Moving house can be an extremely stressful period of your life, in fact, it has been named as the third most stressful life event ever! It’s a daunting prospect, packing up your life to settle in a new home. Even if you’ve done it once before, 41% of people reported that moving for the second time was even more stressful than the first and 19% suffered from anxiety due to the move. Trust me, when I moved into my new home in Bedford I was feeling the stress.
Don’t let moving house affect your health, sure it’s a hassle but not one that should have sort of detrimental effect on your physical or mental health. Here is my advice and top tips to enable you to have the least stressful experience as possible from start to finish! I wish I had these when I moved!
Choose your moving date
And choose it well. It’s good to pinpoint and agree a moving date once contracts have been exchanged. You should also consider the day of the week you want to move on, for example try and avoid Fridays as these tend to be busy therefore more expensive in terms of removal firms! Mid-week is a lot less stress, and cheaper!
Disconnect your white goods
Make sure any washing machines, cookers, fridges and dishwashers are disconnected for when your removal company turns up as it’s unlikely that they will be able to do this for you! If you’re not confident in disconnecting certain items such as a gas cooker it’s worth getting a professional in to do it for you. If you’re planning on moving your household items yourself then you should make sure you’re goods are covered by your contents insurance whilst on the move.
Get rid of the children and pets
Ok, not literally…but the day will be long and stressful so it’s a good idea to ship the kids off to their grandparents, and the dog too. It will make life much easier!
Checklist
Possessions can often go awry for unknown reasons when moving, so if you’re the organised type make a checklist of important or valuable goods. That way when you’re unpacking you can check everything off as it’s comes out of the box without forgetting anything!
Change the locks
It’s recommended that you should always check the locks on your new home. That way you can have peace of mind that only you have access to your house. Just think, how do you know the previous home owners didn’t hand out keys to family and friends? Local domestic locksmiths will be your saving grace! Use local sites as well as google to find a reliable and trustworthy locksmith near you.
Notify change of address
Remember to notify your employee, bank, friends, government and whoever else sends you mail that you’re moving house. It can take a while to sort and be a real pain but you don’t want your private information and bank statements ending up in someone else’s hands.
And relax!
You’ve done it, all the hard work and stress is finally over and you can enjoy your new home. So put your feet up, relax and crack open a bottle of wine!