An Organiser's Guide To Moving Home: 12 Things You Need To Do Before You Move
Is moving home one of life’s most stressful events? The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Everyone has a different view towards moving and there are lots of factors at play for each individual’s situation. It’s not just the event itself that matters, but how you view that event and whether you feel you have the personal resources and support from others to allow you to cope.
If you are planning a move over the next few months, perhaps to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, my next series of blog posts are a guide to moving efficiently. It’s my hope that it will lower your stress levels and be a source of support to you as you plan for this event. The more you plan it, and the more you have everything figured out ahead of time, the easier it’s going to be. This post focuses on the things you need to do months, leading up to weeks, before your moving date. (The suggested time frames are just guidance based on my experience, please feel free to adjust them accordingly).
3-6 Months Before Moving Day
Declutter - I know from experience that decluttering an entire home can take a considerable amount of time however if you are able to invest the time in going through your items prior to your move, you will thank yourself later. Moving is a fresh start so why take all of your unloved, unncessary or useless items with you? It may also mean that moving may take longer, as you have to pack up and transport (and in some instances, pay for the transportation costs of) items that you longer need.
Using the KonMari Method of decluttering gives you a clear structure to follow as you go through your items. You will start by going through your clothes, before moving on to books, papers, komono (everything else in your home!) and finishing with sentimental items. You may not have the correct amount of time pre-move to complete all of the KonMari categories but any work you undertake now, will be worthwhile. If you need support from a professional, please refer to my Services Page where you can book your free 30 minute consultation or book your own KonMari Tidying Session.
When you figure out what you don’t need, donate or recycle it if possible. Some options that provide a quick way to getting rid of your items include Olio, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Freegle and Freecycle. For advice on specific items, please refer to the Spark Joy London Sustainability Guide.
ADMIN: Avoid unnecessary fees - If you’re moving out of rented accommodation, make sure you avoid any unnecessary penalties that could easily add up. Are you required to give a certain number of days of notice? Does it have to be written notice?
Measure up your new home - If you have access to your new place, measure the doorways, stairways and lifts (if relevant) to make sure your furniture will fit. Write a list of all of the furniture you plan to take with you to ensure they will fit in your new home. Forgotten items that take up a lot of space often include tumble dryers, large fridge/freezers and large (often family heirlooms) such as dressing tables and Welsh dressers. Before a move my husband likes to draw up a plan of the new property on our iPad and start to position where our furniture will be placed. Through creating our own floor plan containing the furniture we currently own, it helps us to reflect mindfully on whether every piece deserves a home in our new place.
You may remember my blog post about The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. As someone who moved many times in her life, she had a great tip for mapping out your new space:
“Before I hired the removal company, I went to my new dwelling and carefully measured every space. The floor plan of an apartment that the selling agent provides you with seldom gives the exact measurements, and it is so important that they are really exact...
First I bought a large pad of graph paper and outlined the floor plan of my apartment on it. I also measured all the furniture that I hoped would fit in my reduced space and drew them like squares and rectangles on a piece of the graph paper. I named them all so I knew what they represented and then cut each of them out. Then it was easy to furnish my new rooms by pushing around all the squares and rectangles of paper in the floor plan I had outlined. ”
ADMIN: Work & School - Request time off work to move, if necessary or give the appropriate notice if your move requires you to leave your job. If you have children, make the appropriate arrangements to contact your new child’s nursery or school to ensure a smooth transition.
1-2 Months Before Moving Day
LOGISTICS: Start gathering moving supplies now - During your move, if you are not planning on hiring a removal company, you will probably need more boxes than you think. Not many people are aware of this but there are many ways to get free boxes for your move…
Supermarket Chains: You can get free boxes from ASDA, Tesco, Waitrose, Lidl, Aldi. You can get moving boxes from ASDA early in the morning or late in the evening when the shelves are being restocked. If you want to try your luck with Tesco, you need to go there between 6 and 7 o’clock in the morning before they take away the empty boxes for recycling. Keep in mind that the availability of the boxes depends on the company’s individual policy.
TIP: The best boxes to look for are fruit and alcohol boxes. They are made to carry heavier and fragile items, which makes them perfect for moving house.
Discount Stores: Although places like Poundland receive less deliveries than the bigger supermarket chains, if you inquire when their next delivery date is, in my experience most are happy to offload some boxes to local community members.
Coffee Shops: According to the Starbucks and Costa Coffee websites, both companies are working hard towards reducing their carbon footprint by recycling and providing environmentally-friendly service. Ask any staff member for coffee supplies boxes. They may be smaller than the regular moving boxes, but they are ideal for odd items and house decorations. The good news is once you’re done with the house removals process, you can return the used boxes to Costa Coffee.
Bookstores: If you need packing boxes for books, look no further than bookstores, such as WHSmith and Waterstones.
Local Pharmacies: If you’re wondering where you can get small boxes for free, then going to the pharmacy might be your best choice. Although medicine comes in bulk, the delivery boxes are smaller than the usual storage box. You can use these cardboard boxes to store medicine, utensils and jewellery.
Fast Food Chains: Pop to your local McDonalds and ask for the fry boxes. They hold 15kg and are easy to stack. They also have a good supply of empty ones every day.
It’s also worth checking out Gumtree, Freecycle and Freegle as well as putting out a message to your local social media community groups. In my experience, communities are very supportive of each other during moving season and like to see moving items being used sustainably.
TIP: For packing materials, hunt out houses that have just sold, and see if the new arrivals want to get rid of their used boxes and paper. Not all removal firms want the boxes back, and rarely want the paper. Find a nice, large house, introduce yourself as a keen promoter of sustainability, and see if they'll be glad to see the back of all that paper and cardboard. For free sources of bubble wrap, check out the fruit and vegetable section of your local supermarket. Supermarkets are often happy to oblige because it saves them from having to dispose of it.
NOTE: As you are moving during a pandemic, it might give you more peace of mind to purchase new boxes and packaging, or use boxes you already have.
Make a start on packing non-essential items - I always like to create an itinerary on paper of my packing plan of action. Feel free to use the Spark Joy London Tidying Checklist to highlight which categories of items can be packed sooner rather than later. Just be sure to pack like items together; there’s nothing worse than moving in and finding tens of boxes with jumbled up belongings.
Contact a removal company - If you don’t want to move everything yourself, make sure you give yourself enough time to research and book in your removal company of choice. This season looks to be one of busiest ever for removal companies so make sure you book in advance to avoid disappointment. Depending on what you can afford, it may be better to pay more for trusted professionals with good reputations and good reviews. For peace of mind, make sure they are a member of the British Association of Removers. Discuss any special needs or requests you may have, along with whether you have fragile items or if you live in a historic building with special procedures.
3-4 Weeks Before Moving Day
Assess the volume of food you have: Use up food items that you don’t want to move. Plan ahead to have nothing left in your freezer by your move date. The same goes for your pantry if you have one; make a plan to consume anything that’s already open. Donate surplus food items to local food banks or through using the app Olio.
ADMIN: Utilities - Contact your relevant companies for your current home that provide your gas, electricity, water as well as television and broadband internet services. You will need to inform them of your move out date and send over any meter readings to stop you from being charged for utilities you’re not using post move. The next step is to contact the relevant utility companies for your new home to make sure everything is working smoothly the day before move in. This means you won’t be stuck without water or internet at your new place.
Thankfully, most broadband providers are happy for you to move your service just like you move your furniture across. For more information on how to transfer your broadband to your new home, this article is very helpful. If you have a landline or fax machine, make sure you disconnect them.
TIP: Don’t forget to change your address on your TV license. This is one of the tasks that are often forgotten about. You can change your TV license online for free.
TIP: To avoid unnecessary charges, check with your internet service provider to see if need to return your router.
ADMIN: Redirect your mail - Set a date with the post office to redirect your mail to your new address. This is particularly important to reduce the chance of fraudulent activity. With Royal Mail, you can redirect your mail to any UK or overseas address for 3, 6 or 12 months. For more details on how you can redirect your mail, visit Royal Mail. This is a great service to use if you’re time poor and unable to contact all of the sources you regularly receive mail from.
If you want to manage your mail redirection yourself, create a list of all of the companies, associations and businesses that you receive mail from so you can get in touch with them to inform them of your new address. If you don’t have time now, you can always complete this task once you’ve moved in. The Fantastic Removals Blog has an excellent checklist of everyone you need to notify when you’re moving home.
Car Care: Have your car serviced, especially if you’re embarking on a long-distance move. Check with your car insurance company about transferring your policy.
ADMIN: Insurance - Make sure you have adequate insurance in place for the move (transporting the contents to your new home) either through your existing insurance provider, new insurance provider and/or moving company if you are using one.
Cancel or update your Buildings and/or Contents Insurance. You will need to let your current Home Insurance provider know about your move so that your policy can be cancelled when you leave. If you’re buying a new home insurance policy for your new home, the best time to cancel your old policy is when you’re no longer legally responsible for it. Many providers will let you move your Contents Insurance to your new home. For more details on Home Insurance for moving, this article is a good source of information.
I hope that you will find the above information useful. If you would like to ask a question or feel like there needs to be something added to the content above from your own experience of moving, I invite you to make a comment below. In my next blog post, I will be sharing what you need to do 1-2 weeks before your move, as well as plenty of tips about moving day and how to settle your affairs once you’re in your new home.