Moving is a stressful time. In a recent poll, two-thirds of people stated that moving house was the most stressful thing in life, even more than divorce or moving jobs.
So, here’s some tips on how to pack for your house move to help reduce a little bit of that moving anxiety. And if all else fails, you can always find moving help in London to take the stress off your shoulders.
First things first, start early and create a checklist
Easier said than done, we know. Everyone intends to start early, but it almost never happens. It’s human nature to procrastinate. Do your best to hold yourself to a strict packing schedule by setting deadlines, i.e. by the 24th, I’ll have my kitchen items packed!
That brings us on to the next point. A packing checklist. It’s important to organise yourself and packing is often a messy process and things can easily get misplaced or left behind. Avoid the tedious 3 a.m. hunt for your favourite sleeping mask by making a checklist of all essential items.
Pack one room at a time
To save your sanity, try and focus on one room at a time. Trust us, you’ll feel an immense sense of satisfaction when you tick that room off your checklist and work your way through your house in a more organised fashion.
This way, you’ll also pack all the relevant items together which makes sense when unpacking in the new home. You’ll have everything you need in one place, rather than an assortment of items meant for different rooms.
Purge, purge, purge
Moving is the perfect time to de-clutter. Let’s face it, giving away our old garbs to our local charity shop is something we keep putting off, but what’s the point of lugging something to your new home that you never wear/use? Get a friend involved to help out if needed. They can offer an objective opinion on what to keep and what to get rid of.
Pack a bag of essentials for the first day/night/week
You’d be surprised how many people forget to do this. The first few days after moving are bound to be a bit of a daze with you stumbling around unopened boxes of household items.
Save yourself the time and effort of having to rummage through every box to find your face wipes. Pack a back of essential items you know you’ll need in the first week such as your laptop, chargers, toiletries, pyjamas and pet food.
Colour code and label each box for the right room
Again, this is a sanity saving tip you’ll be grateful you did later. Whether you have help with moving or not, your boxes and cases are bound to get a little jumbled up in the process. To save precious time, simply label each box for the room it belongs in.
Colour code the labels for extra ease to help you find what you need. Somehow, you’ll feel instantly better after doing this.
Use these handy packing hacks to save yourself even more time and effort
- Place smaller items from your drawers into sealable Ziploc bags so they don’t get lost or misplaced.
- For transporting any heavy items such as books, used wheeled suitcases. Your muscles will thank you later.
- IKEA bags are a lifesaver for stashing and moving any random items.
- Plastic wrap chests of drawers so you can move them as they are, with no need to empty each drawer.
