Lessons I've learnt on packing up and moving home.

I have learnt some very valuable lessons over the past few weeks. Not only about packing and moving house, but also about mindset and why, no matter how hard you try - if you are not in the right mindset to do or change something, it just won’t happen.

As many of you know, if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram I have just moved home. Not only have I moved home, but we have moved one and a half hours south from Warwick to Yate in South Gloucestershire which is also very near Bristol. 

I knew I was making this move from about August last year but it was only at the end of January that we had eventually completed on our house and could finally think about actually moving (we were lucky enough to be renting beforehand so no chain, and the new house needed a lot of work doing to it). But, despite me knowing we now had a finite amount of time before all our possessions had to be loaded onto a van I still couldn’t get my head around packing.

That was because my mind wasn’t in it. Yes, I was excited about the move so we could be closer to family but I also was going to miss all my friends in Warwick massively.  My business was there, my life was there and I couldn’t get my head around it not being. My daughter was moving schools and was struggling with that emotionally and our house wasn’t ready on the other side so I couldn’t yet imagine myself in that home.

I faffed with some boxes and packed some vases that I knew I wouldn’t need in the next few weeks, but trying to pack any of the day to day stuff was hard! What if we needed it before we moved? I didn’t want to pack in dribs and drabs. I wanted to pack all my categories together so leaving one pan and one bowl out just seemed wrong! All my organising logic went out of the window!

I tried to find blogs to give me checklists I could work through but other than ‘tell your energy supplier you’re moving’ and ‘eat your freezer food’ I failed on helpful blogs.

I also realised that despite regularly decluttering the day to day items in my home, I still had a lot of stuff! I am an Arts and Crafts collector and I didn’t even realise it. I had been working on a ‘what if’ basis and not following my own rules!

Crunch time

Then, a couple of weeks ago I came down to see the house my boyfriend had so studiously been working on and it started to look like I could live there. The walls had been painted white which was a massive step up from Wallpaper Nirvana that was there before and I’d found a kitchen I liked which had partially been installed. It was coming together! Yes, there was still loads to do (I’m currently writing this in our bedroom, surrounded by boxes, listening to our floor being fitted downstairs) but we were getting there and…HOLY SHIT…I was moving in two weeks!

So after some hyperventilating and crying, I called in a friend who had offered to help me pack and we got on with it. Keeping all the categories together didn’t matter so long as boxes were labelled well. Using the right size box didn’t always have to happen as there was always something else to pad it out with! (who knew I had that many throws and cushions!). 

The second van load of our stuff!

Lessons I learnt so you don't have to!

Despite our hard work, there was still a lot left in the last couple of days and some stuff I had no idea what to do with so below are my tips to think about if you are moving soon.

Declutter as you go - Touching items more than once is a waste of time. Use this time to declutter items as you go. Use my 8 questions ebook to help you.

Bigger is not better when it comes to boxes - Removal companies seem to love big boxes but, due to most things being heavy (think books, pans, crockery etc) then small and medium-sized boxes are much more useful so try and get more of these than you think you will ever need.

Meal plan - It’s in my tips for life too but meal planning not only means you have some idea of what you’re eating after a long day of cleaning and packing but you also know what pots and pans you will need. Keep those out as well as a spatula, tongs, spoon etc to cook with and pack all your other items away. Worst comes to worst get a takeaway - calories don’t count when you’re moving house!

Clean as you go - Because of my haphazard packing at the start it meant that some cupboards were empty and some weren’t. Because of this, I thought it would be easier to clean everything at the end but oh, how wrong I was! After packing the last bits and stressing as the removal men turned up the last thing I wanted to be doing was to be left on my own cleaning cupboards and wiping down skirting boards for hours after my boyfriend had ‘moved in’ and the removal men had unloaded everything and gone home for their tea.

Label boxes clearly - This might sound obvious but if you’re rushing to pack items this might get left off. Or if you have kids who are ‘helping to pack’ they might not realise this is necessary. Make your format clear to everyone, including the removal men. We used:

FRAGILE 

ROOM

ITEM

We also used fragile tape to highlight those boxes clearly.

Make sure you always mark the top clearly and at least one long and short side so that you can see what's in the box, whichever way you’re looking at it.

Parcel tape is crap - Being eco friendly is sadly not your friend here. The more the better - double layer and tape every which way to secure the box. I’d also recommend paying a bit extra for better tape. Pound shop stuff might not cut the mustard on this one.

Put together an ESSENTIALS bag and box and don’t let it leave your sight - This box doesn’t just need to house coffee and a kettle but things like dishcloths, snacks and most importantly PJs and your shower/toiletries bag for the first night. I thought I’d started this box but in all the commotion the removal men chucked my bag in an unlabelled box and buried it deep in the pile so I couldn’t find it until two days later.

Don’t do it if you don’t have to - Yes, we all have to move sometime but if you have the funds I would recommend getting someone to help you pack. Whether it’s just the fragile items or the whole house, if you’re short on time this is definitely the way forward.

Shop around for removal companies - The most expensive isn’t always the best! We had quotes from £800 to £2,500 for the same amount of stuff and the same trip! We were blown away by some of the costs so, after reading recommendations and checking that they still had insurance to cover any damages, we were happy to go with the better value removal company and would recommend them to anyone moving in Warwickshire.

Lower your expectations - Moving house is classed as one of the top four most stressful things to do, so even if you have people packing and moving for you take it easy on yourself. Don’t plan to do anything else on the other side other than find your nearest takeaway and maybe celebrate with some champagne. Other than making the bed so you can fall in to it, that is all you need to do!

Are you a seasoned mover? What tips would you add and do you agree with the ones above? Let me know in the comments!

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