Moving Tips To Save You Time
Moving is a long and time-consuming process. There are hundreds of things which you need to do before you can move. Small and fast tasks often get overlooked for more substantial and complex jobs. Simplifying the process will help eliminate stress and make things easier.
Here are 5 moving tips to save you time and make the process a little bit more manageable.
Make A Moving Home Checklist
With so many things to plan and remember, it can be easy to overlook something crucial. What could be worse than arriving at your new home only to find out you forgot to arrange the electricity service?
A checklist helps you to plan and oversee the whole moving process and make sure you keep everyone on schedule. It’s recommended to start from 60 days before the move and break things down into week-by-week plans.
While it’s easy to put off tasks so far from moving day, if they are not done they will end up presenting last-minute headaches for you which you could easily have avoided.
In the days leading up to the move, you will be extremely busy. So break up the tasks weeks and even months in advance, to ensure nothing gets rushed or forgotten.
Prepare A Moving Day Bag
Instead of packing your essential everyday items into boxes, it’s wise to plan ahead and create a moving day bag which contains things you may use throughout the day.
At the end of a long and exhausting day of moving, you’re most likely not going to have time to unpack, so by having a moving day bag, it means you don’t have to search through box after box to find what you need.
Essential items you should have in your moving day bag include:
- Toiletries to use when you arrive at your new home
- A change of clothes to keep you feeling fresh
- Snacks and drinks Throughout the day you are unlikely to have time to prepare any meals or go out to eat, stay hydrated and don’t work on an empty stomach
- Phone charger/portable battery pack to keep your phone charged all day
- Laptop or tablet to help keep it safe from damage, and also to entertain the kids during the long moving process.
- Medication any medication for yourself or your family should always be easily accessible
- ID and important paperwork If a box was to go missing, at least you have peace of mind that all of your important documents are secure
Update Your Address In Advance
By updating your address details in advance, it can help prevent a lot of problems from occurring in the future, such as service lapses, overdue bills, or in an extreme case, identity theft.
Australia Post has a mail redirection service to ensure that all mail is forwarded to your new address. Starting from just $30.80 for one month and with plans ranging up to 12 months, it’s highly affordable and convenient.
As well as redirecting your mail, you should also schedule dates to disconnect your utility services and to have them connected at your new address.
Don’t forget your:
• Utilities – Water, Electricity, Gas
• Phone
• Pay TV
• Internet
A service such as connect now makes it easy to change all of your utilities in the one place, saving you time, and also identifying potentially better deals.
Declutter Your Belongings
Moving home is the best time to declutter your belongings. When you move, it’s the only time where you will go through every single item in your entire home. The less stuff you keep, the less stuff you have to pack, and the smaller size removal van you will need to hire – saving you money!
By packing fewer items, you will save a huge amount of packing time, as well as having fewer items to load onto the moving truck, as well as unloaded to your new home, and then unpacked and put away into their new space.
For any item which isn’t essential and doesn’t bring you joy or happiness, save your time from having to pack it.
If you haven’t used something for over a year, then ask yourself, do you still need it?
Items such as old and damaged clothing, books you never read, half-empty cleaning products, and cooking items or tinned food past the due date should be at the top of your list to leave behind.
For other items which have some value, in the weeks leading up to your move, try to sell them on eBay, Gumtree, or Facebook Marketplace, or hold a garage sale. Anything which doesn’t sell and you don’t wish to bring with you to your new home either give away to family or friends or donate to charity.
As a bonus, the money you make from selling unwanted items can help to offset the moving costs!
Hire A Professional Moving Company
While there may be a company which is offering the lowest rates which almost seem too good to be true, they most likely are. Companies who compete on price are usually unreliable. They may show up hours late, or they may not show up at all. Leaving you stranded on moving day, and frantically trying to find a last minute removalist at a premium rate.
Cheaper removalists often also don’t have insurance, and subcontract and hire inexperienced staff to keep the cost down. As they are always in a hurry, they are less likely to take care of your belongings, meaning damage is more likely to occur, and if it does they will try to shift the blame onto you.
Whereas, a professional moving company offers competitive moving rates, shows up on time, and treats your items with care and respect, saving you time in the long run.
Optimove are professional and experienced removalists who save you time and make moving easy. Contact us today for a free quote by phone 1300 400 874 or via our contact form.
By following the above moving tips to save you time you are sure to have a well-planned and stress-free moving day experience.
