Moving home is listed as one of life’s most stressful events (next to getting married). The sheer enormity of the task can be quite overwhelming, most of us don’t realise just how much stuff we have until we need to pack it all. To help we have put together this guide: Home Moving Hacks
Great Packing Hacks
- Forget the bubble wrap or specialist packing materials. You can save a lot of money by utilising what you already have – everything from sheets and towels to old clothes can be used to protect those delicate items.
- Short of boxes and containers? You may be surprised what you have hanging around the home. That laundry basket is ideal for transporting items. What about your wardrobe drawers? Even the kitchen bin can be a great container if you clean it first.
- If you’ve got a closet full of clothes, tie top bin bags are likely to be your best friend. Don’t worry about putting them in the suitcase. Take a tie top bin bag and fit it around bunches of clothes together on their hangers. Tie the hanger tops together in each batch with elastic bands and all you need to do when you get to your new place is hang them up again and take off the bags and bands.
- If you’ve got other clothes and fabrics that do need to be packed in a case, the trick is to roll and not fold them if you want to utilise the most of your space. A rolled t-shirt packs much tighter than a folded one.
- Colour code or label your packing. If you don’t want to get to your new home and spend time moving boxes about from floor to floor and room to room, colour coding means that each box or suitcase or item of furniture ends up in the right room first time.
- If you’re worried about packing all your fragile things such as china plates, wine glasses and ornaments, this simple video offers some great tips to help deliver your fragile items in the same condition you packed them:
- To avoid a potential mess from liquid containers, before packing in boxes, place the bottles into carrier bags and tie the top. That way if you do experience a leak, it is contained and easily cleaned up. No one wants bright green shampoo on their brand-new cream carpets!
- If you’re a bit of a book worm and have a small library of books, pack them into a rolling suitcase – your back will thank you!
- Keep hold of your toolbox until everything is out of your old home. You will not want to find that it is already at the new place when you spot something that needs to be unscrewed or dismantled!
- To preserve your mattresses, wrap it in two fitted sheets, one each side, which can then be washed. This will prevent permanent marking or small tears whilst in transit. A sheet is a lot cheaper to replace than a mattress!
- Beg and borrow blankets, these can be used to protect your wood work. Place the blanket on top of the surface before adding other items. No one wants a scratch down the middle of the dining table!
- For quick plate packing use polystyrene plates and place between your china plates, this works just as well as the old newspaper packing method but is a lot faster!
- Glasses are a worry! Get a pile of clean socks and slide each glass into a sock. That should protect them on the journey!
- Run down your fridge and freezer. With all the jostling during transit your appliance(s) will need 12 hours to settle before you switch it back on. That could be a problem if you still have a lot of frozen or fresh food!
- Take pictures of the back of electronic devices before you unplug everything… otherwise you may find you are not able to remember what leads were for which device. This hack works when dismantling items too, film it on your phone. You don’t need to be a pro, but a short video of how an item came apart may save hours of frustration putting something back together!
- When dismantling furniture, keep the parts: nuts, bolts, screws etc. in separate food bags and label each one clearly with the item they came from. For ease, you can tape the bag securely to the item.
- If you’re managing the move yourself, invest in a sack truck trolley, these can be purchased from as little as £25 or hire one from HSS from just £16.80 a day! This will make your move so much easier!
- Start your packing early! It always takes much longer than you think to pack up your home! Decluttering months in advance is a good idea. Donate any unwanted items. This will leave you with less to pack. If your moving in the summer pack up all your winter clothes weeks in advance. Anything you can do ahead of time is going to save time in what will be a rather hectic few weeks.
- If hiring a self-drive van, ask if they have a tail lift option available. These are easy to operate and will save on the manpower needed to get heavy or bulky items into the vehicle.
- If you have small children arrange for them to be with a family member or friend who isn’t helping on the day. Whilst they may want to be involved this will reduce the pressure on you. They can still be involved, get them to pack a rucksack full of their favourite toys to take with them for the day away.
Stress Reducing Moving Tip
A good tip is to pack weekend cases for everyone. Just like when going away for the weekend plan what you will need for the next 2 or 3 days and pack a case per person. This will help prevent the panic of not being able to find school uniforms, work wear and simple every-day items like your tooth brushes. For younger children this makes the whole process of moving exciting and will certainly reduce your stress levels during the early days in your new home.
