Plan Ahead
It’s important to plan ahead to avoid the challenges of moving home. To avoid disappointment, booking your removal with a company 4-6 weeks in advance is a good idea. The housing market can be very unpredictable at times. This allows you to prepare as much as you can, and help prevent any mistakes. It allows you to get all your insurance and legalities sorted.
Buy all the packing materials you need, pack your things, and create a Plan B in case something goes wrong. For example, if the sale of the house you’re moving to falls through, or an exchange of keys is messed up. After all this is a very important and stressful part of your life, so planning ahead accurately and effectively can ease your mind during the hectic moving process.
Choosing the Right Removal Company
An important part of moving house is making sure you choose a good Removals Company. It’s recommended you choose one with a good reputation and that is certified by a recognised authority, such as the BAR (British Association of Removers). This way you can be confident you won’t get scammed or be provided with a poor service. Ask family or friends for any companies they’ve used in the past, and look at companies reviews on Which? to make sure you’re using the right company.
On top of using a company, always ask for help from family or friends who may have experience with moving. There’s nothing better than even a little bit of help to get you through such a stressful time. Moving for the first time can be daunting and people who have moved before will have lots of useful tips and tricks to make your experience so much easier. You can also ask your move co-ordinator for a copy of the removal plan so you can understand the process and negate some of the challenges of moving home.
De-clutter
One useful tip to take on board before you even begin to pack is to de-clutter, which is clearing out old items and pieces of furniture you don’t need any more. This is a logical step to take, as it reduces the amount you need to move, and reduces workload for the men moving your items. It may also may even reduce your removal cost! Simply decide what is no longer needed and either sell these to make a profit, or donate them to friends and family.
Clearing out drawers and old storage spaces can be helpful too. Clothes can also be a menace, as many people have lots of then. This isn’t helped when the garment carriers that are used to store your clothes take up a lot of space. So you may want to be ruthless in throwing away old pieces of clothing – yes, even the ones that hold sentimental value! Yet another one of the challenges of moving home!
Of course, this is not always easy, as moving can be stressful enough on its own, without having to weigh the options of whether or not to throw away personal relics. Therefore using a storage service can be very helpful, enabling you to make such decisions later. Your Removal Company may provide such storage services, so check their website or give them a call.
Packing Tips!
It could also be a good idea to pack an easily identifiable box with essentials such as toilet paper, pet supplies, chargers and even quick snacks. This way amidst all the chaos of arriving to your new house you’ll know where the basic emergency supplies are for easy access. It would also be a good idea to stick your mugs, kettle and tea supplies in here as well for the guys moving your house as they will always appreciate a cup of tea! Why not check out our staff page to find out what they take in their tea?
Another tip is to mark boxes with the name of the room they’re going to, for example the kitchen or bathroom. This might seem obvious but it can be easy to forget and will make unpacking a more orderly and step-by-step process. A Removals Company should have an easy-to-use website with lots of helpful information. You should also be able to view packing materials available to purchase such as boxes, wrapping, paper and covers from their website.
Late Key Waiver & Valuable Items
A common issue is not receiving the keys for your new property on time on the day of your removal. If you haven’t paid for a “Late Key Waiver”, each additional hour the men doing your removal have to wait for the keys means significant extra costs are usually incurred on your removal cost. It then may be a good idea to purchase a late key waiver, which means that if your keys are delayed, you only have paid a fixed rate, saving you money in the long run.
If you have valuable items that you don’t want to lose, like jewellery or memorabilia, you would be removing a great deal of worry if you kept these yourself or stored them in a bank. It can be easy for fragile items to get lost or be broken. For larger items like expensive pieces of furniture and artwork, using high quality packing materials and sturdy boxes will give you peace of mind.
Conclusion - Challenges of Moving Home
And lastly, you may also want to consider having an eco-friendly house move. You can do this by using up all the food in your house leading up to your move. Or book a video survey to eliminate the need for the surveyor to drive out to your property and reducing carbon emissions! Always recycle, donate or sell obsolete items instead of throwing them away. Give this article a read to find out more about how to complete an eco-friendly move.
Now that you are informed, you will no doubt be wanting to spring into action to get your removal company booked and your packing done. To summarise: ask for help, plan ahead, and don’t stress too much. Eliminate the stress instead, and choose Purdie Worldwide to face the challenges of moving home. Handling with Care…Anywhere!
