House moving is a bit of an ordeal, even if you’ve done it multiple times. You’ll need to plan everything out carefully, but the biggest problem is the packing and unpacking. It takes time, energy, and is often quite stressful. So, how can you beat the challenges and make it an easier process? We know exactly how to help.
Hire a Removal Service to Pack
One of the simplest methods for eliminating all those hassles is to just hire a removals service to do the packing for you. They may not handle the unpacking side of things, but they’ll make sure all your belongings are wrapped and neatly tucked away. There are a few things you may need to pack yourself, but the vast majority of items will be handled for you.
House movers know exactly what to do when it comes to packing. They have the experience to know what works and what doesn’t, so they are the perfect people to handle all your packing needs. They will bring the packing materials, too. Every box will be neatly labelled and packed, and your items carefully wrapped when needed and placed in the correct order to avoid damage. This is the best way to ensure your belongings are taken care of properly.
Invite Friends to a Packing/Unpacking Party
Order some pizza, stockpile the tape, boxes, and paper and have some friends come to help you with the packing. This will help you eliminate the stress of not finishing on time. The downside to this method is that you may not get the same standard packing at every step. Not everyone is aware of how to best pack glassware, for example.
To keep things simple, you may want to handle all the fragile items on your own. Your friends can pack everything else and may even be able to help with moving furniture. It’s always helpful to have some extra hands to haul it all.
Likewise, once you reach the new house, you’ll want some help to get everything settled. If you’ve hired a removals service to do the packing, get your friends and family to help with the unpacking. You can reward them with takeaways, good music, and fun times with friends.
Unpacking parties work best if you have the boxes marked with which room they belong in. You should start by moving any heavy furniture into place. Often, this needs to be done after the house movers have left since you need to organise the space and set it up. Having people help you move the carpets or furniture will help you get it all in place.
It’s far simpler to manage house moving if you have help.
Start the House Moving Process Early
It’s easy to run out of time on moving day, but that’s why it is so important to start early. Begin planning a few months in advance so you can ensure you have everything you need in place. You’ll need to reserve the removal service at least several weeks in advance or they won’t have space for you. Once this is arranged, you can begin the decluttering and packing process.
Decluttering is an important part of house moving since there’s no good reason to take everything with you when you move. Any old or broken items you’ve kept around, useless paperwork, and other bits and bobs that you don’t use anymore should be eliminated. Throw these away and you’ll have less to pack. Keep in mind that you’ll probably move some things that you really don’t need, so try to eliminate as much of this as possible beforehand.
Once you’ve reduced the number of belongings to pack, you can start to collect boxes, tape, and other packing supplies. These will be put to good use in the coming weeks. To get a good start on the packing, you can begin to pack away things you aren’t currently using. For example, extra towels, winter clothing if you’re moving in summer, artwork, etc. These are all things that can be gradually packed over time and by the time you’re ready to have a packing party, you’ll already have a lot of the work done.
It can be easier to work bit by bit and many people find that moving day is much easier if you’ve already done most of the work beforehand.
Stockpile the Right Supplies
Fragile items need to be packed with extra care. Some belongings are more likely to break or be damaged in transit than others. These include:
- Kitchenware, particularly glassware
- Electronics, particularly televisions, laptops, and consoles
- Mattresses
- Mirrors
- Picture frames
- Lampshades
- Plants and planters
These will need to be packed with great care to ensure they don’t break during the move, which means you need specific packing materials. The best materials will provide extra cushioning and protection for your belongings. Let’s look at what you need and how to use it.
Packing Paper: This can be as simple as old newspapers, so you don’t necessarily need fancy packing paper. This will be used to fill in empty spaces in boxes to prevent things from shifting around and also inside of hollow, breakable items. For example, you can crumple newspaper and put it inside cups and tumblers to help prevent breakage.
Packing Peanuts: These packaging materials are denser than crumpled paper and work well for filling empty spaces in boxes. This way, the items in the box won’t move around too much. You can even find biodegradable packing peanuts that won’t cause environmental issues and dissolve in water.
Bubble Wrap: When packing fragile items, bubble wrap is your best friend. It helps cushion any blows and protects everything from glassware to mirrors and consoles.
Packing Tape: It’s important to use plenty of tape to prevent everything from shifting around on you.
Cardboard: Pieces of cardboard are useful for creating divisions between objects. For example, you can separate bowls, plates and cups with pieces of cardboard to reduce the chances of breakage. It can also be taped to mirrors and photo frames to keep any broken glass contained if there’s an accident, as well as offer more protection.
Boxes: Fragile or delicate items should be packed in boxes that are closer to their size. If possible, electronics should be packed in their original boxes, though most people will get rid of these early on after purchase. If that’s the case, look for boxes that nearly fit and add packing peanuts or crumpled paper to help ensure protection.
Having the proper packing supplies available will ensure you can pack everything securely. Often, removals services offer packing supplies so you can get everything you need in one place.
Measure Everything
Another common issue with moving and unpacking is discovering that your furniture doesn’t fit through the doors or hallways. This can be immensely frustrating, especially if you have a removals company helping out. They have limited time and can’t necessarily stay around for hours trying to get one piece of furniture into the house.
If you take the time to measure your furniture and the doors in the new house, you shouldn’t have any surprises. This will also allow you to look at alternative methods of getting the furniture into the house, or possibly breaking the furniture down to eliminate the issue.
Label or Colour Code Your Boxes
By adding a label or colour tag to your boxes, you can ensure the movers put the boxes in the right room. This will save you quite a lot of time and energy that you would otherwise need if you had to shift belongings to the correct room each time you opened a box. Having everything in the right room will make it simpler to unpack a full room at once.
Don’t forget to colour code your furniture too, so it all ends up where it should be. Then all you need to do is arrange it within the room. This is far easier than trying to shift a large shelving unit or sofa into another room, so take advantage of the fact you have a moving service and get them to do the heavy lifting.
You should also consider working room by room. What is most important to you? Most people want to have a bedroom set up for sleeping, so they will take the time to go through the room and get the bed made, clothes unpacked and put away, etc. This gives you a solid feeling space to spend the night. From there, the next most common room to unpack is the kitchen. You likely won’t want to cook that first evening in the house, but it’s nice to have your things put up so you can enjoy a cup of tea as needed.
House moving is hard work. With these removals tips, you’ll find it much simpler to overcome the packing and unpacking part of the move. The rest is up to you.
Are you in need of a removal company? Contact Essex Removals today to book your date.
