We thought it might be useful to let you all know when someone from the Forum team will going to be away for any length of time, as we are a small team, and we don’t want to miss anything that you might need help with.
I’m the first of the team to have some time off booked in since we decided this, so I’m kicking things off with a post to let you all know that I will be away for a few days!
I will be moving house in sunny (but still occasionally snowy) Colorado, USA from 29th April - 6th May 2024.
Never fear though, as the rest of the team will still be available as usual to support you all.
Moving is stressful - do you have any tips about moving that you can share with me?
I’m looking forward to catching up with you all when I return. Wish me luck!
Having moved house 29 times!!! Yes. All true. (& not including backpacking, uni and travels) I promise to help @Carla. 1. Cleanse possessions as much as possible before the move as nothing worse than unpacking boxes of death on arrival at your new pad. 2. Clean the new house before you arrive if at all possible as then so much easier & faster to unpack. 3. The kitchen always takes the longest so do it first. 4. Remember to pack one set of nice bedding somewhere easily accessible so if you run out of steam you can still have a nice first night’s sleep. 5. Put a bottle of fizz and two flutes in the hand luggage!! #happymoving
I’ve moved a lot. Something that works well for me: I take photos of all my bookcases and cabinets with the stuff as-is. When we unpack, it’s like brainlessly reassembling a puzzle — makes unpacking much quicker, because no one has to think or ask much about what goes where.
This made me chuckle as yes I can agree there will be nothing worse than unpacking dirty or dusty things into a new place.
I will be using all of your suggestions and I did not think of number 5! But yes that is definitely added to the list now
@Maggie8K Actually this is super helpful, I do it when I housesit and move items in cupboards (making room in the kitchen!) so why not when I move? Brillant thank you
I have moved many times, and the tips above are great. Some additional ones that have helped me are:
Go through your belongings 2 weeks before the move and throw out/donate things you don’t absolutely love. There will be a ‘maybe’ pile you can take your time deciding on. A lot of that will go after you have had a few days to get used to the idea of not having those items. Of the items remaining, re-fold or re-stack to get them ready to be packed straight into boxes.
Keep a list of all the services you disconnect, so it’s easy to work through the list to connect them again.
Spend the time to label your boxes and their contents in detail. Get your movers/friends to put the boxes in the correct rooms. Label the rooms in advance if it’s unclear.
If you get offers of help from friends, then take it. Packing and unpacking is so much easier with extra people, and it means you take breaks and have food and drink (rather than pushing through and working too hard).
Set yourself guidelines on when it has to be completely unpacked. I.e. don’t leave those 3 boxes in the spare room to do later
Depending on where you move to, be prepared for the friendly neighbor to drop by and want tea/coffee and a chat. It may not be convenient, but if you have a box ready with cups, tea/coffee and cookies it will be easy for you to take a break and be hospitable to guests.
Movíng is a great time to throw away/donate/sell things. My wife and I lived for 21 years in a house with 3 floors (40 feet by 30 feet) with a shed. We had a lot of room to accumulate stuff and I hate throwing away things (in case I need it one day). My wife suffered (in silence?not ) for all that time. Though in the last year we had the house, the carousel in the cupboard broke and I needed a special metal tube to fix it and I found just what I needed in the basement. It was a great “I told you so” moment for me. When we moved to a 5 1/2 apartment we donated and sold a lot of stuff and made a few thousand bucks in the process. In the end we still had enough left to throw away we had to have a container delivered which we filed to the top. Funny thing is even with all the stuff the house wasn’t cluttered; it was that big. After I had to go through the process once it was easier for me to dispose of things when we moved again two years later. And we are moving again in a few months and again I don’t feel so attached to things. The deal now is that when I buy something I have to dispose of something.
And moving is a great time for cats; all those boxes and wrapping paper.
Thank you, thank you, thank you @karinar & @gchampagne All of these tips and helpful ideas on this thread have blown me away as they are so kind and really practical! I will be using all of them.
@karinar I love the idea of having a pile to see what you keep and what you don’t, having a few days to ‘unattach’ to some of the items is probably what I need
I also have lots of neighbours with dogs, so maybe cups of tea and dog biscuits at the ready!
@gchampagne This is the post I am showing to my husband, it really resonates and lots of great experiences shared, thank you.
Top tip, buy an item then give one away or sell it.
I love the cat ‘moving’ photos This is our first pet-friendly place… so we might be in the position to have house sitters as well as house sit soon
) for all that time. Though in the last year we had the house, the carousel in the cupboard broke and I needed a special metal tube to fix it and I found just what I needed in the basement. It was a great “I told you so” moment for me. 
When we moved to a 5 1/2 apartment we donated and sold a lot of stuff and made a few thousand bucks in the process. 
In the end we still had enough left to throw away we had to have a container delivered which we filed to the top. 
Funny thing is even with all the stuff the house wasn’t cluttered; it was that big. After I had to go through the process once it was easier for me to dispose of things when we moved again two years later. And we are moving again in a few months and again I don’t feel so attached to things. The deal now is that when I buy something I have to dispose of something.
This is our first pet-friendly place… so we might be in the position to have house sitters as well as house sit soon 