Moving doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Use these moving house tips to stay organized and make the process smoother.
Moving House Tips: Your Guide to an Organized Move
Moving house is one of the most stressful times in life. It takes a lot of planning and effort as well as emotional energy to move everything you own from one location to another. It sounds simple enough but it can be extremely stressful. It certainly puts people off moving again for a long time.
While it can be stressful it is also exciting, looking for a new home to create your life together, exploring new places and having a changeup in life after a bad or traumatic experience can give you the sense of a new start. If you want to move house or perhaps move out of your family home then these are some things you should consider and look into.
Think About The Location
Moving house is not only thinking about the house itself but the location the house is in. If you plan on having children or you already have children, are there schools nearby and do they have good reviews?
Are there grocery stores and restaurants nearby that you like? It is important to research the local businesses in the area you are considering moving to.
If you want to maybe think about emigrating or moving abroad then it is important to consider what variations you need to move to a new country. Do you want to look at a warmer climate so you can enjoy sunshine most of the year or maybe you want to look at moving to a little village to have more of a community lifestyle than the hustle and bustle of city life? There are a lot of variations you need to consider when you are looking at the locations of where you plan on moving to.
Helping Your Children Adjust
Children tend to struggle with change at the best of times like school holidays, changes in their routines or adjusting to a growing family. So moving house for children, especially neurodivergent children can be stressful indeed and take a lot of time for them to adjust.
One of the best things you can do is start early. Start by having conversations about living in different places and even go as far as to show them the past houses you live in through pictures or your own parents’ houses. This will start to open up to conversation about what they think about moving to a new place.
When you get to the stage of choosing a new property to live in it is important to take them along a few times. This will help them get used to the house and you can show them which room will be theirs, where they will eat dinner and what kind of garden they have to play in. Be sure to point out all the positive things so they know it is a positive change even if it seems scary.
When you move a bit further away from your current location the other thing you want to consider is school and friends. If your child needs to change schools it can bring a whole host of other anxiety and worries, they will miss all of their old friends and not only have to adjust to a new home but a new school as well.
Exposure is key in this as well, try to arrange visits to the school before you move house, and see if the school has a buddy program where they have someone to show your child around, be their friend and help them adjust to the new setting.
Packing And Moving With Ease
One of the most time-consuming jobs you will do while moving house is packing and unpacking all of your belongings. It is always important to start early, perhaps even a couple of months before you plan to move. If you are in summer you can start by packing away your winter clothes and then if you are in the winter you can pack away the summer stuff. You could also pack away things like books, movies and anything you don’t think you will need for a couple of months.
Then as you get closer and closer to the moving date you can pack all plates but one each, for example, glasses and mugs so you are not leaving everything until the last minute.
A great tip on keeping organised with moving is by colour coding the rooms. Use a certain colour pen to write on the boxes and then you will know that green is the kitchen, yellow is the bathroom and red is the bedroom for example. This will be a lot easier when unpacking in the new house. Another tip is to bullet point a few important things that are in the boxes or put a big star on the boxes if you know they will be some of the first ones you need to open in the new house so you aren’t opening every box in the kitchen looking for a saucepan or plate frantically while you are hungry.
Find The Water Valve And Fuse Box
You don’t want to find yourself searching for the water valve and fuse box when you need them. It’s much better to know where they are now so you can get there quickly in the event of a power outage or the need to cut off the water for whatever reason.
Your fuse box is usually located in your storage room, garage, or basement. The water valve for your house is often located someplace around the outside. If you are unsure, be sure to ask these important questions when you are viewing the property and take note of it so you have it confirmed by the previous people who lived there.
The Admin Side
One of the most boring but necessary tasks of moving home is having to inform everyone. You must do this so things don’t get missed and you don’t get in trouble for not responding to something when you never had it. There are a couple of ways you can get around this.
Make a big list of who you need to inform and do it all in one day. Be sure to include things like utilities, internet service providers, your employer, the government, your children’s school, your doctors and dentist and family and friends. There may be other ones you need to include so by making a list you can make sure you don’t forget anything and don’t end up getting in trouble for not responding to certain things.
The other thing to make sure you change is your shopping sites. If you use things like Amazon that have one-click buys you want to make sure that you are not ordering them to the old house and having the stress of changing and making sure no one has taken it.
Change Your Locks For Your Security And Peace Of Mind
Changing the locks on your new house is always a good idea. You never know who might have a key, even if you don’t care about the prior owner, they could have given one to a neighbour or family member they have forgotten about. This is one of those situations where it’s better to be safe than sorry, so call a locksmith or, if you’re comfortable doing it yourself, replace the locks.
Change the locks on all of the windows and doors that connect the inside and outside of your house. You get a lot of peace of mind for a minimal price. You can also use longer screws that give your door more security and stability as well. Some of the screws that come with the door to install originally are quite small and could easily break if enough pressure was put on them.
Moving to a new area can give you worries about different sounds, and any crimes or anxieties you have, so changing the locks and thinking about the security of your home will help you feel better. You can then just focus on being happy in your new home.
Get Involved With Your Local Community
When you are brand new to an area one of the best things you can do is get involved in the community. These will be your new neighbors and looking after your community will give you a sense of pride, help you look after where you live and make connections.
Try to see what local events are on to get involved with, if your child’s school is holding a parent’s meet-up or coffee morning be sure to go along and introduce yourself. If you have a particular interest as well you could see if there is a local group for that like foraging, a book club or even a Pilates class. There are always so many opportunities to socialize, make friends and involve yourself in the cities if you make the effort to do so.
There may be other things you want to make sure you are doing when you want to move house but these are a great place to start.
Ultimate Moving House Tips for Families and First-Time Movers
Moving house is a big life change, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following these moving house tips, you can stay organized and reduce stress.
From packing strategies to building community connections, each step helps make the transition smoother. With a little preparation, you’ll soon feel at home in your new space.
Jessi is the creative mind behind The Coffee Mom, a popular blog that combines parenting advice, travel tips, and a love for all things Disney. As a trusted Disney influencer and passionate storyteller, Jessi’s authentic insights and relatable content resonate with readers worldwide.