Moving house can be an exciting time! You’re about to embark on a new adventure in your new abode, and especially if you’ve been looking for a new home for a while, it can be a huge sense of relief.
However, when it comes to the actual process, sometimes the initial excitement can be overshadowed. Moving can be a really stressful, time consuming, and expensive period in your life, and without understanding the essential steps, can take away any joy you initially had.
To combat this, we’ve compiled a list of some of the ways you can look at to ensure a smoother overall process:
Develop a moving strategy:
It seems a tad over the top, but you will thank us later! Compiling a document that outlines every single task you need to complete and by when, will really help you keep on task, on track, and accountable, to achieve the best possible outcome in your move. Creating this document earlier on, can also save you money since you may be able to avoid the irrational last minute costly decisions that we inevitably make when feeling stressed or unprepared. It’s human nature to forget about the minor details, but being prepared can help you to shop around to find the best deals on particular items, that if left to the last minute can be extremely costly. An idea of your moving strategy could be as follows
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- Setting a budget
- Determining your vacate/settlement date
- Settle outstanding bills
- Collect packing/storage boxes (I/A) – have a look at your local hardware store or supermarket if you’re looking for some free/cheaper alternatives to buying boxes brand new, or paying a removalist
- Mark all of your household items in a keep or sell pile
- List the content you are keeping and order it in priority for packing
- Arrange your travel and pet arrangements (I/A)
- Arrange mail redirection
- Clean your property thoroughly
- Collect any spare keys
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Start ASAP!
Whether you’re moving in 2 months or 12 months, now is the time to get organised! If you have a storeroom, garage or storage unit, we suggest exploring those places first as generally there’s a lot of stuff in there which is rarely used or won’t be in the immediate future and can be packed away now. Starting ASAP can also free up a lot of time later on to focus on the things that really matter! If you’ve lived in your home for a while, especially if it’s a family home, this can make moving an emotional time for all, so starting sooner rather than later can leave some room for the last dinners etc. in your home with family, friends and loved ones.
Set a budget:
Setting yourself a budget against each task will help determine how much you would ideally and realistically spend overall. Starting ASAP on this budget will enable you to shop around for the best prices and deals, as these costs do add up. If you decide to do it yourself, calculate the petrol costs and time it will take and weigh these up against hiring a professional removalist to see if it’s worth it.
List all of your content:
Over the years, households accumulate a lot of items, so going room by room and listing all content in each, will help to determine what you want to keep, sell, donate, or throw out. Listing all of your items can also help you create inventory lists attached to each box, so as you pack you know what room they will be going into.
Sell or donate your unwanted items:
Giving you some extra cash up your sleeve, hosting a garage sale, or opting for Facebook marketplace, Buy/Sell Facebook groups, or Gumtree, is a great way to get rid of unwanted or unused items
Book your removalist company (I/A):
Sometimes going with the cheapest removalists actually isn’t the best idea. Often these companies will have hidden costs such as fuel charges, long carry charges, use of packing materials, insurance and higher excess, which means when you get the final bill, it can be 10x more what you were actually initially quoted. With cheaper companies, you also run the risk of your items being damaged. Looking at the reviews of these companies to help you gain a better understanding of their level of service, and overall costs.
Check out some of the top rated removalist companies in Perth here!
Start Packing!
Looking for some more information? Our team are always more than happy to help, feel free to contact us today!