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A Stress-Free House Move

I’ve shared some tips below that made life a little easier for us when moving house…

I know what you’re thinking – is there really such a thing? I was pleasantly surprised by my recent house move so I’ve shared some tips below that made life a little easier for us, that may help if you find yourself in a similar situation. 

My partner and I had lived in our previous property for four years, we loved it but with the addition of a puppy in that time we’d started to grow out of it. We found a new home on the opposite side of the city – which never makes for an easy move but here we are. Timings were so up in the air due to lockdown, we ended up getting our move date with only seven days’ notice.  

Don't use it? Bin it!

The best thing we did in prep for our big move was have a massive clear out. We started doing this room by room, before we got the move date. So, when the time to pack came around, we knew everything that was left was a keeper. I filled five bin bags, yes FIVE, with unwanted, practically new clothes, which I gave away to charity shops. We managed to do a big food bank drop with some non-perishables from the kitchen.   

This also allowed us to do a deep clean of every room way in advance of the move – so areas that I wouldn’t usually get to a lot (behind beds, in the back of wardrobes) got a good clean before the final blitz clean we gave it on the last day. 

Call in your favours.

Once we finally got our moving in date, with little time to spare, the first thing I did was look for a van to hire. When I realised there were barely any available – and when they were, it was for super tight time spots – I almost panicked. But instead, my dad said get it for when you can and we’ll all just do a couple runs.  

By ‘all’, he meant my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, my aunty and uncle, plus myself and my partner – all in separate cars! We’re very lucky that they were able to take the day off for us (we’ve promised to pay back with an epic moving in party, eventually) as it meant we got all of the bits and boxes over in one run.  

We then had the van for a two-hour time slot which basically only allowed for one run, so my partner and dad were off filling it with the largest items such as our sofas, bed and garden furniture. My mum, sister and I then used this time to start the big cleaning finale.  

Live out of boxes, literally

The night we found out about our move we went out and bought a ton of big plastic boxes. I managed to empty our wardrobes and pack up all our shoes in one night, with the bathroom packed up next. The kitchen took way longer – so top tip, don’t leave this till last like we did, as wrapping glasses is a b*tch! 

Living out of boxes for a few days was tricky, as we kept needing things we had already packed. Or on certain nights we wanted something warm to wear and couldn’t root it out. But a few days on limited items was worth it for an easy move. 

Clean like you're being paid for it.

Every day in the run up to the move we cleaned relentlessly. We were so conscious of being tight for time on the day, so we made sure the house was in the best state it could be beforehand. I couldn’t get the smell of bleach out of my nose all week but this made a massive difference. I was also lucky that my mum and sister helped me clean once all the furniture had been moved.  

The estate agent commented on the good condition of the house on handover which was great. But if you have the budget, I’d hire a cleaner – as I’d have loved to enjoy the final few hours in my first home, rather than feeling like Cinderella sweeping and scrubbing.    

Form a good relationship with your sellers.

We never met the person buying our house – he viewed it once, then never came to see it again, even though we offered to show him around anytime. He demanded we leave certain pieces of furniture (like my precious dining suite that took me months to pay off), without payment, for the purchase to go through. In the end we agreed as we didn’t want to lose out on the property we had found. This was a shame and just made for a difficult process, so by the end of it we were exhausted and desperate to get out of the house.  

On our purchase however, the couple we bought off were the loveliest people we’ve ever met.  They’d lived in the home for over 30 years and were delighted to sell it to a young couple. They showed us round a number of times and even offered to leave loads of furniture as they were downsizing and didn’t need it anymore. I found myself WhatsApping them updates and we even hugged on the move day. It made for such a lovely and simple transfer over and we’ll be staying in touch with them to let them know how we settle in to their stunning old family home.  

Ship your saussage dog to Grandmas...

In my case, I shipped my cute sausage dog puppy to my Grans for a few hours on move day – which was a huge help! As cute as our pets are, they’re a nightmare trying to look after and keep safe during a move. Even the days running up to the move, as furniture had been changed around and misplaced, I kept finding him hiding in new places and chewing on things he’d never seen before. It was all a bit too exciting for him. So, if you can, maybe ask Gran to take them for an extra day or two. 

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