What are your best moving house tips and tricks?
Posted by VictoryAppropriate68@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 86 comments
Will be moving house for the first time (moved from parents into partners house but first time fully moving) and want to know what tips the people of the UK have that will make this as painless as possible (it’s only 10 minutes down the road) already own a large van for moving items.
Rizzomorph666@reddit
HIRE A MOVING COMPANY! NO SERIUSLY DO IT FUCK IT NOT WORTH IT!
What? Your boss will lend you a van for free? FUCK IT HIRE A MOVING COMPANY THANK ME LATER!
Friends promised to show up and help out? YEAH JUST PAY SOMEONE TO ACTUALLY TURN UP AND DO IT FOR YOU!
Broken_Woman20@reddit
I second this! When we moved into our current house we hired a removals company. They were super efficient and had our whole 3 bed house and garden packed up in under 3 hours. We drove the 40 mins to our new house.
The people we bought the house from had not hired a removals company, they borrowed a small van and had a friend to help them move their stuff out of the sizeable 4 bedroom house. At 7pm they had still not moved out (partially, we were dumping their stuff on the drive,front lawn and back garden. They were refusing to give us the keys and asking our removal men to shift their stuff out for them. We ended up paying an extra £200 for our removal company to get their stuff out of the house so that we could move our stuff in.
We still had a bunch of their belongings on the lawn 3 days later. It was a horrible experience and not one I would wish on anyone.
Please hire a professional removal company to make things as painless as possible for you and your purchasers. It really is money well spent IMO.
LunarSymphonist@reddit
That sounds like an absolute PITA. My partner especially would absolutely lose it if we paid extra for a quick, efficient service only to meet disorganised turnips on the other end of it.
Broken_Woman20@reddit
Oh I did lose it lol
Sure-Present-3398@reddit
And don't just go with the cheapest. A bad moving company will be worse than no moving company. Look at reviews, ask for recommendations and accept that a good moving company will cost but will absolutely be worth it.
hutchipoos@reddit
Don't entertain any idea of cooking the first night. Couple of plates, cutlery and a takeaway.
Have a kitchen and bathroom stuff box for kettle, toaster, tea/coffee, cleaning stuff, loo roll so you can sort things out next morning.
bahumat42@reddit
Have a clear out.
Be honest with yourself, that thing in the back of the cupboard for 5 years doesn't need to come just to be unused again.
romeo__golf@reddit
Honestly? Paying someone to do it for you.
When I moved I paid for packing and removal. Had a company come in on the day, pack my house up, move it, and then come back a week later for the boxes once I'd unpacked.
I'd never do it myself again.
BungadinRidesAgain@reddit
How much did it cost roughly?
romeo__golf@reddit
Just under £1400. Worth every penny.
BungadinRidesAgain@reddit
Bit out of my price range TBH, I'd just do it myself
Decent-Chip-868@reddit
When packing, you don't need any disposable plastic wrap or anything - just tape and boxes. Wrap your glasses and plates and other delicate items in tea towels, towels, tablecloths, any clean fabric items, and save yourself money and faff. Also use shoeboxes to put cutlery and other small kitchen items, crafts, etc, into. I've move house countless times and never had anything get broken.
UpstairsLocal3378@reddit
Throw away and sort everything out now and be ruthless and once you’ve done it DO IT AGAIN, Don’t move stuff you don’t want or need. allow more time to pack your house than you think, write on all the boxes where they live. Put bed bolts in sandwich bags and tape them to the bed parts. Sell any furniture that won’t fit into your new place before you move or give it away. Make a list of everyone you need to contact to tell the your new address. If it’s in the loft the chances are you don’t need it unless it’s Christmas decs so just bin it
yearsofpractice@reddit
Hey OP. 50 year old house moving veteran here.
Hire a removals firm. Seriously. Don’t even try to do it yourself. Removals firms will send round three dudes and a van and they’re always the same: - The tame, foreman bloke who can speak to punters (you and me) - The grizzled old hand who knows how to pack everything in about 10% of the time it would take anyone else - A normal looking quiet young lad who can - somehow - lift an entire piano above his head without any apparent effort
Trust me. These three blokes are worth every single penny.
LunarSymphonist@reddit
Seem 'em a hundred times, top lads every time
Gold-Creme-9597@reddit
This is so bang on.
I did it once myself, and never again. I made everything far too heavy, and broke loads. Theres a reason you need the three muskateers, they will make that shit look so easy. Worth their weight in gold.
TomLondra@reddit
My tips:
WideLengthiness3963@reddit
We collected Gousto boxes and used those. Perfect size!
TomLondra@reddit
Use a big thick magic marker to number each box on every side so that when you stack them you can still see the number !!!!
paulbrock2@reddit
> number every box and make a list of everything that's in the box.
This is far better than the common method of "KITCHEN" "BEDROOM" scrawled on them then stuck with waiting to unpack the correct box before you find what you need
Ravo93@reddit
Put your bed together first. Everything else is secondary but you will want somewhere comfortable to sleep. Also don't bother cooking just get a phat takeaway.
BirdieStitching@reddit
Use your towels and bedding to pack your china.
Have everything you need for your first night separate so you can make a cup of tea, eat and go to bed without digging in boxes.
Have a first aid kit and a basic toolkit handy. Maybe a spare bulb of each type.
If you are using binbags use different colours so you don't accidentally throw out stuff.
Start packing non essentials way before you need to.
BirdieStitching@reddit
Ooh and fairy liquid to go on the feet of any appliances you have to move so they slide in under worktops easier
Cunthbert@reddit
Get rid of all your junk before you move, literally move as little stuff as possible so you aren’t taking clutter into your next house
Physical-Pumpkin6@reddit
This!! When me and my fiancé moved from a rental property (5 years) to our first home, we went room by room and threw away any junk that we’ve accumulated in those 5 years when we decided to start looking to buy. There was countless amounts of trips to our local tip and black bags for bin day (sorry bin men!!).
On the day of completion, we managed to move everything from our rental property to the new house just using my work van.
pullingsneakies@reddit
I'll add to this with also don't accept people's junk! "Oh that's very kind, but we already have a..." No you aren't going to use that steamer xD
Ornery-Wasabi-1018@reddit
Pay to have a specialist remocal company pack and move everything.
Chinablue_@reddit
Not everyone can afford this. When I bought my first house I moved 6 months pregnant and had to do it all with the help of precisely two volunteers - multiple trips in the biggest van we could hire. Would be lovely to avoid that if you can though 😄
EmmaInFrance@reddit
We did that when we moved to France 20 yrs ago, with my then 6 month old daughter..
The extra cost was a small fraction of the total, about £250-300, when the move cost £1500-2000 - I can't be more exact because it was so long ago.
They also supplied all their own boxes which was great.
It's absolutely worth getting two quotes, one with and one without them packing.
MiddleAgedDread123@reddit
100% this! It's not worth trying to do it yourself when they will come into a fully functioning house, have it all packed and well loaded into a van so easily and unloaded at the other end. Ours also rebuilt beds so all we had to do was make them and collapse into them that evening! The only thing we packed in advance was an overnight bag (in case the sale fell through), kettle, tea & coffee and the contents of the bathroom cabinet! If you pack yourself it takes days and you're having to work around boxes whilst living and packing. No to mention the physicality of lifting n shifting it all.
Ninjataye@reddit
Depends how much stuff you have! Moving from house to house you're going to have a lot more stuff than say a first time buyer moving out of their parents house. We're due to move in a few weeks but leaving behind sofas, big units, washing machine, fridge, etc as buying it all new when we move so really we don't have that much other than clothes, ornaments and small kitchen appliances. The only big things is a TV and beds which I can take down in 5 mins and just borrow my mates van for a few trips and save ourselves a grand.
JedsBike@reddit
Also this. And in addition pay for the cleaner ready for the next people.
Temporary-Zebra97@reddit
My Best tip is to pay for a Pack and Unpack service.
Best move I ever did was hand over keys and drive to the airport for a holiday, come back a week later to new house all set up. Was more expensive but worth every penny.
cankennykencan@reddit
Save up and pay a company to pack and move it all.
Honestly. When me and my Mrs moved into a rented property. We packed up her whole house. Squeezed it all into a large luton van and and unpacked it all in a day
It was mid summer and I'd would never ever do it again
Mancsn0tLancs@reddit
Get a load of smallish cardboard boxes, so you are able to carry them.
Start packing now. All your books, ornaments, winter clothes etc. Everything you can do without until you move.
Make piles of keep, dump and charity shop. Do the rubbish tip runs and charity shop and get rid of everything you can.
Consider renting storage. We did this so the house we were selling didn’t look so cluttered.
When you are about to complete, disassemble any flat pack furniture and put the screws into a food bag and write on where they go.
Pack a box with a kettle, tea bags etc so you can have a hot drink. Put in pjs, tooth brushes etc.
Make sure you clearly label each box with the room you want it left in.
Consider loading up the van the night before, booking a night in a travel lodge and giving your old empty house a good clean before the new owner arrives.
CakieStephie@reddit
Declutter now. Pack an urgent box, kettle, tea bags, tea towel, loo roll, kitchen roll, biscuits, milk so you have essentials. Bowl, spoon,plate and glass or mug. Tool box. Put this in the car front seat early doors! Bin bags and a quick change of clothes. Wrap your bedding and a towel up so you have a bed and towel. Label your boxes bae. Bags of screws with labels in for what they're from. Pack early and clean as you go.
NotoriousP_U_G@reddit
Pack an ‘essential box’
If you can’t be arsed to unpack everything first thing at least you will be able to wash, get changed, cook a basic meal etc without digging through everything
Chinablue_@reddit
Yep, agree, pack a suitcase/overnight bag with a few days worth of clothes, toiletries etc
Also have an essentials kitchen box with kettle, coffee, tea or whatever you consider essential!
Nemariwa@reddit
This is what I came to say. Kettle is the last thing out, first thing in! Don't forget some cutlery.
ben_jamin_h@reddit
Yes and make sure you put your CHARGERS AND KETTLE in there.
Ours got somehow left out of the essentials box and didn't get found until we'd rooted through almost all the boxes and found them in another completely random box.
thriftygeo@reddit
A mate of mine is moving in the next couple of weeks (subject to the chain not breaking last minute) and they’re getting a specialist removal company that comes in, packs literally everything, moves it to your new place and unpacks everything based on the room the item(s) were previously in.
They’re going from the North to the South (250+ miles) and it’s costing them around £5k, but it’s door to door and worth not having to put your back out and the stress.
4tunabrix@reddit
This is a bit extreme, but I made a spreadsheet with a list of every single thing that is in each box.
Makes it easier to be able to search an item and know exactly where it is going to be. Helps a lot in those early stages when you’re still living out of boxes
wedontneednoeduc@reddit
Label the contents of boxes, but twice and never on top - plus add the room you want them placed in.
This means when you see a stack of boxes you can glance at the side or end of the box to see what it contains. People who scrawl on the top are setting themselves up for endless jenga.
Redruby88@reddit
Write in marker on every box not just the rooms things go in, but what's specifically in them. Then also keep a full list on your phone of every box and what's in them too
Stabbykarp@reddit
One from my Mum
Pack the kettle last and take it out first so people can have a cuppa
Wizzpig25@reddit
If you’re buying and selling and moving on the same day, remember that you’re probably expected to have vacated the property by about 10am and handed keys to the estate agent so that the chain of sales and funds etc moving around can be completed by the end of the day.
If you’re planning on spending the day driving back and forth in your van between two houses then you could prevent a chain of sales actually happening.
Lazy-Kaleidoscope179@reddit
We did it ourselves (hired a Luton and enlisted parents and a friend to help). Contrary to most responses, I'm glad we did as it was fine and it cost considerably less than getting a removal company in.
EmmaInFrance@reddit
If you're going to hire a van, make sure that it has a tail-lift.
It makes moving fridges, washing machines and dryers so, so much easier!
morbidcuriosity123@reddit
Declutter now. Bin stuff you dont really need or want. Or sell..
Keep a box of cleaning stuff and hoover in the car. Keep kettle and tea bags or coffee if you drink that. Get removal people.
SilverellaUK@reddit
If you are using packing boxes number the outside clearly and mark with a colour. As you fill the boxes, write the contents in a notebook so that you know that (for example) Box 2 is pans and Blue is the kitchen. Give the movers a list of rooms and colours and a plan of your new house with the rooms coloured to match the list.
Don't pack books into a piece of furniture or a large box. If you can't lift them, neither can the removal company.
If you have a garage or spare room at your new house arrange to have some boxes delivered there so that you are not overwhelmed by the number of boxes in your way for the first few days.
EmmaInFrance@reddit
I've used reusable shopping bags for transporting books but they're the French ones that are made from a similar tough plastic to that used for IKEA bags.
The size is perfect, as it hold just enough books that you can carry them easily, plus they have handles.
CarpeCyprinidae@reddit
Get a Self Storage space, box up everything portable and nonessential and put it in there. then on the day your energy is reserved for just essentials and heavy items. you can move the rest of the stuff in using your car once you've got the main stuff unloaded
TheIncredibleBulge@reddit
spreadsheet and numbered boxes, move bed first and build first ( if you need to to avoide having to build when exausted after moving), keep urgent items in backpack or clearly labled box ( chargers, medication, toothbrush etc..)
If you have space in the new place designate a room as " the dumping ground" where all boxes and furniture live until they get their permanant home, there is nothing worse than having to dance round boxes and other furniture when tired
pack a lunch box to keep you fuelled and dont hesitate to order pizza !
but the biggest bit of advice is if you can fit it into your budget just hire a removal company the speed those guys work at is disgusting and your life will be made incredily easy if you do the numbered boxes and dumping ground
MidnightRambler87@reddit
Supermarkets are a gold mine for empty packing boxes, apologies if it’s been said already.
Petrichor_ness@reddit
Pay someone else to do it!
DameKumquat@reddit
If you can possibly afford it, get professional Packers and movers.
You know they're good if they refuse to quote before seeing how much junk you have. Ideally they'll leave you a bunch of boxes to start packing and will then turn up just before the move to adjust the quote and bring more boxes as needed.
Otherwise, get all the boxes you can ASAP, don't pack books and papers in anything bigger than a wine box, pack everything you can in advance, and get more friends and family involved than you can imagine you'd need, as at least half will be useless. And label every box with marker pen saying where the stuff came from and which room it's going to (do that even with professionals).
educateyourselfFFS@reddit
This will be no help to you, but the best decision I ever made was to pay someone to pack and unpack everything, whilst we just sat and drank tea
dehydrated-soup-bowl@reddit
Child of divorce so I’ve moved house a LOT - these are the best things I’ve learned off the top of my head
IKEA bags are brilliant for moving your less breakable items - shove them in, squish it down, tie the long handles together and you still have the shorter ones to carry the bag with. Similarly - make use of your carrier bag of bags!!
If you run out of bubble wrap, use a duvet or soft clothes to protect delicates - just make sure to put a fragile sign on so people don’t assume it’s chuckable
Pack a suitcase as if you’re going on a week-long holiday and keep it close - works as a backup plan just in case something goes wrong (we had a moving van go to the wrong city one time)
Don’t keep all your cables in one box!! People always say this but it’s best to keep them with whatever they’re needed for - stops having to detangle everything and spending hours looking for the right one
Shoeboxes are great for trinkets and socks are great for protecting said trinkets. Put the thing in the toe of one sock, twist the fabric above, and pull the top over the thing. Then put the other sock over that one and repeat on the opposite side so the twists are mirrored.
Put bedding inside it’s matching pillowcase - self explanatory
Download films n stuff on your phone before the move - WiFi takes ages to set up.
WideLengthiness3963@reddit
Royal mail forwarding service. We're still getting so many letters from the previous owners. And it lets you know which companies you forgot to change your address at
snowdrop0901@reddit
If you are a goblin disguised as a human like myself......have a box of clean clothes. And have a box of clean dishes and cutlery.
Also even for 10 minutes down the road, higher some movers. Even if you dont want a full packing company. Higher someone to help move large items like bed, sofas, fridge/freezer, and tv.
My partner was fully against it with out first move, and i didnt care. We were living appart so i highered them to just move my stuff...the second move my partner booked the same company as the first thing he did because he regretted it.
If its now make sure you have something easy for dinner that night and breakfast and maybe lunch the next day. Nothing worse than waking up to nothings for breakfast.
Aedaxeon@reddit
Sort internet provider as soon as you have a moving date, it can take time to get connected.
Make sure to also update your address on less obvious things like your car V5C or any pet microchips. The Royal Mail redirection service is useful for any companies/relatives you forget to update.
Label all boxes clearly with room and all contents.
The handheld tape dispenser guns are really effective at taping up boxes.
Buy a big roll of bubble wrap so you can pack up fragile stuff like crockery quickly without worrying about damage. Better to have too much than too little.
If you have a car that is not already being used to move stuff, fold down the back seats and lay all clothes in there still on their hangers. This makes emptying and refilling wardrobes significantly quicker and easier.
If moving flatpack furniture then make sure your electric screwdriver is charged. If you don't have one then buy or borrow one.
Take a photo of your electricity and gas meter readings in both your old and new homes.
EldritchSanta@reddit
If you can decorate before you move your stuff in, then do it. It's much easier to decorate empty rooms.
Have a quiet ask at work and see if they offer you a day off to move house - unexpectedly my work offered one of these a year.
cowie71@reddit
Make the bed first - then you can fall into it once you’re exhausted from the move. We had professional movers and I was still knackered at the end of the day !
yellowflowerstee@reddit
Anything already on a coathanger keep on the coathanger. Just grab a bundle and roll the coathanger down into the clothes and bag the bundles. Makes unpacking so much easier at the other end.
icba2pickAusername@reddit
Hire SP-REMOVALS. pretty sure they'll do a free quote and all. You can find them on checkatrade
mrbullettuk@reddit
Pay someone to pack and move you.
Don't do it yourself.
SweeneyLovett@reddit
Going against the grain here… As someone who has always been on a very tight budget for moves, I’ve always packed everything myself and then either had friends help or paid a company just for the move (but not packing). If you do that, go around shops and supermarkets asking if they have empty boxes so you don’t have to buy any. Clothes can go in suitcases or big ikea/bin bags. Label every box with the room it belongs in and also what’s inside; will save you a ton of time when trying to unpack! For packing, I’d usually put something stupid on the tv in the background to make the task easier and less boring. Use old newspapers to pack any breakables.
WhyN0tToast@reddit
As others have said, pay someone. But as you have a van and it's only 10 minutes here's a few, IKEA do cardboard boxes which can hold about 30kg and are decent, or boxes from the shop will work just know their limit.
Don't pack all books in one box and all light stuff in another. Put a layer of heavy stuff at the bottom of all boxes and a full to the top with lighter stuff like bedding and clothes. Your back will reward you by not being broken!
A dolly will help moving the boxes as well as white goods. You can get one fairly cheap from Screwfix or buy second hand.
Try and fill boxes with stuff by room and by priority it will be needed after the move, label them with the room and contents, and pack in reverse order. You want all the important stuff packed into the van first, then when you unload it into a room the important stuff is easily accessible.
Don't forget the moving day box of stuff you will need. Such as charges, kettle, cutlery, cups, toilet roll etc.
It makes it so much easier to clean when it's empty so if you can clean before filling a room. So pack another box with cleaning stuff like hoover, cloths, mop, brushes, dusters, cleaning spays and liquids, or load that and the moving day box in your car/front of van.
Have an ordered check list (on paper or your phone) of stuff you need to do like checking meters, dropping keys off, cleaning, setting up broadband, registering with council tax, registering for voting, updating addresses, setting up post diversion. That way you won't wait till the day before the move to sort internet or forget to check the meters on the day, speaking from experience.
Also set up bed/bathroom once in before doing other random stuff, you will get to a point where you want a shower and a sleep, don't want to be making a bed or digging out your tooth brush at that point.
Then order yourself a big ol' dirty kebab, neck a beer and collapse, the rest of unpacking and cleaning is future yous problem!
elaine4queen@reddit
Go to ikea and get their big cardboard moving boxes. They are built to get stronger when they have stuff in, no taping. I moved house a couple of times using these. Put heavy things like books on the bottom, use any clothing bedding or towels to wrap crockery or whatever and fill with lighter things. All boxes become a similar weight. Pack clothes you’re currently wearing in suitcases and live out of them for the next couple of weeks. Get four or five clear plastic boxes. These are for your kettle, immediate food and kitchen things, electronics and leads. You unpack the clear plastic boxes on day one because they have your immediate needs stuff in. Use the plastic boxes as you decant the ikea boxes. Doesn’t matter if you need to take a while, decorate or do other stuff before you fully unpack because you have your daily essentials out already.
Alternative-Emu2000@reddit
Books are surprisingly heavy.
If you try to empty a whole bookcase into a couple of boxes, you could easily end up with boxes that are too heavy to lift and/or fall apart when you pick them up. Either use lots of smaller boxes for the books, or use books as "fillers" that you pop into leftover spaces in boxes of other things.
AshamedNetwork777@reddit
Stay organized. Follow a system where you know which things are in which boxes. It takes an extra half hour but worth it when you start unpacking. Also, don't bring anything you half heartedly want.
_isolati0n@reddit
Don't pack your clothes, black bag them still on hangers and they can be easily hung back up / put back into drawers
Beer-Milkshakes@reddit
Inform bank first, get council tax confirmation as proof of address. Then Drivers licence.
Then utilities as they'll refresh direct debits and it should reflect your new address with the bank.
Then car insurance / tax etc.
ten_ton_tardigrade@reddit
Label your boxes on all four sides and draw an arrow showing which way is up.
Popular_Sell_8980@reddit
Have an essentials rucksack, and put ALL the remote controls in this bag. This bag stays with you or goes in your car.
IamlostlikeZoroIs@reddit
Don’t pay some one to do it, it’s easy.
Get ride of junk you don’t need anymore. If it’s only down the road don’t worry too much about packing boxes as you’ll leave them packed if you don’t use the items much.
Make sure things you will use straight away like kettle, coffee, tea are unloaded first and straight in the kitchen.
If you decide “oh I will unpack those boxes tomorrow”, you won’t, do it all in one day.
Disastrous-Trash1025@reddit
Pack in boxes marked by room and cupboard, tell the lovers to put the boxes in the rooms marked.
Put a sticker on each box saying what’s inside.
Immorals1@reddit
Make sure you have some chilled alcohol for the other side.
I moved 2 months ago and am still unpacking, so that still applies to me
decentlyfair@reddit
We bought a pack of boxes from storage company and used them for four house moves. Only put light stuff in the big boxes. We also utilised the large shopping bags from supermarkets for stuff that didn’t fit well into boxes such as saucepans etc. as others have said sort stuff before you move not after, get rid of anything you don’t want. Clothes we left on hangers and lay them flat in the car and took them out the other end and straight into wardrobes (this only works if there are already wardrobes there of course).
rimarshall99@reddit
Get someone else in to do it for you. It’s well worth it b
cheddawood@reddit
Make sure you have your kettle, mugs, teabags, milk and radio in one easily accessible box. Unpacking that first will make the rest of the unpacking much more tolerable.
notthedoodaa@reddit
Make a list of all places you need to change your address.
ImpressiveGrocery959@reddit
Do it as few times as possible.
SnooDonuts6494@reddit
Pay someone else to do it; it's absolutely not worth the aggro.
LilacScentedStoat@reddit
Take the opportunity to have a clear out.
The less stuff you move, the better.
And pay for a company to do it if you can.
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