Everyone moves house for the first time once. It could be when you’re a student, taking responsibility for finding a home and moving all your possessions from halls of residence to a shared house for the first time.
It could be when you move away from your parents’ house, and need to find somewhere to live and set up everything you need for a life there. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and that’ll dictate when you reach this milestone, but the challenge everyone faces is the same.
Today we’re offering some tips on how to move house so you can do it with ease and assurance when the time comes.
Preparation
Planning and preparation is the key to a successful move into a house you’ll be happy with. This begins when you’re viewing possible houses and flats. Make sure you know the questions you need to ask. Ask about how the landlord has reacted problems in the past to make sure they’re responsive and easy to deal with. Also, make sure you check up on bills and council tax. Unless they’re all included in the rent these will be additional expenses that add to your cost of living so you need to factor them in or you’ll find your budget is ballooning out of control.
Packing
Start packing as soon as you have a moving date confirmed. Leaving it to the last minute is a recipe for disaster: packing quickly means your possessions aren’t secure and boxes are liable to split, items are likely to get lost and broken. More than that, it means last minute stress and sleeplessness, meaning you won’t be at your best on moving day. You need to be calm, collected and ready to follow through on your plans the day you’re moving house, so making sure your packing is finished at least a day early is vital.
Using Movers
If you’re moving house for the first time, this is also the first time you’ll have had to decide whether or not to use a professional moving firm. You’ll likely need at least access to a car: if you have friends or family who can help out with this you may be able to do without hiring a van or movers.
The first time you move you likely don’t have too much to bring with you: as you live in your own space more, you tend to accumulate more things that make subsequent moves more awkward, but if you do furniture to bring with, or you’re transporting a large and delicate collection (like vinyl) it’s worth getting some experts involved. The expense is well worth the security of having difficult items transported safely.