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Relocation guide – making moving house easy

23 June 2010

Some facts about moving house

Moving house can leave you feeling like a fish out of water

Take the stress out of moving from one place to another

Fact 1 43 per cent of households in Australia have moved at least once in the last five years and 49 per cent had moved more than three times.

Fact 2 The actual relocating or moving house can be extremely stressful on top of all the stress associated with selling, buying or renting.

Fact 3 There are ways to alleviate the stress of moving house and, at the same time, de-clutter your life!

Fact 4 Getting organised will make all the difference so follow the moving home hints to help make your next move a pain-free experience.

Relocating tips

Set up a moving file so that you can easily access information then develop a timeline to make sure you allow enough time for things like organising a removalists. One removal company says that most people call in the week they are planning to move which is far too late.

Establish a timeline for moving house

Four weeks until moving day

  • Book the removalist.
  • Start de-cluttering by giving things you no longer use or need to friends, family or charity and get a dumpster and start unloading all the stuff that’s broken or unusable.
  • Organise a garage sale – it’ll help pay for your move.

Two weeks until moving day

  • Notify utilities companies of your move so they have time to arrange disconnect of services and reconnection at your new house
  • Organise cleaning of both houses.
  • Arrange for pets or children to be minded on the day.

One week until moving day

  • Put all your essentials aside so that you have sheets, towels, toiletries, tea, coffee, milk, snacks and so forth when you get to your new house.
  • Redirect mail at the post office, cancel newspaper deliveries and check services such as house cleaner and babysitter.
  • Put together a plan of where furniture is going to sit in the new place (and give the final copy to the removalists).

Two days until moving day

  • Check your ‘moving essentials’ pack and add anything else that you know you’ll need.
  • Pack all your valuables such as jewellery and move these items yourself.
  • Check insurance with your moving company and organise additional protection during the move if you wish.
  • Make sure the removalists knows where they are going!
  • Inspect the property before settlement if you are buying.

One day before the move

  • Defrost and clean out your fridge so it’s dry for the move.
  • Make sure that any professional packers arrive today and pack all your belongings except essentials and valuables.
  • Have the house you are moving to professionally cleaned.

Moving day

  • Help make the job easier for the removalists by staying out of their way.
  • Pack the things you are moving including your essentials, valuables and perishables which should be transported in cooler packs.
  • Organise cleaners to follow the removalists in the residence you are leaving, particularly if you are renting. New purchasers may choose to have their own cleaners come in.
  • Make sure utilities are connected at your new house.
  • Introduce yourself to neighbours but keep visitors to a minimum until you have settled in.

Packing hints

  1. Organise some removal boxes that cost money but are sturdy and worth the expense.
  2. Colour code packing for each room of the house you are moving to.
  3. Pack heavy things in smaller boxes to make them easier to move. Lighter items can be packed in larger removal boxes.
  4. Wrap all items in newspaper to protect them from breaking or rubbing against each other.
  5. Fill each removal box so that it is full but not overfull. If it’s half empty, things can move around and break. Use extra newspaper to completely fill each box.
  6. Use heavy duty tape and lots of it to make sure removal boxes don’t come apart during the move.
  7. Sensitive electrical goods such as television screens and computers need additional care and protection. Wrap really well and consider taking these things yourself if you can.

Relocation costs

Removalist

Costs from $200 up to $1000 or more sometimes!

Obviously prices vary according to the amount of stuff you want to move and the distance over which you are moving. There are removalists who are very cheap and some that are more expensive.

Checklist for finding the right removalist

  1. Find out what insurances they have if any for breakages during the move.
  2. Get references from other clients if you can.
  3. Consider not taking the lowest quote but rather take one that you feel will do the job.

House cleaning

Allow about $300 for a three-bedroom home

Cleaning is an additional chore that takes time and energy that you may not have. Getting a professional cleaner to do this for you will allow you the time to manage the move without doing the drudgery work.

Packing and unpacking specialist

Allow upwards of $200

For time-poor people, get some quotes for someone else to pack and unpack on your behalf. It makes resettling into a new place much faster and reduces stress.