Preparing to move into a new house can be stressful, in fact, moving home has been rated as one of the top 4 stressful experiences anyone can ever go through in life – but it doesn’t have to be!
Moving within the same town or locality can be hard enough but if you are relocating from an area to another town or village this can add to your anxiety. There are several things to do before moving day and, after that, there is a whole lot more of tasks to get through. The best advice anyone can give to you is to organise yourself and your family for the big move. Gathering up all the ‘to do’s’ is easy once you consider all avenues and a moving day checklist is vital to keep you in control and save you from an anxiety bubble. Here are some of our tips on moving with this handy checklist and time frame.
As soon as you go ‘sale agreed’ do these things as listed, especially if you have kids:
- Arrange new schools for your children, childcare (if applicable) and research doctors and dentists in the area. Check out your local county council too for everything you need to know and to calculate your property tax.
- Start boxing up stuff that you won’t need in the coming weeks. De-clutter your home and get rid of excess rubbish. Tell people you will be moving and if you are renting ensure your landlord knows of the situation.
A month, yes, a month before moving, you should organise the following:
- New utility contracts for your new property. Find the cheapest deals and ones that have offered a good special or opening offer. Consider this as a chance to get rid of suppliers you may have disliked, this is a fresh start after all.
- Buy new furniture if needed and plan to get rid of the stuff you don’t need. Be tough and empty your present home out as this will make moving a lot easier. Get a skip and dump whatever needs to go.
- Sell stuff that is too good for the skip and accept that you may have to live out of boxes for a while until you have moved.
- Speaking of boxes, get everything you can box up packed away up now. It will save time later. All those vases, ornaments and things you don’t need out can go away. If you have kids put away their stuff or as much as you can but do it when they aren’t around as kids can be tricky like that.
- If you need to get a van or a moving company now is the time to arrange it along with chatting to friends and family asking/begging them to help too.
- Arrange childcare for moving day and if you have pets consider a kennel or a family member to take them during the difficult first few moving days.
- Clear out the attic and other areas of the house you use for storage.
- Notify friends, family and your work of your change of address.
- Book time off work to be able to move as easily as possibly.
A week before:
- Once everything is packed, keep a small collection of essentials such as a kettle, cups, spoons, coffee/tea, food and drink essentials. Don’t forget to keep toothbrushes, toilet roll, chargers, and research takeaway places near your new home. You will not be in any mood to cook!
- Check in with your solicitor and estate agent. Make sure everything is going to plan and prepare yourself for any eventuality. If things get held up have a contingency plan in place.
- Clean everything before you move. Remember new owners or tenants should be able to move in easily as you are into your new home.
- Defrost the freezer and deep clean the fridge. Take down curtains if they are going with you.
Moving day
- Check your utilities meter readings and take photos of them for your reference.
- Hand in keys when leaving and don’t forget to lock up everything properly.
- Finally, don’t forget to collect your new keys – enjoy your new home!
If you are considering buying or selling in the South Wicklow and North Wexford areas in 2018, call into one of our offices (located in Carnew and Gorey) and chat to any of our expert team or you can contact us online at kinsellaestates.ie. We are happy to facilitate overseas buyers and sellers via Skype or similar, outside of regular office hours. Alternatively, email me directly on michael@kinsellaestates.ie or telephone: +353 53 94 21718