Moving day is a big day. It’s when you’re actually doing what you’ve been working towards the past few weeks or even months. However, it’s also a pretty chaotic day, because everything has to happen at once. This guide will help you get through the day as smoothly as possible.
Ensure the Removals Company is On Time
To ensure your moving day gets off to a good start, it is usually best to schedule the removal company for the morning. The earlier you get started, the more time you’ll have to settle into the new house. This can be stressful, but it’s necessary.
Call the removals company the day before to confirm and make sure they’re on time in the morning. If they don’t arrive, you can always call again to find out how delayed they are.
If you are moving yourself, you’ll want to organise any helpers and have them arrive early. You may even want to pick up the moving lorry the night before. Have everyone on hand early and you can begin to sort out jobs and assign everyone something to do.
Prepare Your Pets
It’s best to begin early with your pets. You should have a secure place for them to stay while everyone is coming and going in the home. This may be a crate or you could end up leaving them with a friend or neighbour to reduce stress.
Be sure to provide your pets with food and water while they wait and take them out for short walks if need be. It’s a good idea to go for a short walk before moving to the next house. However, most people find it helpful to have their pets elsewhere and bring them to the new house once familiar furniture is all set up.
If you do move with them, your pets should ride with you, not in the moving lorry.
Take Valuables With You
If you have anything that is very valuable, such as precious stones, jewellery or money, it’s a good idea to keep these on your person. The chaos of moving can mean things are misplaced and the last thing you need is extra stress. Even if you later find the items, the time they’re missing can be extremely unpleasant. Keeping them on you will eliminate this particular worry.
You should have insurance on any valuable belongings, if not all of them. This will provide you with a little more assurance that if anything happens, you will be compensated.
Label All Boxes
Ensure you’ve labelled or colour coded all your boxes before the packing begins. Ideally, you’ll know where everything is and have an inventory. There are a few ways to do this.
Colour Coding
This method requires using stickers to rapidly code each box. As you move into the new house, it will be quite simple to put the boxes in the rooms they belong to. Each room will have a colour assigned to it so you can simply carry the boxes to the correct space.
For example, you may use yellow for the kitchen, green for the living room, etc. While simplistic, it does ensure everything ends up in the space where it will be unpacked.
Numbered Boxes
Write a number on each box and list everything on a spreadsheet. This requires more diligence, but it also ensures you’ll know exactly which box has your tea kettle in it. The inventory list may be kept simple, or you can list every item to go into the box.
Item Lists
The other method is to just write on each box what you’ve put in it. This is very simple and you will find it easy to grab the box labelled Bedding when you need it.
Whatever your method, you’ll find it much easier to manage everything if it is labelled.
Walk Through the House
Before leaving, make sure you walk through the entire house one last time. This is important because it’s quite easy to leave something behind by accident. Check the attic, the basement, etc. to ensure you haven’t left anything behind.
This walkthrough is also a chance to say goodbye to a place that was your home for the past while. For some people, it’s quite important to do this.
Take Photos
If you want any final photos of the house and your family in front of it, take these now. You likely won’t have another opportunity and moving day is a busy day. Spend a few minutes snapping photographs and you’ll look back on them one day with happiness.
Even without the family, you should get one last photo for your memory bank.
One Last Polish
Now that the house is completely empty, you can go through and ensure that everything is clean. This is to ensure you get your damage deposit back and to leave it neat and tidy for the next family to move in.
You will likely have done the heavy cleaning after packing, but now you can give it those last finishing touches. Take the time to sweep the entire place and wipe down mirrors or sinks that may have been spattered early in the morning as everyone tried to get out. Just having people coming and going to pick up boxes can be quite messy and you’ll need to get rid of scuff marks and such.
Finally, mop up the floor and allow the landlord to do their inspection. You may need to leave at this point and will find out later if your deposit is returned. This will depend greatly on the landlord.
