Moving House: Your top tips

[Dark Knight]

Mobymod
something like that,

[Romig1]

Get pally with the vendors...they may JUST let you move some things in before the alloted hour.

[Manoverboard]

How about this one .... ?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 7397A25075

[Dancing Queen]

Ohhh now that's nice Moby

DK don't forget if you go the other side of the river there will be toll charges to cross the Humber bridge if your wife is working in Hull, I don't know what they charge these days but it was pretty expensive when I lived that way 20 odd years ago.

[Boris+]

I think we'll be planning a move in 2015 - and the planning starts now! So, I'm being disciplined and not buying too much clutter etc., keeping abreast of new design innovations etc., and keeping all important information etc in one central and easily accessible place.

Then hopefully we can actually do the move, change the car and disappear on another cruise - and then I won't move ever again.

Meanwhile I shall distract myself with reading cruise schedules etc.

Em

[Silver_Shiney]

I've moved 29 times in my 46 years married! My only advice is to not string it out too much. I started packing 2 weeks before the move, sometimes 1 week before! The worst and longest drawn out move was to the next door house!!! It took ages to get sorted. I always found it easier moving to another country! Another difficult move was just after the twins were born, OH was in Ireland so had to do everything mysef, with 2 babies and a toddler!!!!

Those "march-outs" were a trial, weren't they?

[Silver_Shiney]

Kev, put a coloured label on everything, stating which room it's to go in - a different colour for each room, and give the removal men a map of the house, coloured in to match the labels to ensure they don't put stuff in the wrong room. We were going to set up the main bedroom for our two daughters, but the removal men put our furniture in there. We didn't know until it was too late - they'd come over from Uxbridge ahead of us, as we had to hand-over the married quarter, and when we got here, they were standing on the pavement wondering who to give the key to as they were leaving.

[Manoverboard]

Make an inventory to include every last thing that is being moved, something will get nicked for sure and the problem is that you don't spot it straight away so may miss the agreed ' claim period '.

Prior to us moving to Darzet we had a good old clearout, Mobietta kept saying " Out with the old and in with the new " ... and we still had stuff nicked, barstewards and ex cons the lot of them

[Holiday Planner]

The first thing you should do, once you're in your new home is make up the bed. That way, when you're exhausted after a hard day's unpacking you can just fall into bed, without having to search for the bedding first.

[GillD46]

The first thing you should do, once you're in your new home is make up the bed. That way, when you're exhausted after a hard day's unpacking you can just fall into bed, without having to search for the bedding first.

I would go further and take ALL your bedding for your own bed, in your car with you. Two moves ago, we let the removals men pack all our fresh bedding but spent absolutely hours searching for my neck care pillow, which had been packed to fill another box and was in the garage!

Last move, I made certain all fresh bedding, including the linen, duvet, pillows and mattress topper, was in the car, so I knew EXACTLY where to find it.

[Boris+]

Hi Angela,

That's a really sound idea, but the very first thing which we do is to put up the bedroom curtains, then the lounge curtains and so on. But, you are quite correct, once the main curtains are up, then it's time to make the bed.

Em

[Manoverboard]

Curtains are fairly low on our list of things to do ... we use ' fold down ' paper blinds which can be cut to size and then be fitted with Velcro tape to the upper window frame.

Bedding, a few plates and eating irons plus the coffee machine etc are all in tea chests with 2" coloured tape round them for ease of recognition, for the first week we would eat out at the local Pub or have conveniece meals via an online delivery from Waitrose or Sainsbugs.

[Boris+]

Some really good notions are coming up - and I'm taking notes.

Ok, so it's not going to be until about 2015, but there's no harm in thinking about it and planning a little bit now.

Emm

[Silver_Shiney]

Hi Angela,

That's a really sound idea, but the very first thing which we do is to put up the bedroom curtains, then the lounge curtains and so on. But, you are quite correct, once the main curtains are up, then it's time to make the bed.

Em

Actually, the VERY first thing to do is to check that the outgoing people have left the curtain rails up. We moved house a few years ago and they'd removed all the rails, so while the Lady C and our neighbour continued moving our stuff (we were only going round the corner) I had to hightail it down to Wickes to buy new curtain rails!

[GillD46]

We have always "made do" with the previous owner's curtains/ blinds that have been left insitu until we have been able to get curtains and/or blinds made to measure. But if you're unlucky enough to not have any there, then I'm sure you'll be so shattered by bed time, you won't worry too much about the window dressings.

So glad we are NEVER moving again!

[Boris+]

The curtain rail thing is going to be a bit of a juggling act really - thinking ahead - our next home is probably going to be not a new-build, but we are going to want to have major decorating done at a very early stage - involving plastboard which has enhanced insulation properties etc. So, it's going to involve a new central heating system (possibly under floor) but more likely than not a normal central heating system which will have pipes underneath the new plasterboard etc., oh heck - the more I think about it now, the more I need to plan.

The move is still intended - but the more I think about it, the more the planning needs to be started as early as possible. I think I'll need to allow for a maximum of heck and pandamonium duration of 2 months?

Em

[Kenmo1]

Just remember that you will need a lot of patience for all those tradespeople who say they will be there between 9 and 12 - just accept that they mean 12 at least. Another morning wasted waiting for a job to be done.

[Stephen]

we are moving to East Yorkshirem funnily enough, near to Hull
the South is safe for now

Phew, had me worried there for a minute oh darkest one. i was about to go out to the garage and start building the barrier

[Kenmo1]

Five workmen arrived at 7.45am today and are all busily working away sorting loft electricity, loft ladders, insulation etc etc in the loft. Everyday I realise that I could not live in a house which requires a lot of renovating - anyone who copes with that situation has my full admiration. Therefore, my advice to you Dark Knight is to make sure you buy a house that doesn't need anything done.

[Lincoln18]

Sell first. Rent. Then buy.

[The Monocled Mutineer]

After leaving my parents home to get married at 21 we are in our third marital home (3 years, 17 years and coming up to 16 years in our present home).

Here to stay, as far as I am concerned. Love where we live. Would prefer to spend on improvements, etc rather than on legal fees, estate agent commission, stamp duty and "Pickfords".

Next move will be in a pine box.

[Dark Knight]

Mr Kane
we didn't pay any of those costs, my wife's employer did, plus a very generous disturbance allowance, plus carpeting though out the whole house, plus a few other bits and bobs, which meant our only contribution was the very large deposit we were able to put down on the house

these are fairly standard terms when you have a decent job and a company who value you enough to invest in you, and you don't earn less than a burger flipper

[Not so ancient mariner]

Mr Kane
we didn't pay any of those costs, my wife's employer did, plus a very generous disturbance allowance, plus carpeting though out the whole house, plus a few other bits and bobs, which meant our only contribution was the very large deposit we were able to put down on the house

these are fairly standard terms when you have a decent job and a company who value you enough to invest in you, and you don't earn less than a burger flipper

How the other half live.....! Though I must admit my employer did pay for the costs of buying & selling houses and removal company fees when I moved oop north from Wiltshire.

[The Monocled Mutineer]

Dark Knight:

Although the only burger's I've flipped are those on my four-figure barbecue and although my earnings have declined following redundancy in 2002, I consider myself fortunate to have made the final house move in 1998 into a property that is just about perfect in my eyes with an enviable positition not only in the very pretty village I live in but also because it is located in fine county of Hampshire in the heart of the rural idyll that is the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, yet only an hour from London (rail) and Heathrow (car), the best seaside resorts (weather-wise) and Southampton port only 45 mins.

In the last 10 years we have to bump along a few times but have never enjoyed life and good things and activities more than ever, appreciating them even more now, now that they are hard-won.

As I work now p/t for the local newspaper and p/t as the parish clerk for the village we live in and Mrs K is the membership manager for a national charity based nearby, it is hardly likely that we would be promoted to move, especially at our age, but if we were, I would consider it a major decline in my quality of life to move away from where we are now and ... especially up north.

[GillD46]

Dark Knight:

Although the only burger's I've flipped are those on my four-figure barbecue and although my earnings have declined following redundancy in 2002, I consider myself fortunate to have made the final house move in 1998 into a property that is just about perfect in my eyes with an enviable positition not only in the very pretty village I live in but also because it is located in fine county of Hampshire in the heart of the rural idyll that is the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, yet only an hour from London (rail) and Heathrow (car), the best seaside resorts (weather-wise) and Southampton port only 45 mins.

In the last 10 years we have to bump along a few times but have never enjoyed life and good things and activities more than ever, appreciating them even more now, now that they are hard-won.

As I work now p/t for the local newspaper and p/t as the parish clerk for the village we live in and Mrs K is the membership manager for a national charity based nearby, it is hardly likely that we would be promoted to move, especially at our age, but if we were, I would consider it a major decline in my quality of life to move away from where we are now and ... especially up north.

Derek, living in the UK's first designated Area of Outstsnding Natural Beauty myself (the Gower Peninsula in 1956) I can qute understand why you wouldn't wish to move. We moved here seven months ago (moved back here for me since I was fortunate enough tohave been born onthe Gower) and it cost us a pretty penny in the associated costs such as you mentioned, making improvements or extending makes a great deal of sense if you are happy where you are - as we are now.