Tips on moving home.

[Admin]

Moving house is a stressful business and the task ahead of you seems awesome – don’t let it get to you, by making various checklists and planning a guideline schedule for the move, you will reach your goal and moving day without having to overload on calming tablets!

ADVANCE PLANNING
Where possible, plan ahead! If you know you have a couple of months or a reasonable length of time ahead, begin planning your move.
6-12 weeks in advance.

DE-CLUTTER!
Start by making an itemised list of furniture and essentials you wish to take with you to your new home, then decide on “What’s Going to the Bin” and “What’s Going with You!” If you haven’t used it and don’t remember what it was for……. BIN IT!

Room by Room
Make a list, room by room; by taking it one step at a time, you will eventually achieve realistic lists of what you want to take with you.
Don’t try and make a main list – you will end up with pages and pages and feel overawed at the final list. One room at a time……

Make a separate list for your outdoor requirements
Gardening Tools & Equipment – drain fuel from lawnmowers, chainsaws, strimmers etc
Garden Décor
Garden Furniture/Barbeque – empty gas cylinder if the BBQ is run on gas
Garden Shed?
Dog kennel
4-6 weeks

Cancel your Memberships!
Notify schools and crèche of your departure – have you organised places for your children in schools or colleges abroad?? Request duplicate records from their current school.
Notify clubs or associations and cancel your membership from the expected date of move.
Cancel rental agreements if necessary

GOING ABROAD?
Check the family passports are all valid; any passports expiring within the coming months should be updated immediately.
Have you all your paperwork in order – driver’s licence, work permit, residency papers, pet vaccination/quarantine restrictions etc
If you or any of your family are on prescribed medications, inform your family doctor of your departure and make sure you have enough medication and legible prescriptions to take with you. In the case of a serious illness, you should request duplicate medical files from your family G.P.
If this is a work re-location, check with your employer what company incentives are available to you to ease your family’s move and whether the move affects your pension, medical insurance, tax allowance etc
Check your flights and transportation are organised.
Check you have House Insurance organised effective from the day you arrive and make sure your new house of residence has secure locks and if necessary, an effective alarm system. (New residents often attract burglars and are at their most vulnerable during the first few days).
Preparation is half the battle!

Children’s & Sporting Equipment
Additional equipment such as Children’s Play Centre, Swings, Climbing Frame or Trampoline
Sporting equipment such as Threadmills, Exercise Bikes etc – do these need to be dis-assembled and re-assembled on delivery
A useful tip for families with young children – time allowing, encourage your children and teenagers to determine what toys, clothing or household items they wish to bring or discard within reason; do not dismiss them from the pre-planning as this will alienate them, cause hostility to their new surroundings and increase homesickness.

Please ensure you inform your movers of
Firearms, guns, lethal weapons

Let the Packing Begin!
Start packing away family collectables such as books, toys, ornaments, delph and house furnishings not required for daily usage.
Do not overpack cartons, overweight boxes carrying fragile items could give way.
2-4 weeks

Stop filling the Freezer!
Time to start using food supplies and frozen goods
If you have a family member on special dietary needs or baby formula, purchase additional supplies to cover several weeks abroad in case specific brands are not available abroad.
Similarly, if any family member is skin sensitive to hygiene or cleaning products, remember to pack supplies you currently use, so as to cause least amount of stress to children who often find a move abroad traumatic.

Notify all Service Contractors – domestic help, window cleaners, gardeners; cancel home deliveries such as newspapers, milk, subsciptions such as magazines, lotto syndicates, catalogue orders etc
Notify your bank and Credit Union of your move and notify them of your new banking address; check all bank cards and credit cards will be valid particularly if you are moving abroad.
Be sure to pack any mobile phone accessories, PC and digital camera accessories together with relative information packs etc……
And remember, are you keeping a log of all the important numbers you will
need, particularly if you have moved abroad?
Keep a separate folder for you all your important documents – birth certificates, medical, dental, legal and financials, school records, insurance documents, visas, driving licence and motor vehicle documentation, credit cards etc
It is always useful to photocopy
Passports, Driver’s Licence and Birth Certificates

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN – less than 2 weeks to go
Inform your local Post Office of your new postal address.
Keep de-cluttering – give neighbours or your local charity shop household plants and garden feed; ornaments or ‘bric-a-brac’ you are not taking with you.
Give away perishables, frozen foods etc if you have not depleted stocks.
Empty fuel from garden equipment such as chainsaws and lawnmowers, oil heaters etc
Return all rented DVDs, Library Books, community files if you are involved locally
Save work documentation, email contacts etc onto a personal chip – you never know when you need it!
Drain water from electrics such as washing machine, iron, fridge and freezer etc. If you are bringing items such a Piano, American Fridge, specialised beds, stair lifts and furniture which need to be de-assembled and re-assembled on delivery to your new home, make sure you notify your movers of this.
Again, an onsite survey with your movers will give you a realistic estimate of time and cost needed.

WORK WITH YOUR MOVERS IN PLANNING AHEAD.

WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS AND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE OF MOVING HOME!