Part 3: The house sold, now what? 7 Helpful Moving Tips
It happens all the time, the house sells and the new buyer wants in immediately.
While on one hand it’s obviously a big relief not to have to worry about selling your old house anymore, there’s plenty left to do. That’s because selling your home is, of course, just part of the equation.
It’s now time to plan out your next move.
While I’d like to say moving is always easy and uncomplicated you probably know better. We’ve all heard those stories about moves that don’t exactly go as planned.
The good news is there are some things you can do right away to help take some of the burden off yourself, and start in on the right track.
First, let’s tackle what I like to call “prepping to make the move”.
1. Pare down
Start by paring down what you have.
Hopefully before you put your home on the market you already make a clean sweep and at least somewhat decluttered your home (*link to previous article). Basically, you went through and discarded or gave away some things, then put other stuff in storage.
Even if you missed out on this first step before the house sold, though, there’s still time to get caught up.
From moving boxes to packing supplies it’s simple, quick and affordable to get everything you need in one place and do a lot of the work yourself.
You can easily order things like moving blankets and mattress bags to protect your furnishings, plus boxes of all sizes, packing tape and bubble wrap to protect your most prized possessions.
If you’ve already pared down some of what you own it makes it that much easier to know what kind of packing supplies you need.
2. Go room-by-room
The easiest plan I’ve found is to tackle one room at a time, and label the outside of each box as you go. To help stay organised you can label by:
> Specific room
> Assign a number to each box
> “Open immediately” or “open last”
Labels like this make it that much easier to organise when you go to unpack and set up in your new home.
You won’t have to rummage through to find essentials and wonder what’s inside, especially when you need to grab a towel or pots and pans to make your first meal in your new home.
3. Don’t pack everything!!!!!
Leave out of the big boxes:
> Prescription medicines
> ID cards & important documents
> Credit Cards
> Household chemicals/flammable liquids
> Food
You’ll want to make a separate pile for personal things to pack and take with you during the move.
Remember too, you can’t store things like household chemicals or lawn mowers filled with fuel. Either give chemicals away or dispose of them safely before you move.
It’s also a bad idea to pack up food that may spoil or leak and attract pests during the move or storage.
In fact, there are plenty of things to keep in mind when you’re planning for long-term or even short-term storage.
I want to add a couple more, though. Emotional valuables such as jewellery and irreplaceable mementos are good things to keep with you if you can, rather than pack away.
Now that we’ve prepped for the move, it’s time for the big day. Moving can take a lot out of you, but if you plan for it in advance it’ll likely be a much smoother process.
Four simple moving day tips
- Start early
As anxious as you are about the move, I don’t suggest procrastinating on this particular day.
Set your alarm and get up early! It’s important to have a good night’s sleep and be ready to tackle a long day ahead.
- Reduce the stress
If you have young kids or pets, try cutting down on the stress of moving day as much as you can. While you may find that involving your kids in packing is beneficial, the actual day of the move is another story.
To help yourself out, you may want to have a friend or family member watch the kids or take your pet for a couple of days so that moving day goes as smooth as possible for you and your moving crew.
- Keep the lights on!
While you may be anxious to get all of the utilities out of your name right away, don’t be too eager to turn off the lights and utilities.
You’ll want electricity and water on moving day so plan to make the transfer at least a day or two later.
- Have snacks
Moving day can be just a few hours, an entire day, or maybe even more, so make sure you’re prepared.
It helps to have a few snacks and refreshing drinks on hand to keep everyone’s energy up. If nothing else, it’s one good way you can finish off some of those open boxes of snack food you found in your pantry.
Make it simple, though, with no fuss and no mess. You definitely don’t want to have to worry about cleaning dishes on a day like this.
Do I need to hire a removalist?
Do you have a bunch of friends willing to help on moving day? Let’s face it, none of us really like hauling heavy boxes up and down stairs or trying to navigate heavy furniture through a space that looks like it can only handle something half its size.
If your friends are still willing, great! If not, you may want to think about hiring on some help.
A qualified removalist can do the heavy lifting for you.
To find an accredited removal company, do some homework. You’ll find a lot of information online. You can also ask friends and family members for recommendations.
Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few prospects you’ll want to contact the companies for quotes and additional information.
What to ask
- How many removalists are needed for my move?
- Is the quote by the job or by the hour?
- Do your rates change on the weekends or during peak times?
- Who does the packing?
- What’s included and what’s not?
- Am I protected against any damage to my possessions or home?
Of course there’s always this scenario:
My old home sold but my new home isn’t ready. Where do I store my belongings?
Don’t let this stress you out. It happens all the time and luckily there are some easy storage solutions out there.
In this case I’ve found that temporary storage is the way to go.
PODS, for example, make it easy to store your possessions during a move, plus you can use the PODS for a length of time that works for you. They’re convenient, affordable and are delivered to you. Together, that could mean a less stressful move.
A good storage company will be able to help you determine what size of storage containers you need and offer advice from the beginning.
Before you make a selection you’ll want to take into account:
- Price
- Availability
- Container Size
- Your personal needs
Unlike a straight removal company you have more control over your move when you use storage containers. It’s a great solution for a non-direct move too because:
- You determine the moving date
- It works for local and long distance moves
- Your items are secure
- There are many sizes of containers to choose from
Conclusion
No matter how you move, of course, there are plenty of ways to make moving a smoother process.
1. Most of all, I always suggest that you give yourself extra time. This way you’re not too rushed to make good decisions about hiring a removalist or selecting storage solutions.
2. Also, like pretty much anything, it’s best to know what the upfront costs will be for your move.
3. Finally, plan it out.
In fact, I cannot stress this enough. When you make a plan and stick to it you’ll likely have a smoother experience all around.
From going through your old home and packing things up to ordering a storage container or even contracting with a removalist, it helps to have a handle on what you need to do every step of the way.
By following these tips you’ll help stay on a timetable, control costs and make a more successful, stress-free move.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s get packing!
This post is part 3 of a 3 part series. Read the rest of the series:
Part 1 – Top tips for marketing and selling your home
Part 2 – How to effectively declutter and present your home
