Stress Free Tips to Moving House

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Apart from getting married or having children, there has never been a more distressing undertaking than moving house. It is akin to having an operation: you want to be put to sleep and only wake up when everything is taken care of. Moving house can be so stressful because of the time involved, because it is not only about waking up on the morning of the move and doing it. Homeowners have to plan everything meticulously weeks in advance to stand any chance of a smooth change over.

Preparation is Everything

If you want to hit the ground running, make sure you have researched the area you are moving to, especially if you have children who will need schooling. It is also a good idea to have already planned where your items will be stored at your new address, to make the ordeal a little bit more efficient.

Packing non-essential items weeks in advance will benefit you immeasurably, and ensure you are not rushing around at the last moment trying to organize things you could have done before. Labelling the boxes will also save lots of time when you finally make the move, and will help in prioritizing what things you will need to unpack straight away.

Transportation and Packing

Whatever form of transport you are planning to use during the move should be up to standard, because you don’t want to spend the big day fixing broken carburetors or dealing with any other minor faults with the transport.

If you are using a removal company, be sure to book well in advance, because the nearer you get to the date, the more expensive they become. Making sure your move is insured is also the way to go. I am sure you are the same as every homeowner and will have some expensive and breakable things in limbo on the big day.

It is essential to get all the packing done well in advance, only leaving the essential items until last. Remember, you will need vast amounts of packing materials, such as bubble wrap, cardboard boxes and tape.

Vital Information

A handy thing to remember is to de-register with your doctors and dentists and simultaneously register with new ones at the new location. This may seem insignificant, but it is always best to have all bases covered for any eventuality.

When the big day comes, you know it will be an ordeal, so taking things in your stride is as important as the patience you will need. One last thing to note: don’t forget the dog!

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  • Any tips on moving house with a puppy?

    He is a very happy 4 month old cocker puppy. He sleeps in a crate at night which we will continue with. We've stayed for a weekend at my Parents in Law'a house and he was fine, apart from 10 minutes of whining in his crate at night, but this is a permanant move so I want to do whatever I can to make it stress free for him. We are moving on Thursday so any tips greatfully received. Thanks.
    Dogs place a very high importance on the smell of things. If you bring bedding, toys and furniture that smell like home then he will quickly learn to associate the new place with home. They also place a high importance on their pack. That means you. As long as you are with them, they can usually handle a change of scenery pretty well. So keep him near things that are familiar smelling and try not to keep him away from you for very long. Keeping in mind, of course, that you don't want him underfoot the day of the move obviously.

  • How can i make moving home as stress free as possible for my son?

    I am planning on moving houses on Saturday and i just want to know what i can do to make the move as stress free as possible.

    My son is ten and a half months old and is sensitive to his surroundings - when we go to my mums house and he sleeps in her bedroom (still in a cot) it seems to agitate him as he wakes during the night (which he doesn't normally do) which gives me the impression that he may not take well to sleeping in a new bedroom.

    I just want to know how i can avoid making moving home as stress free as possible for my son as his surroundings will completely change (we are moving from a flat to a house). Any tips would be appreciated.
    well it will be a change but just talk to your little man and start explaining what will be taking place he will understand maybe not in words but your facial expression should make it ok for him

  • moving house - need packing tips?

    i need simple yet good packing tips, i know the normal things like change of address and i dont want a checklist. i have a car and small van at the ready and just want ideas on how to make this move simple and stress free (pushing my luck!!)
    i also have to big dogs that need to come with


    thank you x
    Don't overload boxes when packing - a box of books is surprisingly heavy :)

    Make sure boxes are well labelled - so you know exactly where the kettle and mugs are etc when you get there. If they have more general contents, label with the room (eg kitchen, bedroom)

    Get boxes and packing materials from local reuse sites like Freegle/Freecycle - then you can pass them straight back on when you've finished, and won't have to worry about getting rid of boxes

  • Any tips for successfully rehoming a cat?

    A neighbour's daughter moved away and, because she couldn't take her cat, left him with her mother. That was about a week ago.

    A family member of mine was discussing our neighbour's newly acquired cat after we saw him in the garden and said, "We were kind of hoping he was a stray; we've been looking for a cat and it would have been nice to home a stray one" ... and the neighbour, with full permission from her daughter, has allowed us to have the cat.

    We've had him for the evening. He tried to get out after he was first brought in, but then settled down to exploring the house, walking around us and asking for attention. He also played with his scratching post and ate some food, before going back out a couple of hours ago. I can't hear him trying to get into the neighbour's house, so I can only assume he's exploring and hunting.

    Has anyone got any tips for how to help him adjust to another new home as stress-free for him as possible? I know people are going to say keep him in, but it's not really an option: he's an outdoor cat, he gets distressed when he can't get out, he doesn't use a litter tray, he can clearly see our cat flaps and would keep trying to get through them.
    Nosey parker, I know it would be the best option but he wouldn't use a litter tray and would be extremely distressed that he couldn't get out of the door.

    He has only lived about three doors down for about a week, so if he does want to return in the beginning, it's not like he's going far and our neighbour has promised to return him, so he'll get used to coming here by himself.

    He has already been spayed.
    If you take a cat in that used to live in the neighbourhood and you allow it to roam it may come back it may not come back. The best way to settle a cat in is to keep it in for a good week to ten days. Of course this means keeping a litter tray clean everyday.

    The other option is to make sure a tom cat is neutered and a Queen cat is spayed as this reduces the desire to wander and find partners.

    If the cat is playful and friendly it may be that you should develop a habit of going to your front or dack door holding a plate of food every time you feel he /she should come in, this way he / she would get used to at least eating in your home.at least once a day and with a bit of luck will start to let you know when he / she wants to be in.

    Best of luck.

  • Advice on evicting a family member...?

    Essentially, this issue boils down to gathering opinions on the idea of throwing someone out of their bedroom in order to claim it for my/our/self/selves. But allow me to pad out this issue a little bit first...

    My boyfriend had "his bedroom" at his parents house, with all of his posessions in. He then went off to university. During this time, his older sister finished university herself, returned home, and claimed his room for herself, but as she said at the time "only temporarily". Fair enough, one might say. (At this point, I need to deviate slightly away from his older sister...)
    Approximately a year later, I met my boyfriend while also in uni, and a year later again I decided to move to his local area (where his parents house is situated) to find work. I had a job, and we were house-sharing with his *other* sister and her family. However the landlord sold the property to a developer, so through no fault of our own, everyone in that house (myself, boyfriend, his other sister, and her family) have all had to move into my boyfriends parents house. Bottom line, there are 12 of us now in a small 3 bedroom house. Living is difficult, peace and tranquility are non-existant, as is sleep. Myself and my partner are sharing a small bedroom with 4 others (all children) at the moment, and as a result, our relationship is suffering through stress and lack of privacy. Our possessions either disappear, or are destroyed by the children, the room is a constant tip, the kids are still in the bedwetting stage, and once even urinated on our bed which is adding to the stress. My health has suffered, it has been that bad (3 colds and a bout of tonsilitis in 3 months!). We do not complain however, and have been trying to keep our heads down and grin and bear things as best as we can, as it's not an ideal situation for anyone.
    To deviate back towards the earlier mentioned sister who took my boyfriends bedroom - It is not even a case of her just having the room, because someone has to. However, this sister has a boyfriend who moved to the region about the same time everyone had to move back into the family home. He has moved 2 miles from the workplace that both he and the sister go to (as opposed to the 25 miles from this house to her work) so obviously, his sister is perminantly living round her boyfriends, and litterally sleeps here about one night every 2 weeks or so.

    Bottom line, there is a bedroom here going unused while the rest of us are like sardines, which is not being given up because my boyfriends sister is a selfish cow. She likes having the room for the one night every so often that she bothers to grace us with her presence. She says she doesnt want to move out yet to be on her own (and why should she, when she has it cushy and rent free here?). Me and my boyfriend have offered her money for the room, even on a night by night basis on the nights when she isnt here - not interested. We have gone to their father and offered him money for the room -...
    I did not read beyond 1/2 the issue, to much drama, but hey what's YOUR problem you have a place to sleep. Heck I'd throw the whole darned lot of you out. By the way you sound VERY ungrateful and if you want privacy find your own place. NO empathy here except for his parents.

  • How can i make moving home as stress free as possible for my son?

    I am planning on moving houses on Saturday and i just want to know what i can do to make the move as stress free as possible.

    My son is ten and a half months old and is sensitive to his surroundings - when we go to my mums house and he sleeps in her bedroom (still in a cot) it seems to agitate him as he wakes during the night (which he doesn't normally do) which gives me the impression that he may not take well to sleeping in a new bedroom.

    I just want to know how i can avoid making moving home as stress free as possible for my son as his surroundings will completely change (we are moving from a flat to a house). Any tips would be appreciated.
    Keep a brightly coloured bag special for Michael's needs only and have it ready before you start packing and make sure you always know where it is.
    In that bag, the must haves are all those special toys, Michael's nappies for the move, feeds etc. and something new too.
    I would even tie on some bright ribbons and pieces of material that make it the special move bag. Michael may remember it at a later date in his 20's perhaps with affection (after he has used it as the special crayons and paper bag etc...).
    I do not agree that the room should be the same as the old one, but do agree with sticking to Michael's routine needs (times he eats, bedtime etc). I remember as a child moving into a different house and remember seeing this strange orange and brown wallpaper and picking daisies (my sister told me that the wallpaper I was describing was in the house we moved into and it was covered over shortly after we moved, I was less than 2 years old).
    Maybe that is why I am not fazed by change, because they made it an adventure and there was a lot of smiling faces.