They say that moving house is one of the most stressful times in your life … and they’d be right! On top of the actual moving part, there’s so much additional work to do sorting through belongings, packing, organising utilities, setting up the internet, unpacking, and so on. It’s a massive undertaking, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
There are things you might do that accidentally make the process even harder. Don’t make moving house any more difficult than it needs to be, by avoiding these three mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not leaving enough time to pack before moving house
Estimate how long you think it will take you to pack up your house – then triple it. Many people only start packing the week before they move, but we recommend you start the month before. Packing an entire house is an exhausting job, and it’s less stressful to do a bit at a time, over a longer period.
While it’s true that you’ll have to leave some packing to the last minute, there are many things you can pack away earlier. You can box up:
- Off-season and non-essential clothes
- Decorative knick-knacks, books, Christmas decorations
- Special occasion crockery, cutlery, glassware
- Half the children’s toys
- Extra towels, bedsheets, tablecloths
- Photo albums, old documents.
It’s also better if you can declutter before you pack, so that there’s less to pack overall, and less to move (which can save you money if you’re paying for removals). Give yourself another month before starting packing to declutter, donate and sell your extra stuff on Facebook.
If you leave packing to the last minute, there’s a good chance that you’ll end up chucking everything into boxes in a panic. Which leads us to our second mistake ….
Mistake # 2: Not labelling your packing boxes
You might not think this is a big deal, because you’re going to unpack everything quickly at the other end, right? Wrong!
If you are doing the unpacking yourself, chances are you will be unpacking boxes for days, even weeks. You’re going to want your pyjamas and your dishwashing liquid and your favourite saucepan before that, and you will have no idea what box they’re in unless your boxes are labelled properly.
Make sure that you label each box with both the room it needs to go to and a detailed list of the contents. Then when you are too tired to unpack all 10 boxes labelled ‘kitchen’, you will still be able to find the one that contains the frying pan and spatula you need right now.
Read our top packing tips for moving house here.
Mistake # 3: Trying to do the removals on the cheap
If you’re doing a small move, you can save money by shifting everything yourself, or getting friends, or a cheaper labourer to help you. However, when it comes to moving the standard family home, it’s a BIG job, and trying to save money can backfire.
Hiring professional removalists can turn out to be more cost-effective because they work so much more efficiently and can do the job in one trip. Experienced removalists will know exactly what to move first, how to pack it tightly, and how to navigate tricky corners, driveways and oversized furniture in half the time. Ultimately, their experience means less hours on the job … and that means less hours that you’re paying for.
And of course, there’s the stress of moving day itself – it is much better to get your move done in one day than in countless small trips. You’ll have less time off work, less disruption, and can get settled sooner.
We’ve pulled together tips on other ways that you can save money when moving house, so you can allocate more of your budget to hiring quality removalists that do the job right.
Bonus tip – Don’t forget to leave plenty of time to book your removalist in advance. Quality removalists book up quickly, so call a month or two ahead to lock in your preferred date.
If you’re moving across Melbourne or interstate from Melbourne, get in contact with Pinder Tower Movers. With over 35 years of removals experience, plus packing and unpacking services, they’ll avoid all the mistakes so you can move house with ease.