If you’re preparing to move house, the thought of packing up all your belongings might fill you with dread – but it doesn’t have to be a boring, thankless and labour-intensive task. In fact, with a bit of forward thinking and a clever plan you could have everything ready in no time, so check out these 10 awesome hacks that will make your move easy.
Hire out a storage unit
Let’s face it, many of us have things we don’t want to live with and could probably do without but simply don’t want to through away. So, if you don’t fancy moving all your nostalgic keepsakes to a new property why not keep them in a storage unit instead? After all, companies like Ready Steady Store offer a safe, secure space for your goods until you need them again.
Colour code your boxes
One of the worse things you can do when packing is to shove everything in boxes without any sort of order. This will make unpacking difficult so buy some different coloured boxes and put all cookery utensils in a blue box, for instance, and all books in a yellow box so you’ll know exactly what’s what. Either that or simply label everything using a black permanent marker.
Keep an inventory
As you load things into boxes, note down what’s going where. By keeping an inventory list you’ll know where everything is should you need to get something quickly and can unpack all your belongings methodically when you reach your new properly. Tick the boxes off as you open them and you’ll soon know if anything has been left behind.
Save space
If you’re a regular traveller you’ve probably already devised one or two essential travel hacks that will keep things organised and save space. These will also come in useful when moving house so try stuffing socks into shoes and use toilet rolls to keep your cables intact and contained. It’s also wise to roll clothes instead of folding them as this will help you fit more t-shirts, jumpers and such like into a small area.
Put your clothes on hangers
The other thing you can do with clothes is to hang them all up before covering them in a plastic bag. This will keep your garments free from dust while ensuring they’re easy to unpack at the other end. Sure, placing all your trousers, dresses and such like on hangers might be a cumbersome task but you’ll be thankful you did it when all you have to do is put them in a wardrobe once you’ve moved.
Cover plastic bottles with cling film
If a bottle of shampoo has ever burst in your case you’ll know how messy and irritating it can be. For this reason, cover the tops of shampoo, cleaning products and other bottles with cling film before tightening the lid as this will help guard against leakages. There are other ways to pack liquid toiletries such as putting them in a plastic makeup bag or in their own compartment of a suitcase, so it’s up to you what you decide to do.
Use boxes with wheels
To save carrying heavy boxes from one place to the other, buy storage containers with wheels as this will make moving your things from A to B a lot easier. Of course, suitcases are ideal but you’ll also find an array of plastic boxes that can be pushed or pulled along using a handle.
Cut handles into cardboard boxes
If you do use cardboard boxes, cut handles into the side of each one as this will make them easier to lift. What’s more, don’t overload them or you might never be able to get them off the ground and if you do, they might break which would be a complete disaster.
Pack a rucksack with everyday items
While it’s good to be organised and pack your house up in advance, don’t forget to keep the things you need on a daily basis nearby such as your hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste and a portable mirror. That way, you’ll have all essentials to hand and won’t have to rummage through boxes just to get dressed in the morning.
Call in the man power
Moving is always simpler if you’ve plenty of people helping you out. With this in mind, either hire a removal company to do the hard work for you (including loading and unloading the van) or get strong friends and relatives to help you out. This is particularly important if you live alone or have kids you need to juggle on top of everything else.
Moving house is notoriously stressful, but these 10 hacks should make your life a lot simpler.