Moving house- any tips/advice please

[sevendwarves]

We're moving house on the 16th and I have to admit we're not the most organised people. We've decided to do it ourselves rather than use a removal firm because we're skint we're moving 1 mile and have an estate car.

We have 2 days to move, DS is staying with my mum for the 2 days and my Dad has got the time off to help us.

Any tips on being organised and (relatively) stress-free moving would be gratefully appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[MrMayoNessie]

I would make sure you get rid of stuff that you don't need before the move, means less boxes/moving. Especially question anything thats not going into a room eg anything thats in your current loft or garage or shed thats stored, when was the last time you used the items!!!!
Secondly, make sure all the boxes are clearly labelled with the contents and which room to go into in the new home eg bedroom 1, bedroom2 etc, saves everyone asking you 'where's this going'!!!
Make sure you have the kettle, tea bags, sugar, coffee and milk available as soon as you get there, otherwise you'll be looking through boxes to find them!
Im sure there's loads more, we doing a move in April so any other ideas also welcome.

[isitmidnightalready]

My advice would be start packing now, and accept that you will be living with less for the next 10 days. Pack 3/4 of your clothes now, allbut the favourite toys, all kitchen stuff except one knife fork spoon, cup plate each, all but 2 pans, all the books, CD's DVD's. Pack away rugs, all spare bedding above one extra set per bed, all photos etc.

Basically do as much as you can tomorrow or the next day, and you will have the energy in 10 days time to clean your new house and unpack.

Pretend that you are on holiday for the next 10 days and survive on bare essentials.

Clear one room near the front door for boxes and congratulate yourself at the end of each day on how the pile of things is growing.

In my case it would have tobe pack away the telly and computer now so I would actually do packing andnot just crash bewilderedin front of the telly or mumsnet.

Good luck.

[sevendwarves]

Thanks for your advice, I have started packing but feel a bit overwhelmed as if doesn't look like I've made a difference yet!

[northerngirl41]

Good advice on decluttering first and packing all non-essential stuff.

Secondly, get yourself some coloured tape from Staples (blue, brown, white, red etc) and assign a colour per room at the new house. That way you can locate at a distance where the kitchen boxes are.

Don't be tempted to pack stuff from different places in the same box. At least if you know "all the books from the living room shelf are together" then you only need to hunt down one box, not any one of perhaps 5 DS's favourite book might be in.

Get beds sorted first and have one room completely clear of boxes (this will save your sanity!).

Actually moving: recruit some willing students, friends, family. Put one person in charge of old house and another in charge of the new house. Assign them each a mop and bucket and cleaning stuff to clean after you leave the old house and before you reach the new one.

I think the tiring thing is having to do it in dribs and drabs - can you realy fit all your furniture into a car? Could you not hire a van for the day? Or even half a day?

[isitmidnightalready]

If you don't feel you have made a difference yet, then you have too much stuff! or not enough time! Get the kids involved with packing their own stuff in boxes - they can draw pictures on the box to show it is theirs, if they are little and need incentives. If they are older, they should be doing their stuff anyway to stop it being mixed up and getting left in the garage etc etc, bribe, blackmail, coerce....

When you are packing have two spare binbags or boxes to hand - one for the charity shop and one for the rubbish. You should be putting lots of things into these. Only keep it if it makes you smile or you would have to replace it if it got lost or broken in transit (bit harsh, but hey- we can dream...)

I have learnt this from moving many times. We once had 80% of our stuff in strorage for 8 months and didn't miss a thing except the piano. We once had to go 2 weeks before our shipped stuff arrived in our new house. It was an adventure and made me realise how little we need. We once got caught up in a civil war and had to flee with very little in the back of a car. I still took too much and realised that most if it was tourist / souveneir(?) tat. But it is nice to have things around and we can't live in empty houses, so do keep the things that make you happy. But don't have cupboards full of junk that you use only once a year, apart from christmas decorations!

Echo the room theme - don't mix room contents as you'll do a lot of walking around at the other end.

Anyway - what are you doing reading this - get packing, lady! Can't do grin emoticon, but would if I could! I don't seem to have square brakets on my keyboard...

[timetosmile]

Just one tip.....pack a set of bedding /sleeping bag for each bed now and make sure it gets put with an 'overnight bag' with toothbrushes, next day's clothes etc. in an obvious place on the day of the move.
The aim is not to have to rummage in ANY boxes that night or the next morning.
Think about the first 48hours as 'camping' inside a house rather than moving-to-live-in-a-house!

[sevendwarves]

Well I'm fairly well packed (boxes everywhere!) but obviously a lot that can't be sorted out until tues night/ weds morning. I've also managed to rope in help from my dad, a friend and BIL! We've got a new dining table and wardrobe (flat packs) that will need building on moving day as well, as well as a new oven which will need wiring in.

Any last minute advice on being organised and keeping calm on moving day (whilst being as productive as possible!)?