How to reduce stress when moving home

As one of life’s big events, moving to a new house is a very exciting time, but it can also be really overwhelming too.

Not only is there a lot of admin, calls and negotiations involved, but moving home also involves a lot of change and uncertainty, which can be especially tough for families with children.

Despite the challenges that moving home presents, there are ways to make it a much more seamless experience.

Here we advise a number of ways to make your move easier and help safeguard your mental health at the same time.

Make the most of your post-offer viewing

Once you have found your new dream home and had an offer accepted, it’s always a good idea to go back for another viewing. 

This second (or even third) viewing is all about practicalities and getting those questions answered for when it’s time to move in.

Ideally the owner will be home when you visit, but if not, the agent should be able to contact them afterwards to provide you with the answers you need.

As well as checking dimensions for furniture and white goods, check out where the water, gas and electricity meters are located as well as how the boiler and kitchen appliances work if they are remaining. You will need to ask about the burglar alarm and the smart meter details if applicable too.

Getting organised with this information early on will make things so much easier when it comes to moving into your new property.

De-clutter like a pro

You might not be looking forward to packing up all your worldly belongings into boxes, however, the good side is that it’s a great chance for a good clear out. This will save you having to de-clutter at the other end, making the un-packing much easier.

A good rule to consider when de-cluttering is to get rid of anything you haven’t actively used in the past 3 months (excluding seasonal items!).

Organise your unwanted items into boxes either for the local charity, or to sell online. You may be able to raise some significant funds from the sale of a few items that will help to buy soft furnishings for your new place.

Start packing when contracts are exchanged

The fact is that if you do nothing in the run-up to the days before the move, you'll regret it!

Therefore, as soon as contracts are exchanged, it’s time to get the boxes delivered and start packing. Be sure to invest in some good quality home removal boxes and some strong parcel tape on a roller as it will save a lot of time and hassle with boxes collapsing or ripping on move-out day.

Pack as many of your non-essentials as possible in advance. Books, spare bed linen, paperwork and lesser-used toys are all things that can be packaged up first and stored somewhere out of the way.

Do a little packing each day, and it won’t seem like such a mammoth task towards the end.

 

Choose a great removal company 

If you're considering hiring a van and moving yourself, just bear in mind that there is going to be a lot more manual work and potential stress involved.

Although using a removal company is going to be the more expensive option, it means that they can handle the packing, loading and unloading for you. They often provide the boxes, wrapping and labels too if needed. Remember, they do this task many times each week, so are total pros when it comes to speedy packing and unpacking!

Just make sure you choose a removal company who has a good reputation or has been recommended by a friend. Check Google reviews and don’t be shy to ask for some customer testimonials if you don’t know anyone who has personally used them before.

Ask friends and family for help 

Often, we don’t like asking for help because we don’t want to cause other people bother and stress. However, when it comes to moving house, we need all the assistance we can get.

It’s likely that friends and family will ask you if you need any help, and the right answer is yes please!

Help with packing or unpacking is always going to be helpful. Alternatively, you could ask them to take the kids out for the day to keep them occupied, or have your dog to stay at their place for the weekend so you don’t have to think about caring for anyone else while you get sorted.

 

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day 

Once you have all your items in your new home, you are sure to be excited to get everything unpacked and in place as soon as possible.

Although this is totally understandable, remember that there’s really no big rush now you are in. 

Instead, put together a plan of the most important jobs, and others that can wait. Getting beds and wardrobes set up as well as setting up your utility providers are important jobs that will need to be sorted early on. Whereas colour coding your wardrobe and stacking the books in alphabetical order on the bookshelf are jobs that can wait until everything else is sorted!

Here at Stoneacre Properties, we understand that moving house can be stressful. That’s why our team are with you every step of the way.

We are always at the end of the phone to answer any questions you have (no matter how small they seem to you) and we want to make your move as smooth as possible.

If you are thinking of moving house and want some advice, get in touch with either our North Leeds or East Leeds offices to begin your moving journey.

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