Some of you may have realised that part of the reason for my silence and sporadic posting schedule on the blog was due to me moving house. The timing of the move was such, that it was smack in the middle of a very busy period at work, not smart planning on my part, and the impression that I could be more efficient than I really was. This was the first time I was moving house and I swear, it will be the last! I don’t think I could put myself through all that stress again 😛
But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and for me, it was some tips to help anyone planning to move house. I read up on tips before I planned and executed the move, but I was still left unprepared, and so will you. But there are some things I didn’t know, and that no one tells you, that I think are practical enough to share.
If you have moved house and have your tips to share, please do! It’s too late for me, but it’ll definitely help someone else! 😀 If you plan to move, ask your questions and someone will find you the answers! 😀
Get a professional mover
Yes, you can rent a lorry or a van and grab some friends and attempt to move your worldly possessions from House A to House B. But if you can afford it, I highly recommend hiring professional movers. These are people who are in the business of moving and will know how best to wrap large or delicate items, provide you with packing material and if necessary, know how best to transport bulky and delicate items.
Some movers even help you pack, especially for cross-country or international moves. But sometimes, if you have a lot of stuff you plan to bring along, it might even be useful to have them pack for a move across town. Someone I know used Allied Pickfords for an international move and I saw just how efficient they were in packing up items, and then, unpacking so everything arrived safely.
I couldn’t get Allied Pickfords, but I got a local company called Happy Movers. They didn’t do the packing for me (I opted out of it) and they are a very small outfit but they got the job done fairly efficiently and the 5 workers they sent seemed to know their way around things, and even in packing items like glass cabinets, which they padded and wrapped with blankets and film. They helped me dismantle some cupboards to take along and then set it back up. They were ok although not without hiccups, but when they were working, they knew what they were doing which is what I appreciated. Professional movers are a little more costly than doing it yourself, but on moving day, all you have to do is sit back, point out what is to be taken and let them do all the heavy lifting and work.
Start packing at least 1 month before your moving day
Don’t leave it till the last 2 weeks like I did! Start off with the easy bits like the kitchen. You only need a few bits of crockery and cutlery to get through the weeks till the move, so you can start packing up the rest, like pots, pans, crockery etc. The kitchen is usually the easiest place to start. The bookcase is the second easiest.
Tip: When packing books, pack them spine facing upwards. This takes up less space and you can fit more books in a box.
Divide your rooms up into sections and aim to complete packing a section a day. You will live in a mess for a while, but it will cause you to panic less as the day draws nearer, and believe me, 1 month just flies by!
Clear out the clutter!
This is also a good time to clear out things you may never use again. So, have a bag or box for useable items you can give to charity, and another bag to be binned. Be ruthless and brutal! If you haven’t used/worn an item for a year or two, what makes you think you’ll use/wear it again? Sadly, it’s a fact. I discovered some items I’d forgotten I had and since I’d never missed it, I figured, I didn’t need it. It was also a good time to clear out old and expired skincare and makeup. Some, I had totally forgotten about!
Don’t get packing boxes that are too large
If you are getting packing boxes, I find those that house electrical items are best because they are sturdier, and can hold heavier items. Some electrical shops may be willing to give you some flattened boxes, if you ask. It’s tempting to want to get a huge box e.g. for TV or washing machine, to pack all your stuff into. But resist that temptation, because while you can fit a ton in there, it will also weigh a ton and be hard to move. Instead, use smaller boxes like those for microwaves or small ovens. It’s easier to carry and pack.
Collect smaller boxes, bubble wrap, newspaper, tape and string before packing
One way I packed my breakable items to minimize and avoid breakage, was to wrap them up in newspaper or bubble wrap and then pack them into a smaller box before packing the smaller box into the larger box. This way, the item is insulated and there is less pressure placed on it. I found this useful especially for packing crockery especially plates and bowls. This was the time when all the packing material and boxes I’d collected over the years from all my online orders came in useful 😛
Also, having smaller boxes to organise within a large box is actually easier to handle than it is to pile everything higgledy-piggledy into the box. I said it was like playing Tetris 😀
Packing fragile items into a smaller box works for makeup as well, for those of us with a large cosmetics collection. Pack it full so it doesn’t move and you minimize incidences of breakage. I’m happy to report that none of my fragile items broke in transit, which pleased me plenty!
Keep calm and don’t panic – expect hiccups
Ok, easier said than done, but it’s important not to panic or lose your temper when something goes wrong, as will happen. On my moving day, the movers were about an hour late because they got lost. It took all my self control not to explode! I did complain to the owner, but I also realised that there was little else I could do. They were already late, and being nasty wouldn’t have served any purpose. Ultimately, the job was done within time, and the workers were apologetic and quick to wrap up the big items and pack and transport them.
Eat breakfast on moving day
I cannot stress this enough! I didn’t, which was a mistake on my part. I did have a bun halfway through and I didn’t have much of an appetite, but lunch was very late and this was only because I wasn’t moving too far away. If I had moved to a different suburb, or a different town, lunch would have been non-existent. So, be sure to have a hearty breakfast, lots of coffee and be sure to have bottles of water on standby. You will need it.
Get help
I didn’t really want to trouble people and thought I could do it on my own, which was a mistake. I did not have a lot to move, but even then, small items that you accumulate over the years take up space and need to be packed, cleared or tossed. At the last minute, I enlisted the help of my family and the adage that “many hands make light work” is never further from the truth.
If you have a family and friends network you can call on, do so. Give them instructions on what to pack and where everything needs to go and you’ll be done before you know it!
Label your boxes
The movers provided me with labels but if you don’t have them, don’t fret. Take a big fat black marker and label the side of the box with where the box is to go e.g. Kitchen. Master Bedroom, Study etc This helps your movers (or friends) identify where your boxes should go when you arrive at the new place and minimises confusion. It also makes it easier when the time comes to unpack, because everything is already in one place.
Tip: Label the side of the box with the location it is to be put in, not the top. Your boxes will be stacked and you won’t be able to see the top of the box, but you will be able to see the sides.
Also label each box briefly with what is within e.g Skincare, Makeup, Bowls, Pots, Microwave etc. This helps you quickly identify the contents of each box without having to open them, and it makes unpacking faster too.
Make your bed at your new home before unpacking
If you are fortunate enough to have access to your new home before moving in, go in a day or two before and make up your bed (if you aren’t bringing it along) If you are bringing your bed along with you, then the first thing you do when everything is delivered, is to set up and make up your bed. Unpacking will take you a while, and you will be exhausted from the long day of moving, so a made up bed means you have somewhere familiar and comfortable to sleep in when the time comes.
Pack an overnight bag for when you arrive at your new house
If you are fortunate enough to be able to move things into your new place before moving day, and live close enough to do so, do it. If not, pack an overnight bag with a change of clothes, pyjamas, toiletries, skincare and underwear because you may not have time to unpack by the time you get to your new home. At the very least, by the time you get to your new home, you will be able to have a shower and a change of clothes, because believe you me, you will be a hot sweaty mess 😛
Take a day off before moving day, and a few days off after moving so you can unpack
Take the day off before moving day, if you are working. There will be a lot of last minute packing to do, no matter how efficient you are, and you will need that time to do it. Similarly, take a few days off after moving so you can set to your unpacking immediately. I timed my move for about a week before we had a long public holiday here, where I took the opportunity of the 4 day weekend to unpack and clear up. You must unpack immediately or you will end up not doing it. As it was, it took me all of the 4 day weekend to unpack and clear up. Expect it to take longer if you have a whole houseful of things, or many people to unpack for.
Bonus Tip: Make a “Change of address” list
I started monitoring my mail 3 months before my move, and every time I got a letter (or bills… mostly bills 😛 ) I’d make a note of it. 2 months before my move, I started notifying all the people of my new address. The long lead time is to ensure that you don’t miss any important mail (or bills), and it gives you the time to get all the mail notifications you will normally receive. Some are easy, you can just do your change of mailing address online, but some may require you to call in or write a letter or fill out a form so do all that before your move. If you have to, apply to relocate your internet service before your move as well. I lived without internet at home for about a week before the move, but at least by the time I was in my new place, there was no downtime trying to get internet, and we all know how important that is 😛
So these are the tips I have for you for moving house, based on my most recent experience. I don’t want to ever do this again 😛
Do you have more practical tips to share for moving house? Are you planning a move and have questions?
Do share your experiences, whether with movers, packing, or just executing a house move in general. It’s actually a huge project and like all big projects, needs a lot of preparation. So, your tips will be most welcome! 🙂
Paris B
Great tips PB! So glad you’ve moved in! I definitely agree with getting movers. Next time Tim and I move, we’re definitely engaging the services of movers. We thought we wanted to DIY and save some money (especially since the move is short because our old place was quite near) but to be honest, we had no idea what the heck it was we were doing. Thank goodness we didn’t have to move couches or big shelves because our bed alone was a pain in the bottom. Lesson learnt: get the pros! 🙂
Thanks Tine, and I’m so glad the move is over and done with too! Now, I have a guest room so if you’re ever in town and want to hang out, feel free to let me know 😉 I was advised by a friend to get movers and they were the smartest move I ever made. I originally thought I didn’t have much, but boy, I filled up the whole lorry in the end! I too wasn’t moving from far away but it’s easy to underestimate the quantity and bulk and as you said, to just not know what you’re doing.
Yup we got movers to do part of it for us too! But we hit the max on the weight of the lorry and had to move the rest ourselves. With three kids in tow, it was not an easy task!!! Had to make several trips a day for a month or so!
Gosh, couldn’t they just make an extra trip? The movers I got did offer to do as many trips as was needed to get everything I was moving across, but in the end, it all fit in one trip so that was a relief! 🙂 I can imagine that moving with kids is even harder especially when you still have to settle them in. I read a tip that said to pack the kids off to the grandparents so they don’t get underfoot and I thought it was quite a smart idea 🙂
Awesome tips! I’ll be moving too and it’ll be loads of hard work!! Thanks again :))
I don’t wish a move on anyone, Sher! But it’s always a good sign because it means you’re moving up in the world right? 😀 Good luck with your move!
Hi Paris, I wish I read your article when I moved house. We bought a new house 5 years ago when I was heavily pregnant with our first child (of course that’s the best time to move, not). I couldn’t do too much plus I was working full time so I left lots of the packing with my trusted husband. To date, we are still looking for things that went missing from moving house.
I think next time I will use your tip rather than leave it with my hubby:)
Hi Grace! Oh dear, I could have picked up some tips from you too, since you made the move first! Haha… I can’t imagine moving while pregnant! That would have been horrendous and so exhausting and stressful! Still, I’m glad it all worked out in the end even if you’re still looking for things now haha 😀 If you ever have to move again, definitely label the boxes and use smaller boxes inside a big one. It’s a better way to organize your packing 🙂
oh my, I also moved from kl to jb when I was 8 months pregnant and we were living in a walk-up apartment, oh the horror! I underestimated the volume of our belonging and ordered a one tonne lorry. But a three tonne lorry arrived and by the time we’ve packed everything, it was filled to the brim! oopps!
After all that exercise up and down the stairs, we hit the road for the 300km journey (at 11pm no less). I drove that nite coz I’m weird like that haha.. We ended up sleeping at the R&R for a bit and only arrived at 7am. Crazy times, just not something I wanted to relive again now that we have 3 boys.
Oh dj, I thought I was crazy, 🙂 haha
You, DJ, win. Moving was hell enough and to add being pregnant and cross country to boot, I think I’d just give up! :O
thanks for the tips! will be mighty useful the next time I move. i used to move every year during uni time and it was such a hassle. getting the pros were a no no because of budget issue 🙂
Ah I remember moving in Uni. No movers back then either and it was such a pain because you just never realise how much crap you accumulate in just one miserable room! But you know, moving house is a whole different ball game altogether so be sure you make your plans early 😀
Ah no wonder you were missing =)
Great tips for moving, definitely will keep these in mind when I’m moving when I get my own place (which is proving to be very difficult to the crazy property prices)
Yep, bad planning and just had too much to handle so the blog had to give. Thanks for checking in! 🙂 Actually even if you plan to rent a place it’ll work too. For budgetary concerns professional movers will be expensive but the other tips on packing will work as well. Have to admit the rising property prices is making it very prohibitive to buy your own place but I’ve seen some affordable housing a little further away from the city so it pays to keep an eye and mind open 😉
Glad to see you’re still alive and survived the move! 😀
Yes, alive (barely) and hoping to get things in some semblance of control so we can get back to our project 😉
Oh Paris!!! I came to ?stanbul when I was 18, and since I graduated, I moved from house to house… I believe this is my 8th home in 14 years!!! Moving is HELL!!!!!! I feel you, I truly do.. But the only thing good about moving is removing clutter (in any sense!). So I hope that will a gain for you, but other than that, god help you!
Wow Casey, I take my hat off to you for moving so many times! I don’t think I could or would survive it haha! I do agree the decluttering part is a plus point, but you know what? My new home has filled up already! Gosh…
Hi PB, congratulations on your new digs! I did all that you mentioned when I moved from our apartment to a house about 10 years ago! We got professional movers who came in and wrapped, boxed and labeled most of our stuff. I have one more tip to add….I put all our clothing items that were on hangers the way they were, still on hangers, into big bin bags and when our cupboards were in place, I just took the items out and hung them back again. Prior to that I weeded out the clothes we did not need anymore and this saved me so much time. The best tip is the one where you take a big black marker and write down what’s in each box! That’s a great one!
Thanks Jackie 🙂 That’s a great tip about packing clothes on hangers! I did the same, except I put them into my luggage bags, and then just hung them back up in the new cupboards. Isn’t it scary what clothes you find in the stash? I found myself shaking my head so often, wondering what possessed me to ever buy some of them!
We’v moved 13times since I was a baby. My mum does all the packing. My dad n relatives help to move. We were always moving to another town. Heck we were always changing schools too! Fun but tiring. My mom the supermom 🙂
Gosh, Retty, your Mom must be superwoman indeed! Hats off to her!
Hello beautiful stranger! It’s been a long time. Anyways glad that you’ve moved and settled down hopefully. Moving house is one arduous task but I guess it’s the nrccesary evil to start nesting. Lol. Thanks for the great tips! If given a chance again, I’ll be sure to save and spend the money on professional movers. The fear rocking through my body as the rowdy guys dragging boxes and furniture through the living room, on my precious glazed tiles…was just too painful to watch. Sometimes, some money is worth spending. Snippets of your place looks lovely and cozy. Happy for you!
Hey yourself, lovely! 😀 I hope you’re keeping well and staying upbeat and all. Did you move recently as well? I was going to just get a lorry service, but a friend convinced me otherwise, because she said she wish she did. It turned out to be pricey, but in the big scheme of things, perhaps not as pricey as I expected it to be all things considered. It’s definitely something to consider for the future 😀
I am moving in 3 weeks and I have only packed 2 little boxes of stationery so far.. But thanks for the tip on changing addresses! I definitely need to get those done at least a week before. And I especially love the idea of packing an overnight pack!
On contrary to your tip on packing kitchen stuff first, I choose to pack kitchen stuff last, since I am trying to get rid of food in the fridge and pantries in order to reduce the moving load. I still need to cook for the next 3 weeks, or 2.5 at least =D I choose to pack decorative stuff, books/magazines, winter clothing and shoes/boots that I don’t wear on a daily basis. I have even gotten my bed disassembled first LOL. This will be followed by my pile of toiletries/cosmetics that I don’t use daily.
Good thing is I am only moving from a apartment unit to another, so I don’t need as many bubble wraps as you do! I have no plans to hire any professional movers since it is expensive here in the States.
All in all, great tips you have there!
Hey Kristin, I hope you’re all packed up by now! LOL Yes, definitely get a headstart on your address change, because sometimes, it can take weeks for them to effect a change. Not everything can be changed online or that would be so much easier! As for the kitchen, I have a lot of unused stuff e.g. crockery, appliances, pots & pans so I packed those first, and left a basic set till the end, so I could still cook and eat up whatever that was left in the fridge 🙂 But if you don’t have a lot of things in the kitchen, then yes, it won’t be the best place to start. Good luck with your move and I hope you settle in nicely!
Glad to hear that you survived your big move :)No wonder they say moving is considered a (psychological) stressor…
Thanks Synical 🙂 It most certainly is a very stressful affair and not one anyone would like to repeat (unless they were a masochist) 😛
I really like the “clear out the clutter” tip. You would be surprised at how much stuff you didn’t know you had over the years.
Absolutely! It shocked me just how much junk I had accumulated over the years, and I thought I was already being very minimal. I guess I was mistaken 😛
First of all, congratulations on the new house! 🙂
We moved in to ours after Christmas last year, and we were moving from one apartment to another unit in the same building – I think I told you when you were here. The packing and unpacking was nightmare. It took me a month to finally unpacking everything. I shouldn’t complain much because it’s the first time I moved to a new home since I came here in 2006, and it’s one we call our own 😀
Thank you Amanda! Yes I remember you telling me about your new place and it’s good to know you’re settling in well by now 😀 It’s always so lovely having a place that’s your own isn’t it? Knowing that you aren’t accountable to a fussy landlord 🙂 I thought I was finished with the unpacking but I just discovered some additional boxes filled with bric-a-brac and I’m stumped! I don’t even know where they came from lol!
Oh hey! Congratulations! You’ve made it! 🙂 Bravo, bravo and bravo! I generally hate packing and unpacking. I think if I move house, I’ll pack largest and most important items first. Your tips on getting lots of coffee and water is a very good one! 🙂 And preparing the bed first! Not only you can have a good rest while the rest of boxes are lying around, you could also temporarily use bed to put things like clothes etc which do not have their place yet. 🙂 Enjoy your new house!
Hi Ting, thank you! 😀 Yes, you absolutely will need the coffee and water! In our hot weather it’s so dehydrating and the stress doesn’t help either. I had never been so happy to crawl into bed that first night haha
Congratulations on moving to your new place! When I moved out of my parents’ place 4 years ago because I got married, there was nothing much to move because we bought most of our major items like beds, mattresses, electrical appliances, side tables, couches, dining set and writing table. Our only hassle was timing the delivery of these items in such a way when either one of us was at home. There were some hiccups along the way, one of which was because my couch was too big for my doorway. Hahaha. Thank goodness the movers could finally fit it through. I shudder to think how we will need to move that couch out of the house the next time we need to replace it with a new one. LOL.
I totally agree with you on the change of address list tip. It was something my hubby was very particular about and we managed to inform most of the people we wanted to know about of our new address. Sadly, the previous owner of the condo unit which we bought refuse to provide us with a forwarding address. Not sure what they were paranoid about but we were only being kind because we wanted to forward them all their mails. Suffice to say, my hubby decided to throw their mails away since we did not have any forwarding address to send it to.
Thanks Victoria 😀 The first time I moved was also from a room to a house, so it was relatively painless. I never expected a house move to be so much more traumatic! LOL Oh and speaking of couches, my large couch almost got stuck too! The doorway was big enough, but it was awkward so the movers had to be creative to manage to get it in. LIke you, I can’t imagine having it removed in future LOL! I think some people are just generally worried about safety or security when it comes to addresses. I hardly ever use my home address for anything, prefering to just divert everything to my office address 😛 But when I get mail for the previous owner, I sometimes do a “Return to sender” but it doesn’t always work.
Great post Paris. I’ll be moving in a year or two – fourth move. I smiled at your start well before the move tip – once my family was given the choice by the movers – move in 3 days or in 2 months! We picked 3 days and had to drive several hundred kilometres to get back to the house to start packing. It can be done, but it’s stressful and tiring (not to mention the removalists came at 5pm, we had to do the reverse trip leaving at 10pm and of course this is the one time anyone in my family has ever hit a kangaroo!). I’d suggest having some food for dinner/lunch in case things go awry if you’re in a small town.
My second tip is if you’re moving yourself, tie things down. Or your washing machine lid might fly off, get run over and be unusable (true story)!
I think the declutter tip is best of all. At the moment, I don’t want to contemplate what’s in my cupboards because I know a lot of it doesn’t deserve to be there!
Congrats on the new place and surviving the move 🙂
Ooh are you doing a cross-country move? 😀 I can’t imagine doing a move in 3 days! OMG I don’t think you guys slept a wink those 3 days and the travelling! And hitting a kangaroo! Oh my! Now that’s a tale to tell! Thanks Sam, and I hope you survive yours too when your turn comes 😀
Great post! Commenting on your post in mobile mode is difficult, so usually I would comment in FB haha 😀
Anyway, love all the details. Saved it for reference & sharing in the future.
Recently, one of my friend moved as well. After unpacking all the major items, bathed & spend a good hour on pampering herself. Since she lived alone, she felt it’s easy for her to just walk back to her room to dress up.
THEN.. she discovered her bag of CLEAN clothes were still in her car & the rest were at the laundry shop (hehe she purposely send many of it off so she doesn’t hv to carry ’em while relocating).. so haha, she almost ended up wrapping herself with fresh bedsheets to go down to the carpark coz the thought of wearing her 12hours+ dirty clothes were nasty. Luckily, her sister from outstation were visiting her so she made her “collect” her clothes along with some food 😀 hehe that’s what sister are for.
Wish you loads of Happy Memories in the new Place 🙂
Thanks bunches for taking time out to visit and comment! 😀 Oh and I so felt for your friend OMG! Thanks for sharing the story and it’s a lesson to us all to have some clean clothes in a handy location when we move, so we don’t have to risk streaking to the car park and probably getting arrested along the way haha 😀