Moving house usually comes with at least one of two emotions. You’re either feeling super excited to be in a new home or just hearing the words sends shivers down your spine mixed with a sudden feeling of anxiety. No matter how you’re feeling or how confident you might be, it’s always a good idea to plan ahead. Remember, by failing to prepare you’re preparing to fail and the last thing you want is a disastrous move.

Planning

Firstly, think about the size of your move. Do you only need to move your bedroom or are you packing up an entire 4 bedroom home? This will make a big difference on how you plan. Taking into consideration planning, saving, packing and moving in, moving house can take over a month and let’s not forget you’ve probably just spent months trying to find the perfect property as well.

In the planning phase, you should think about:

  • How much you want to spend
  • Who needs to know you’re moving, such as your energy and insurance providers.
  • How you’ll move your belongings, do you need to hire a removalist?
  • Arrange cleaning for your old home
  • Whether you have to take time off work or any other commitments

Packing

The hardest part, packing. It’s like the gym, spend less time thinking about it and just get to it, before you know it you’ll be done. If you’re riding solo, you should probably allow a few weeks to pack. This is also dependant on how big your home is but for an average family home this should be enough. To make things easier, pack one room at a time and clearly label every box. This helps keep your move organised and tidy, reducing stress. Whilst you’re packing, it’s also a good idea to do a quick “spring clean” and throw away items you haven’t touched for a while, it’s hard but you can do it. The more items you get rid of, the less there is to unpack at your new home.

Moving

The move itself should only take a day or two unless you live in a mansion or you’re moving interstate or overseas, then there would be more involved such as flying or driving for hours on end.

If you’ve done the right thing and planned ahead, you would have a car or truck organised. Whether it be a hired one or a few friends getting together to pitch in, it all helps as you will be making less trips back and forth, saving on petrol - making moving day a lot easier.

Settling in

The first night in your new home is usually a very exciting time. Even if you’re surrounded by boxes sometimes it’s fun to order a pizza (which you earned), sit on the floor and have a moment to reflect on all your hard work.

It’s completely up to you when and how you unpack, just be sure to consider other factors or people like young children or housemates. That being said, when you do unpack it’s best to start by organising the rooms you need the most, such as your kitchen and bedroom. Remember, you’ve labelled all the boxes clearly, so this should be an easy task.

To wrap it up

In the end, moving house is different for everybody. It all depends on how many of you are moving and the size of both your old and new home. Planning ahead and taking all the above factors into consideration should make your move easier for you and everyone involved, so get to it and start planning!