wanting to keep your carbon footprint low on this move, do some research into that. We find that using your clothing, towels and tea towels work well to keep things safe when being moved around.
Pack your boxes sensibly
Packing seems like a big task…but just take it one box at a time, before you know it you will have packed everything up.
Make sure that you use the right boxes, put heavy things into smaller boxes so that you don’t fill a box up and then find that it is too heavy to move (we have been there so learn from our mistake).
When packing heavy things, put them at the bottom of the box and place anything lighter at the top. This is also a handy trick when packing up a truck or car on moving day too.
Make the most of the box and don’t leave any empty spaces. Fill in any gaps with clothing, towels or packing paper, the tighter packed a box is, the less likely any damage will occur.
Finally, make sure that boxes are closed properly and securely. Use a couple of pieces of tape to close the bottom and top seams. Then use what is called the ‘Movers Technique’ and wrap tape all the way around the box’s top and bottom edges, focusing on where stress is being put on the box from the contents inside.
Label your boxes
It is ideal if you don’t mix items from different rooms in one box because that means that you will be able to take each box into their designated room when you get to your new place.
Which brings us to our next point, make sure you label your boxes clearly so that whoever is helping you with your move will know where to put the box.
This is a massive tip to moving efficiently. You don’t really want to waste energy just dumping boxes in one place only to have to move them again later to unpack them in the right area. Label the boxes as you pack, and they are more likely to be put in the right area in your new home.
Top tip: We’d suggest labelling both the top and the side of the box (so you can see the writing from either angle) with the room it needs to go in and a brief overview of the contents, problem solved!
Arrange transport ahead of moving day
Take some time in the build up to moving day to think about how you are going to get things from your parents house to your new space.
Will you need to hire a van? Or can it be done by using your own cars?
If you are thinking about using a van to move anything into storage, we have a fully managed removal and storage service that can help. We can pick up your belongings and bring them to our storage facility, where we can then keep them safe for as long as you need and when you are ready to take them out of storage, we can deliver them back to you.
Where to go when you need additional space
Moving can be a bit fiddly, and sometimes it can be hard to find a home for everything straight away. Whether you created a pile of things before you move that you need to find a new home for, or you get to your new space to realise you have a little too much stuff at the moment, a self-storage solution is just what you need.
If you are looking for indoor storage local to Dorchester or Weymouth then get in touch with us to discuss your needs. We are very flexible and won’t tie you into a long contract, meaning we can store your belongings for a short period of time or for the long term.
Call us on 01305 830000 to chat with our Weymouth team, or call 01305 889777 to chat with our Dorchester team.