Moving house is an exciting time, and one that you don’t want to spend worrying about packing, unpacking, and leaving things behind. To make your day a little easier, we’ve put together our top 10 moving hacks to make your move go as smoothly as possible.
- Photos, photos, photos.
If you can, take photos of all of the rooms in your new house/apartment, so that you can see what the empty space looks like, and plan what furniture to put where. This will give you a good indication of how much you can bring with you, and what you should probably get rid of. Once you’ve moved everything out and cleaned, make sure to take pictures of your old place too, for your records. It’s also a good idea to take photos of all of your electronics before you unplug them, to make it easier to put them all back together later… you don’t want to get stressed over crossed wires!
- Label cords
Speaking of electronics and cords, it’s a good idea to label all of your wires and plugs so that you can quickly and easily reunite them with the right equipment later.
- Create DIY box handles
Lifting and moving heavy boxes all day is tiring; you want to make this as easy as possible, and avoid hurting yourself in the process. Cut out holes on two opposite sides of all of your moving boxes to make them easier to carry, and avoid struggling to hold and ultimately dropping heavy boxes full of valuables.
- Colour code boxes
Once you’ve put in your handles and packed up a box (making sure never to make them too heavy), remember to colour code them. Assign each room in your new house or apartment its own colour, and get some coloured tape/paper/markers and clearly mark each box with the appropriate colour for the room the contents belong in. Make sure to put the colours on the side of the box to make it easier to see when the boxes are stacked. This will make it quicker and easier to unpack and organise everything once you get to your new place.
- Defrost your fridge
One common mistake people make when moving is forgetting to give their fridge/freezer enough time to defrost before moving day. Unplug your fridge at least 24 hours before you’re due to move, to give it enough time to defrost and you enough time to clean it and dry it out.
- Pack clothes easily
One of the things you’re probably dreading most about moving is having to fold and pack up all of your clothes. There’s an easier way! Instead of spending hours taking clothes out of your wardrobe and trying to squeeze them into a suitcase, just invest in some garbage bags. Simply keep your clothes on your hangers, and cover them from the bottom with garbage bags; this will save you heaps of time both before you move and when you’re unpacking. This will also make the rest of the unpacking process a lot easier and less stressful because you won’t have to hunt through suitcases to find all of your clothes.
- Put your suitcases to good use
Using garbage bags to pack your clothes has another benefit; you now have empty suitcases that you can use for other things. Carefully pack heavy items in your suitcases, remembering to add soft wrapping and padding to protect those fragile or valuable objects. The handles and wheels on your suitcases make them easier to carry and transport, so it will be much less hassle to move your heavier items.
- Sandwich bags are always useful
Sandwich bags have a range of uses, so make sure to pick up a roll before you move. Use sandwich bags to pack all of your liquid items; accidents happen, and this will avoid everything being covered in shampoo or bodywash should the bottle explode during the move. These useful little bags will also come in useful when dismantling furniture; put items like screws and bolts in a bag, zip it up, and clearly label it so you can easily find them later.
- Don’t lock yourself out!
With everyone going back and forth from the van with heavy boxes, you want to make sure that the door stays open. One option is a door stop, but this may cause somebody to trip if their arms are laden and they can’t see their feet. A good tip is to wrap a rubber band around one door handle, and stretch it around the door to wrap around the handle on the other side. This will prevent the door from closing and you getting locked out.
- Hire a babysitter
Moving day is stressful enough without having to worry about children or pets. If you have children who are too young to help with the move, or a dog that is bound to get over excited and in the way, ask if you can leave them with a family member or friend for the day so that you can get on with the move without having to worry about them. Kids will appreciate being spoilt by a grandparent a lot more, too!