4 Moving Mistakes You Need to Avoid
Think back to the last time you moved home. How well did it go? What worked or didn’t work, and how would you do it differently? With the average person moving around 11 to 12 times in their life, it’s only natural that most people will have stories to tell and tips to share when it comes to moving home. And one thing most people agree on is that there are some fundamental moving mistakes you need to avoid so you don’t make life worse for yourself. But what are these exactly? Let’s find out more.
Underestimating How Long It Takes
If you’ve ever been fooled into thinking you don’t have much stuff and can pack up in a weekend, you’re likely wrong. You will have more stuff than you think you do, and leaving everything to the last minute or not giving yourself enough time will backfire on you and leave you struggling for time, supplies, and you’ll most definitely overlook safe, organized packing in favor of throwing it all into boxes to get going. Don’t be this person. Start packing as early as you can and avoid that last-minute rush to get everything packed.
Messing Up Movers
Movers can be absolutely invaluable for everyone, regardless of how or where you’re moving to. Ideally, you will want to get quotes from reputable movers around 4-6 weeks prior to moving or as soon as you have locked in a moving date.
Make sure you know exactly what service you want or need and what you’re paying for. There are different types of moving services you can choose from – self-hire vans, loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, to name a few. Not understanding what service you are getting can be a major problem on moving day.
Not Sorting Your Emergency Box
What is an emergency moving box or a moving day survival kit, if you prefer? It’s that box of items you basically cannot afford to lose or misplace. It should have anything you might need, such as keys for both properties, medications, important paperwork, chargers, toilet rolls, scissors, etc. Any bits that you know you will need, either from moving or to get through the day – sure your coffee machine counts as one of those essentials, as do snacks, get them together in one place on a box or a bag, and keep it with you all the time. This way, even if everything else goes wrong, you have the essentials you cannot be without.
Underestimating Supplies
The last thing anyone wants is to run out of packing supplies when they’re trying to get those last little bits sorted. But buying packaging boxes can be expensive. Firstly, look at what you already own and see if you can use it. A great packing tip for clothing is to leave it on hangers, slip a garbage bag around it, and tie it. This way, you can hang it up in your new home once you’re in.
Use as many items as you can that you already own or are taking with you for packing, and then buy more packing boxes than you think you will need. That goes for tape, labels, etc, all of which you will need in plentiful supply.
