Moving Day Advice
07 August 2012It can be tough to move house. The stresses of packing can, however, be minimised with careful planning. As soon as you decide you are going to move, you should begin thinking about how you are going to accomplish it.
Moving Day Advice
A guide to your moving day
The first thing you need to do is contact your current landlord and tell them about your intention to move. Remember that you may be required to give a certain amount of notice, so you should refer to your Tenancy Agreement to find out how much. If possible, you should aim to make the moving-in date tie in with your moving-out date to help reduce any possible storage costs. If you are moving out of your parents' (or someone else's) house and you are not under any contractual obligations, then you probably won't need to worry about notice periods, but it is good manners to let the people you live with know before you go.
Packing
When you start packing, you will want to begin by sorting your stuff. Moving time is a good opportunity to clear out some of the things you don't need any more. Don't be afraid to throw things out or give things away, especially if you are moving into smaller premises. Be realistic about your choices and if you don't use something then ditch it and it will help you cut down your logistics costs. If you have a lot of quality items you need to get rid of, then eBay or a boot sale could be the way to go as it will help generate cash in the process.
Be logical
Be logical about your packing and take a systematic approach. Pack items that belong together in the same box and you will save time when you come to unpack again. Write the room that the contents of each box belongs to on each box in bold writing (perhaps on more than one side to ease identification). You might also consider recruiting help from friends or family to help the packing go quicker, and when it comes to the actual moving then it always helps to know someone with a van to help reduce the number of trips. You can also hire professional movers to help if necessary, but this might make the whole process a lot more expensive.
Time off work required?
Remember to book time off of work for your moving day if necessary, assuming you can't schedule it for an existing day off. If moving mid-week then it might be a good idea to take a couple of days, in order to get everything sorted in one go. If you are permanently moving house, then you may need to notify a number of companies or organisations about your change of address (as well as your friends and family). These could include your tenants insurance provider, utilities providers, banks and creditors (to name a few). Draw up a check-list to help you know who you have contacted and who you need to contact. If you are only moving temporarily as a student, and your parent's home will continue to remain your main home, then you might not need to notify so many people.
Insurance
If you are moving into shared accommodation then you must make getting tenants home insurance a priority. If you are sharing with anyone other than your immediate family then tenants insurance might be harder to get hold of. Home contents insurance for tenants is often not offered by standard insurers if you are sharing with strangers, but with a specialist home insurance provider such as HomeProtect you can get tenants contents insurance online regardless of your circumstances.
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