1. Declutter your Belongings

Decluttering is essential to do every now and then, but it’s even more important before moving house. Before even attempting to pack, you should decide what to sell, donate or throw out. By decluttering, you'll also keep your removal costs down too. You’ll be glad of it come moving day and believe us, the removal guys will be glad that they don’t need to shift your lava lamp, inflatable chair and broken-down computers.

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2. Start Packing the Least Used Room(s)

A good starting point will be rooms and items you use the least. The spare bedroom, garage or attic are usually easy places to start. Leave everyday items until the day before the move and keep any essentials items such as medication separately.

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3. Make Lists and Label your Boxes

Lists and labels – either done by hand or kept on your phone – can be super helpful when trying to keep track of all your stuff during the move. Grab a permanent marker to label boxes – not just ‘kitchen’, ‘bedroom’ but more specific: for example, ‘kitchen utensils’ and ‘children's toys’.

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4. Pack One Room at a Time

This is one of the most important packing tips which for some reason often gets neglected. Doing this will help you stay organised and will later tell the movers, or anyone unloading, which box goes where.

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5. Protect Fragile Items

Remember to buy packing paper, use it to pad all your fragile glass, crockery and decorative items. Stuff it inside glasses, wrap it around vases and bowls, and shove it between your dishes and the side of your boxes. Make sure you wrap each of your fragile items separately, so they’re fully cushioned. If you don’t have packing paper, opt for bubble wrap or a quilted blanket. We sell all of these items at great prices for your convenience.

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6. Think Clean and Clear

The last thing people, who are moving into your house want to see, are your unwanted items. Make sure to clear out every area of your house – it is just common courtesy. Then once that is done it is time to start cleaning! We offer clearance and cleaning services to take the pressure off, so that you can just use one company to take care of all your requirements and keep things as simple as possible.

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7. Stop Buying Groceries a Week Before You Move

To save you the guilt of throwing away perfectly decent food, stop buying groceries a week or two before you’re scheduled to move. Try to make meals at home to use all the food you have left. It’s a good opportunity to use up the contents of your freezer. If you don’t finish everything, invite a friend or two over to see if they need some half-finished spices or boxes of pasta. For anything you can’t get rid of, toss it and don’t look back. For any chilled or frozen items, you decide to hold onto, buy or borrow some cooler boxes so that you can pack them on the morning of your move and take them with you.

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8. Set Up Mail Forwarding through Royal Mail

When you’re moving house, you should be sure to set up mail forwarding through Royal Mail. This is super helpful in case you forget to change your address on any of your accounts. Which reminds us, remember to change your address with your bank, as well as any companies you get mail from. You don’t want your mail to accidentally fall into the wrong hands, so it’s best to cover your bases and forward your mail (for a couple of months) even if you think you’ve changed your address everywhere. Royal Mail can forward your post to anywhere in the world, not just addresses in the UK. Check out this link to learn more about mail forwarding with Royal Mail.

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9. Notify Utilities and your Local Council

You need to get in touch with your gas, electricity and water suppliers and inform them that you are moving. A final reading will be taken, and you will be issued a final bill. To make sure you are not overcharged on council tax, you need to update your details. Check with your local office (contact details will be on your last bill), but generally, you will need to provide the following information:

• your old address and the date you are leaving the property

• your new address

• the name of the new owner or tenant of your old address

• the name and address of the solicitor dealing with the sale

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10. Book a Removal Company

Once you’ve decluttered your personal belongings and have a rough idea of what you’ll be taking, now you should book a removals company. You could attempt to do it yourself, but it would be a lot of added stress and time and in our experience, you may end up calling a removal company for help at the last minute when things don’t go to plan. The removal company will have many years’ experience of carefully packing, handling and loading delicate and heavy items so they arrive safely at your new house. We advise you to get several quotes to see what services are available and who is most competitively priced. A word of caution – make sure that you use a professional company not just a man with a van! Don’t trust just anyone with your precious belongings, make sure they have the right insurance, clean, sign written vans and the correct equipment. Have a look at the reviews for that company to see what personal experiences people have had with them. It may seem like a good idea to cut costs initially, but it could end up costing you a lot more in the long run if it is not done properly.

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