Moving house is stressful. There, we said it. Room by room, from top to bottom, there’s a lot of ground to cover, and you suddenly realise you own way more things than you realised. Some have become sentimental; others are items that you can’t wait to see the back of. Then, there’s the actual packing part, trying to eke out space in the few boxes you’ve managed to save from the recycling. And then, there’s the actual moving.
When you put it like that, we might just stay where we are, thank you very much!
Joking aside, according to research, moving house is at the top of most people’s stress lists, above relationship breakdown, divorce and starting a new job.
Dr Sandi Mann, senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, tells the Telegraph, “Moving house can be a very overwhelming experience,” she says. “It’s a massive upheaval, and we are inherently territorial creatures who like familiarity and routine, so it creates a lot of uncertainty and chaos in our lives.”
Anything then, to reduce the stress involved, would be very welcome indeed. If you are moving house soon, then here the guys at getamover.co.uk offer these 5 tips for stress free relocation.
Be Ruthless
The longer you have lived in your home, the more clutter you will have likely accumulated over the years. To some, the idea of dealing with a lifetime’s worth of items is too much to handle; tears over an old teddy bear, agony over whether to pack that comedy-sized caricature you had done on Brighton beach, and arguments over the correct way to fold clothes…it all adds up.
Even if you’ve only lived somewhere for a short amount of time, it’s worth being ruthless with your accumulated possessions, guaranteeing that your move represents a fresh start and a clean break, whatever the circumstances.
Whether you’re downsizing or need to have a big clear out before you move, hiring a professional house clearance company will ensure your clutter is disposed of responsibly and without hassle.
Most towns and cities have their own reputable companies you can turn to; whether you need rubbish removal in London, complete house clearance in Edinburgh or something less location-specific, the experts are only a phone call away, and using one is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of unwanted items cleanly, efficiently and ruthlessly.
When your belongings are in the hands of a professional removals company, all of your possessions are insured. So, from the moment, your things are loaded onto the van to when they are delivered to your new home, you can rest assured that your items are covered.
Alternatively, you could use the British Heart Foundation’s charity service, in which members of their team will come to your home and help you recycle unwanted items, often offering them for sale in their stores, which means not only are you being ruthless, but you’ll be giving to charity, too.
Storage Solutions
If, for whatever reason, you cannot move into your new home straight away, you can take advantage of the storage facilities that most reputable removal companies provide. Whether you need to move all of your belongings for a brief time, or place some of your items in storage whilst you complete a renovation project on a room in your new house, storage is safe, secure and surprisingly affordable.
Most companies offer a flexible duration and will carry out all the additional work on your behalf. When you’re ready to move your belongings out of storage and into your new home, they’ll take care of that, too.
Get Help With The Final Cleanup
Aside from helping pack up your items safely, some storage solutions providers or rubbish removal companies will even go that extra mile to ensure the home you’re leaving behind is left clean and tidy for the new occupants in other ways, too. For a small extra fee, they can arrange an end of occupancy clean, a tidy up of your garden and even pressure wash your driveway. Hey, this thing is starting to sound much less stressful!
If this service isn’t provided, then, for the sake of your stress levels, it might be worth hiring a specialist cleaning service. There’s something particularly disheartening about finishing all of your box packing, labelling and clutter clearance only to have to get out the hoover and mop out once again. On this occasion, it’s only fair (to yourself and the future occupants) to bring in the professionals.
Label Your Boxes
We get it; the moving house checklist is often so long that it’s impossible to contextualise what it might be like on the other side. A little foresight goes a long way, however, and without it, that sigh of relief when you finally move into your new place can quickly turn into one of exasperation.
To get to the unpacking part only to be met with random boxes in random rooms of various shapes and sizes and no logical organisation, is to crush a spirit already strained by the moving process. Starting off on the wrong foot in your new house just feels so wrong, don’t you think?
Instead, this soul destroying part can be avoided by a fastidious, obsessive commitment to codifying and labelling when you’re packing up your life. At the very least, you’ll want to have boxes arranged by room, but if you’re going to get serious about this whole organisational thing, by item. For instance, a box dedicated purely to the living room bookshelf is going to be much easier to unpack and reorganise than one containing a golf club, toothbrush, some crayons and a sieve.
Life Admin
There’s a whole load of life admin associated with moving house before you hand over your keys, from redirecting your bills to informing your bank of your change of address, all the way to taking a final meter reading.
Rather than witter on (we realise you’re busy with the move), we’ll redirect you to this useful piece on 5 ways to prepare for moving house. Oh, and good luck with everything! Can we assume our housewarming party invitation is in the post?