14 Tips for Moving House

Whether you’re moving out of your childhood home, upsizing for a future family, or downsizing from four bedrooms to one, moving house is one of those things that never gets less stressful. In fact, as you get older and acquire more things, it can end up being more stressful than ever! Getting rid of unwanted junk while packing up what you want to keep, arranging transport and juggling dates with the removal van and utility companies can feel like wading through mud sometimes.

If you’ve found your way here, however, the chances are that you already know that! If you’re struggling to organise the chaos, we present 14 moving house tips to help you get unstuck and to the other side of the mire.

How To Pack When Moving House

Packing can be one of the most overwhelming aspects of moving house, and for good reason - if you’ve spent years accumulating things, then moving them from their places and packing them into boxes can stir up a lot of emotions and stress. While you can’t avoid that, here are a few packing tips for moving house that can make the whole process a little easier.

1. Empty Your Storage Spaces

If you normally operate on an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ basis, this won’t help you when packing. You need to get your items where you can see them - or at least to a more accessible location. Spend a few days bringing things up from the cellar or down from the attic. If you need to empty a storage unit to move, try and get as many items home as possible. You’ll have to sacrifice floor space (or entire rooms) to do it, but once it’s done, sorting through your things won’t require climbing a ladder or driving to your unit every time. That way you can get your packing done in far more bite-sized chunks!

2. Sort Through Your Things

It can be tempting to move with everything you own and just store it in your new attic, but the cost of a moving van is nothing to blink at - let alone two! Moving house is the perfect opportunity to go through your things and get rid of what you don’t need. Give it to friends, take it to charity or hire a skip and throw it out in bulk.

3. Separate Room-by-Room

Label up your boxes and separate your things by room. You’ll thank yourself later when you can find everything you need! Think about your future self as you pack and having boxes labelled ‘kitchen’, ‘living room’ and ‘bathroom’ will make your life far easier on the other side.

4. Dismantle the Furniture

Does most of your furniture come flat-packed? You’re in luck - it’ll be easy to dismantle! Moving van space is as precious as gold, and you’ll only get so much of it before you need to pay for an extra van. Grab your Allen keys and screwdrivers and start dismantling. With any luck, you’ll cut down the space your items need by more than half. This part can also be fun so it could be a great de-stressing activity if you’re feeling wound up about the move.

5. Pack a Suitcase

Before you start organising your stuff for the van, it’s time to pack the necessities. Bundle up clothes, underwear, shampoo, toilet paper, towels and toothbrushes into a suitcase you can take in the car. If anything goes wrong with the moving van, this will be your lifeline - you don’t want to end up at your new home with nothing! This will also help you to manage day-to-day living while all your things are still in boxes.

6. Sort Out the Boxes

Once you’ve packed your things, it’s time to sort them by order of priority. China and ornaments can probably be stored for longer, while you’ll want to retrieve things like clothes and chairs first. Set the boxes with important items aside to be packed into the van last - that way you’ll be able to retrieve them first on the other side.

Things to Do Before Moving House

7. Save the Date

To do most of your preparation, you’ll need to have a moving date lined up. If you’ve gone through the process of buying your new home, you’ll already know when this is - just remember to add it to the calendar! You’ll have to provide it when talking to the removal service, the utility companies and the council about your tax.

8. Notify Everyone

It’s time to get your phone and address book out! Notifying everyone is an important step to make sure that you, your friends and family, and the government are all on the same page. The last thing you want is your post getting delivered to the wrong address.

Make a list of people you’ll need to call and allocate some time to go through it. Not everyone needs to know before you move, but it’s often the best policy to do this sooner rather than later.

Family and Friends: You’re moving address - that means that your friends won’t be able to find you at your old place! Make sure they know where you’re moving so they don’t go knocking on a stranger’s door. If your house phone is changing, give out your new number too!

The Council: Your council needs to know when you’ll be moving, so that you can stop paying tax in your old area and start in the new. Inform them online or over the phone and give them your move-out date. You should also call the new council so that they can calculate your tax start date.

Utility Companies: Bills, bills, bills… you’ll always have to pay them, but you can at least make sure that you’re paying the right ones. Water and electricity providers need to know when you’re moving so that they can charge you accurately, and failing to inform them could cause issues with your payments. Call your providers as soon as you know your moving date!

Internet Provider: A new house means a new phone line, which means a new router, which means new Wi-Fi. It’s no secret that connection is hard to come by when you’ve just moved house, but you can reduce the amount of time you have to wait by letting your provider know about the move in advance.

Your Bank: Your bank should know when your move-in date is and what your new address is. If you tell them far enough in advance, you won’t have to worry about security checks taking too much time.

Royal Mail: Get a redirection notice in place to send your mail to your new address. Royal Mail will be happy to talk you through the process, and it’ll help to reduce the stress of missing bills or important letters.

Medical Services: You want to have a doctor and dentist lined up in case of emergencies, so make sure that you’ve transferred yourself to a new practice. This should be done as close to your moving date as possible, so that you don’t go without.

9. Finish off the Groceries

You’ll need to empty your fridge and freezer before you move, so leftovers are your new best friend. Avoid doing a fresh supermarket shop and start planning meals to make sure that your fridge and freezer are empty at least a day before the move. Whether you’re getting rid of the fridge before you go or taking it with you to the new place, the last thing you want to do is leave a half-full bottle of milk inside when it happens.

10. Clear Out the Trash

It’s time to get rid of everything you don’t want to move with. Everything old, unwanted and un-reusable should be gathered and thrown out, whether that involves hiring a HIPPOBAG or making several trips to the tip. The last thing you want on moving day is to find that you’ll have to spend time throwing out your waste!

Things to Do After Moving House

11. Change your Address

Now that you’ve moved, it’s time to change your address with a final list of need-to-knows. While you can do this beforehand, some services can change your address immediately and doing it several months in advance of moving isn’t necessary. Always look up the service you use or give them a call to make sure they don’t need to be contacted in advance. 

The Electoral Register: Make sure that your details are registered at your new address online. This should be done for every eligible member of the household, and you can do it for everyone at the same time if you need to.

Subscriptions: Whether they’re digital or physical, your subscription services will usually have your address for billing or for delivery details. Make sure to change the address on all these services so that you don’t struggle to use them in future - this includes your TV licence!

Insurance: Car and house insurance companies need to know when you’ve moved. This helps your transactions and direct debits to continue as smoothly as possible.

The DVLA: You’ll need to get your address updated on your driver’s licence, which involves letting them know that you need a new card online. If you’ve done this, you can still drive while you’re waiting for the change, so it doesn’t usually need to be done too far in advance.

12. Sort Boxes into Rooms

If you’ve labelled all your boxes properly, this should be a breeze. Move all the boxes into the rooms they need to be in, meaning that when you start unpacking, you’ll be able to do a short stint in each room rather than spending time carting your items from the corridor up and down the stairs.

13. Refill your Fridge

It’s a pain, but you can’t live off takeout forever - you should get your fridge restocked. Take some time to go to the supermarket and do a regular shop. Cooking helps to structure your day and keep you motivated to do the rest of the unpacking, and it can also make a new house feel more like home.

14. Treat Yourself 

Pat yourself on the back and relax - you’ve successfully moved! There are bound to be a few more tasks to complete, but for now, get a drink and kick back in your new home. Make sure to get plenty of rest to help you deal with the next few steps - settling in can be stressful, too!

What to Do when Moving House

Moving is stressful. You’re picking up your whole life and transferring it to a new location, with new surroundings and new people to meet.

Getting rid of the clutter and waste can help to lighten the load, however - and if you have a lot of it, why not hire HIPPO to help you out?

While some stress is inevitable, we hope that our tips have helped your move to go as smoothly as possible. Remember, even if there are bumps in the road, the relief at the end will be more than worth it.