Moving house is something many of us do at some point in our lifetime. Whether you are moving out of your childhood home or downsizing now that your kids have flown the nest. It can be stressful, waiting on the sale of your house and ensuring everything is ready for the move. We sometimes aren’t even aware of how much stuff we’ve accumulated until it’s time to put it all in boxes and transport it to your new home. If you’ve got to deal with bulky furniture, piano removals or ensuring your plants will safely make it to your new place - it can be hard to figure out, especially if you’ve never done it before.
Your removal team will be with you to help your house move go smoothly. To help you out, we’ve put together this guide to common home removal mistakes to make sure you don’t make them. Keep reading to learn more.
Choosing the wrong house removal service
Ultimately, how easy your home move goes is dependent on what removal service you choose. It’s important you pick the right one, that will respect your needs, treat your belongings with care and give you peace of mind. Rather than choosing the cheapest home removal company, try to find the one that is going to give you the best service. Check online for reviews and testimonials and make sure they have positive reviews. You can also speak to neighbours and friends about which removal company they chose and whether or not they would recommend them. This way you can feel confident that they will be able to perform well. You can also get a removal company to pack up your home for you. If you don’t have the time or patience to do it yourself, there's really no need to stress yourself out. You can research removal companies that offer this service and leave the hard stuff to the professionals.
Not decluttering before the move-in date
Another common mistake is not decluttering before it’s time to move. There’s going to be a lot of stuff you don’t actually want to take with you when you move, especially if you never moved house before or recently. Whether it’s old childhood clothes, toys or games or you just happen to collect a lot of junk. It’s smart to reduce the amount of stuff you have before you need to pack it all up otherwise you’ll be spending more money on removal costs only to transport the unwanted items to your new home and throw them out or donate them at a later time. Get on top of your decluttering and make sure there isn’t too much stuff you don’t want. Of course, there’s no harm in bringing everything if you really want it. But when it comes time to pack up, you may find that there are duplicates of certain things or you thought you’d thrown things out years ago. Now’s the time to sort this all out.
Forgetting to label boxes
Not being able to find things after you’ve moved house can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety. With so many identical boxes, you’ll find it really difficult to pinpoint your belongings. Imagine you have a party to go to and want to wear your favourite jeans, but you’ve not labelled any of your boxes. Sorting through 10 boxes before you get to the right one is a waste of time and can be very annoying. It’s smart to have a process when it comes to packing, rather than just throwing it all into boxes and hoping for the best. Make sure to label each one, even if you just write which room it belongs to. This will save you a lot of time in the unpacking process and you’ll thank yourself later. If you don’t have time to do this yourself,
hire a removal company to do it for you instead.
Leaving tasks til the last minute
It can be difficult to know when the best time is to start packing up your home. As a general rule, you should start packing 3 weeks before your move-in date and preparation should start 6-8 weeks before your move-in date. This means you’ll have a lot of tasks to complete beforehand. If you don’t start to declutter before the 3-week mark, for example, this can leave you in a tight squeeze to get everything done on time. Obviously, these timeframes may not suit everyone as you may have more or fewer things than most people on average. Rather than cause yourself more stress, try to get on top of tasks before it is too late so you don’t need to stress as the move-in date gets closer and closer.
Forgetting to change your address
One of the most irritating parts of moving house is having to update your address for all important paperwork and telling your friends and family. This can take some time so you may want to forward your address for a few months until you can get everything sorted. You should contact the following to update your address:
- Royal Mail.
- Insurance Companies.
- Utility Providers.
- The Electoral Roll.
- Schools and Education.
- The Local Authority.
- GP and Other Healthcare.
- The Bank.
- Driving license
If you get these sorted in the few days before your move, you don’t have to worry about any correspondence going to the wrong address. By forwarding your mail you can ensure that anything you have missed will get forwarded to your address after you’ve moved and you can change your address with those companies as and when you receive them.
Packing fragile items incorrectly
Glassware, china, crockery, musical instruments and plants are just a few of the fragile items you’ll need to pack up in order to move house. By incorrectly packing these kinds of things, you’ll end up with damaged items that are expensive to replace. It can be a costly mistake to not put care into the way you pack fragile items and it’s best to take precautions where you can. Whether it means paying your house removal company to pack up your items for you or investing in the right packing supplies - it’s best to pack fragile items as best as you can. While it may seem like a good idea to pack fragile items altogether in the same boxes, this can actually cause them to break. You should split up fragile items as much as possible and back softer items in the boxes with them. For example, putting a pile of plates wrapped in bubble wrap in a box with tea towels and oven gloves can help keep them protected rather than hitting other fragile items.
Renting a van that is too big or too small
It can be hard to know exactly what size van to rent so it’s a good idea to contact your removal company or van hire company to ask their advice. They have plenty of experience to help guide you on the right van to choose. You may opt for part load removal which is good for one or two-bedroom homes. They are a popular choice for students or people moving temporarily. It can save you a lot of money to choose the right size removal service and not pay for a huge van or truck you aren’t going to fill. On the other hand, you don’t want to hire a van that is too small as you can end up having to do multiple runs, which if you are moving far away, is very inconvenient. Speak to your house removal company to make sure you choose the right size.
Rose Removals - Removal Services Devon: From Piano Removal to Packing Services
Are you looking for a removal company in Barnstaple? Rose Removals are the people to call. We have an expert team ready to help you with any kind of house move. Whether you just need to hire a van to move into student accommodation or you need to move out from your three-bedroom home -
get in touch with our friendly team today. We can provide a range of services from
packing to packing supplies. We are the most reliable house removal service in Devon.
