Top 5 House Moving Essentials that you need

Moving house is stressful, period. But, there are house moving essentials that you need to help the process feel less stressful and manageable. Prior to buying my home, I had moved 10 times in the prior 8 years and it was extremely tiring and draining every single time but there are house moving essentials that you need that helped the process along each and every single time. For those who are planning to move in the next few weeks or months then check out my moving house and packing checklist which I used the last time I moved house.

The last 18+ months have been tough on a lot of people and many decisions have been made including relocating from the city to the countryside or downsizing due to career changes or job losses. For those downsizing, you have a couple of options, sell some belongs, donate/give to those in need or keep in storage. For those in Berkshire, *Now Storage self storage in Reading is a good option to consider for those special items you want to retain for the future but don’t have the storage at home anymore as it so happens when people downsize.

*Disclosure – this is a collaborative post, all opinions shared are my own.

Top 5 House Moving Essentials that you need

The last time I moved us was last year as locked down was being implemented which meant I could not hire anyone to help me move but thankfully I wasn’t moving too far from my previous flat. Moving is exhausting and after a while your mind switches gears and all you want to do is get rid of stuff that in the moment you feel you don’t need anymore. There has been many times I have boxed things up for giving/throwing away when before I actually do it, I take one more look and find important documents in them.

To ensure that you don’t get rid of or lose important items during the move, below I share my top 5 house moving essentials that you need to make the process seamless and stress-free (if at all possible).

Packing list

Before you begin the lovely process of moving house, you need to make sure you have a house moving list and this list should cover every single room in your home and a plan for the new rooms in the new place. I moved from a 1-bed flat into a 3-bed house, you would think this would have made things much easier but it was tough until I had a plan for each item in my flat and where it would fit into my new home and in which room. I am meticulous when it comes to decorating my home so much that if the item doesn’t fit the vibe anymore, I sell it or donate it. Having a packing list from your old home that corresponds with your new home.

Declutter – donate or repurpose

I have shared many times on this blog that I personally declutter my life every 6-8 weeks because I am trying to lead a clutter free life. Whilst I have some minimalist tendencies, I think most of the time, my ‘holder’ self takeovers over and this is why I impose these rule of decluttering that often. Decluttering before moving is the best thing you can do, not only does it make your packing list lighter, it gives you an idea of what else you might need for your new home that you currently don’t have. I am a great believer in donating items but there times when you just want to repurpose some items, the packing list will help you determine what gets donated and what will be repurposed (e.g old tea towels can become rugs).

Movers

Hire movers. This is a full sentence by itself because hiring movers is one thing that I recommend for anyone moving. It is often not worth the time you spend packing everything yourself and driving everything to your new location. Once you have decluttered your home, you get an idea of the scale of what you need to pack and what can be delegated to the movers. When I moved last year, I thought I would be saving money by doing it myself and it was a mistake, I spent 2 whole days moving from 1-bed flat into a 3-bed house and this after decluttering (I have too much ‘stuff’). Most of us need to take time off work to move house but using a mover who packs and unpacks means you get time to familiarise yourself with your need surroundings instead of stress about what still needs to be packed.

Moving boxes and bags

If you hired movers then you most probably won’t need to worry about this but there are times when it is more cost effective to purchase the moving boxes and bags somewhere else instead of using the mover’s own. I prefer to use the moving company’s own reusable boxes that they take after they have unpacked everything. Although I moved almost 20 months ago now, I still have moving boxes in my shed and I have not touched that since I unpacked everything. If you are planning to move again, having your own bags and boxes is idea but I have no intention of moving anytime soon so this is just taking up space.

Shopping

I am sure you are wondering why shopping is part of my top 5 house moving essentials that you need when I just finished talking about decluttering – donating or repurposing. This is because once you declutter, you get an idea on what needs to be replaced, what you need to purchase for new spaces in your new location. I moved up in the number of rooms my house contained so shopping became an essential part of my house moving journey. The small sofa I had was no longer suitable for my 3.5m x 4m living room, I needed a larger sofa so I purchased a corner sofa that fit the space better and so on.

Moving house when you have movers is the most stress-free experience ever, just make sure you have taken care of your important documentation (+ your knickers) and let the movers do everything else. If you are going to hire movers, make sure they pack and unpack items too. When was the last time you moved house? Did you have to keep anything in storage?