Things to do when moving house

Moving house is a really exciting time, but it’s seriously a big and stressful task. It doesn’t even matter how many times you’ve done it - there’s always so much stuff to prepare and organise beforehand. Not only do you have to make sure the place you’re moving to is ready, but that the place you’re leaving is also as it was when you moved in (more so if you're renting) and ready for the next people who will move in, so it’s a lot to take on and really needs a solid plan in place to make it as least stressful as possible.
Read on for some of  top tips for making sure you’re ready for when it's moving time.

Top tips for moving home

1. Give notice or put your place up for sale
The very first step in moving house is obviously going to be letting go of the place you’re in at the moment, so whether you’re renting your home or buying, the way you do this will be different and will involve various steps, but if you’re renting for example, then you’ll be required to give notice as required in your rental agreement for a certain amount of time to your landlord so that they can then start looking for someone else to take over the lease. If you’d like to move quicker, then you can ask your landlord if they’ll reduce the notice period for you if you find someone to take over the remaining months for you - most of them will be happy to do this since they’re only really concerned on not losing out on rent during this time.
If you own your place, then it’s obviously a bit of a more complicated process since you have to actually make sure you’re able to sell the place before you move into somewhere else, and this is definitely one of the first things you should do before you buy something else and end up finding yourself stuck with two places that you have to pay for, but ultimately can’t afford.

2. Get your paperwork in order
Whether you’re renting or buying your current or next place, there’s going to be some paperwork involved when moving house. If you’re buying, then it’s going to be a bit more than if you’re renting, but there will definitely be paperwork involved in both cases. This can be things like an end of lease form that you sign, a form to get your deposit back or things like mortgage contracts, etc. 
Making sure you have all of this in order before moving house is really going to make your life and the move a whole lot easier when you do move, so it’s not something that you should think about leaving to the last minute.

3. Declutter
Clutter is never something you should have a lot of since it just gets in the way and causes more stress than is necessary, but also from a practical standpoint when you’re planning to move house, then clutter is nothing but a nightmare and stress that you really don’t want to be dealing with, so taking some time before you move to clear everything out that you either no longer want or need is really going to make a huge difference when it comes to moving and will make it far less stressful. 
Decluttering is not about getting rid of everything you own, but it’s about clearing the stuff that no longer serves a purpose for you, so you could sell this stuff or just give it away to a charity, for example, and do some good with the stuff if you no longer need or want it or have space for it at your new place.

4. Do any final renovations or cleaning
If you rent your place, then you’re going to be required to leave it as you found it, and depending on what you were able to do with the place when you lived there, this will vary. However, at the very least you should and will likely be required to clean it before you move out. Depending on things like how much time you have, how big your place is, and let’s be honest - how much desire you have for cleaning it, then you should either be able to do it yourself or you can search online for end of tenancy cleaning near you to find a company who will come in and do it for you. Sadly what I have found when renting a place, is that what you think is clean is NEVER clean to them. You might be lucky and have nice landlords, but I wasn't this fortunate and they tried to take £500 out of my £1400 deposit. Thankfully I only ended up losing £150 but be careful, it's definitely worth investing in a professional as they can't dispute it. If you are thinking of selling then seriously consider giving your home a mini makeover or touch up as this can impact on the value of the house and make it more saleable.

5. Pack according to room
Packing is probably one of the most annoying parts of moving. The sheer amount of stuff you can accumulate overtime is astronomical and every time I have moved, I can never get over how much stuff I have to pack. Definitely refer to step 3 and consider decluttering before you have to start packing.
However, there are definitely ways to make packing that bit easier. Things like having a packing checklist will help you a lot to stay organised and focused, but probably one of the best things you can when packing for your move is to make sure that you pack by room instead of category. This means that if you label your boxes by room then you can drop them off at the new place and everything will be ready to be unpacked according to the room that the stuff belongs in and since you probably won’t have everything unpacked in one day, then it’s going to save you from having stuff lying around everywhere.

6. Arrange a removal company
Unless you have ample car space or know someone with a van like I did, then you will definitely need the help of a removals company. They can make your move a lot less painful and can do so in one trip if you're lucky. Depending on how far you’re moving, you’ll always get different quotes from companies so it's definitely worth looking around. You’ll even find some that specialise in moving internationally, which although can be expensive is definitely worth it to some people - especially if you’re planning on moving abroad permanently.

I hope you've found this post useful. It may seem like obvious things to do, but when you find just how overwhelming moving can be, it can help to have a step-by-step guide.