Published on 12, July, 2020
I am moving home soon, I live alone and don’t have any friends or family to help me. The last move I did was over 5 years ago and I had my mum to help with everything. She did all the packing and sorting out removals.
Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to move and how I can make it less stressful for me?
Kim said:Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to move
I would start with checking your current rent contact and see what the terms are for the return of the flat.
The reason for this is that you are likely to charged if it is not in as good a condition as when you moved in so anything broken or damaged will come out of your deposit. Wear and tear are OK to have but I would make sure you do a detailed video when the place is empty and cleaned to keep as evidence of the state when you moved out.
The next thing is to write a checklist and make a note of how much money you have to cover expenses. This can be an expensive time as removal companies can charge between hundreds and thousands of pounds depending on how much stuff you have, how much help you need packing it and how far you are going with it (plus if it has to be stored between times).
If you plan to move yourself then get some supplies in to pack. All these can be bought on eBay / Amazon and similar sites and are fairly inexpensive. You will need:
Boxes (they come flat packed) - best to buy more than you think you will need as there is typically a few days lead time for delivery.
Tape - get the wide, brown take and at least on of the FRAGILE marked wide tape.
Scissors or cutting tool for the tape if you don't already have one
Bubble wrap for anything fragile. I would go with at least a roll of the 50cm / 100m for kitchen crockery, electronics and a few other bits. If you have a lot, order more.
A few rolls of large bin bags (at least 20)
With the essentials start packing by packing the stuff you will not use before you move out. Remember to label the contents on the outside (eg winter clothes, spare duvet etc).
Clothes can be folded and packed in suitcases or boxes (pack in bin bags first if using boxes to avoid dampness or contamination which can happen when moving).
Any hobby supplies should be carefully packed - ideally bagged or boxed if there are a lot of smaller bits to prevent spills if the boxes split.
You can then stack these boxes out the way and see what is left and decide if you then need more boxes. This is also a great time to be ruthless with decluttering.
If you don't have time to sell anything of value you are happy to get rid of, pack it in a box for resale when you arrive at the destination and can use this as a project when
Notify your utility companies (water, gas, electric, internet) of your last day in the property and make a note in the diary to take final meter readings (I recommend doing a short video too for proof) as you leave. Remember to state the date/time and address on the video.
At the destination, make sure you find the existing suppliers of utilities and if possible do a bit of research on the best deals before agreeing new contracts for these. Do the same thing with a video of any meter readings as you move in.
Make sure you know what sort of deposits / fees need to be paid for the new place and if you need to buy anything. This will help you budget better as moves are are expensive events.
If you have any stuff that needs special disposal (eg cans of paint / solvent etc) then plan to do all this well before you leave.
If you use a computer, make sure to back up any essential data to the cloud if you can or to an external drive just in case it is damaged or lost/stolen in transit. Do the same for your smartphone / tablets
The place will need to be cleaned when you move out and chances are you will be too knackered / stressed to want to do this yourself. I recommend getting a cleaning company agreed by the landlord to do this so they can't complain it wasn't cleaned to the required standards.
As TheCatWoman says, have a case with the essentials for a few days packed - this can be a lifeline when you are burnt out after all the stress of the move. I also keep things like passports, laptop and important docs in it and keep a close eye on it through the move process.
If you are enlisting friends / family to help with a lot of this, write them a thank you letter now and pack it in your case to give them afterwards. You will probably be knackered so it saves having to do it at the end of the move when you will have 100 other things to do. Also budget to take them out for a thank you meal or similar - or to buy them a present.
Allow a little time post move to recover. The case has everything you need so will now demonstrate its worth and you can build up the energy to start unpacking.
Treat it like a project - plan out the steps, the dependancies (so you tackle the tasks in the right order) and break it down into smaller tasks and then prioritise them.
Just start from the top of the list and do them one at a time and you will get through it. By revisiting the big list once a day and realising you have crossed off a dozen small tasks then you start to realise that the old saying is true (Q - how do you eat a whale? A - one bite at a time).
I've done this so many times now it is almost automatic but it is quite do-able.
Good luck and don't be afraid to call in favours from friends and family as this is the sort of time when you need it and they are most likely to step up to help.
This is a great list - but I think they said there are no friends/family. I wish we could all help out.
Yes I don’t have anyone to help me. But I can work through the lists . I just have to try not to get overwhelmed. I don’t have much to move but I am also decluttering as well so I have less stuff
Mark (formerly Spikey) said:I think they said there are no friends/family
Ah, then they will probably need to budget for one of the full service removal companies unless their belongings fit in a few boxes.
In this case I would move a day or two before they need to give the keys back so they have time to go back, oversee the clean, do all the videos / meter readings / rubbish disposal and meet the agents to return the keys.
Oh, and remeber to drink water - I always ended up very dehydrated as I was doing so much stuff I forgot.
I've done a few moves myself with one helper (for heavier stuff like sofa, fridge/freezer etc) but it typically requires both the be reasonable strong and fit enough to carry a lot of heavy boxes. It always seems to take longer than you expect and gets very physically demanding, nevermind the stress of it all.
If they can afford it, getting a company in is the way to go in my opinion.