Welcome to my second article in my moving house series.

Do you feel overwhelmed with all the things you need to do to move house?

Do you have a lot of stuff to sort through? I understand and feel your pain. I like anyone have accumulated stuff and things that I would not know what to do with.  Many of these things are related to kids and therefore means we might have more junk than useful items.

If you are like me, you will need to sort through all your things to ensure that you are not going to move junk or unwanted items to the new house.

Below is a list of how to break up your items so that you can only keep the essentials to put in the moving van:

• Keep
• Give away to charity or to friends
• Or throw away due to not working or being broken. Some items might be able to be recycled.
• Sell – You might have some lovely furniture that is too big for the new place or that you no longer have any use for. How about organising a garage sale and making a few dollars from your loved items to help with the move or maybe for night out.

  

With the above list you need to think about the following:

• Keep – Have you used the item in the last year. Do you love it? Is it something that holds sentimental value? If you have more than one should you keep two? If you regularly use the item, then keep it. If you are not using it, you might need to think about giving it away if it is still in good order.
• Give away – Make sure that what you are thinking of giving away is in good order. By this I mean is it clean, not broken and can be used like it should be. If the answer is NO then maybe this item cannot be given away. It might need to be recycled or thrown out. If the answer is YES then by all means give it to someone that can use the item.
• Throw away – Yes hard to do but if the item is broken it is wise to get rid of it. You are just storing things that you are not using. Why pay for movers to take more items to the new house that you are not using and therefore fill up more space that could be used for other things. Get rid of the things that are not working and you are not using! You will feel better for it. TRUST ME!
• Sell – If you find that you have some lovely pieces of furniture or artwork or anything really that you don’t have the space for it might be a good thing to sell them. You could host a garage sale or maybe even sell them via the community pages online (many social media sites have local sites dedicated to selling or even giving items away to people that need them). This is a good way to get a little extra cash and also your beloved items are going to someone that loves them just as much as you do. So it is a win all round.

So once you have sorted through your things to figure out what needs to be packed you can then start packing…. Phew I hear you say! Or maybe some other strong word.

If you are thinking thank god that is all sorted maybe you need a drink to just relax.  I’ll wait until you finish your beverage………………. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh all done. Great!  Now here are the tips that can help you pack with ease and of course have a stress free move.

7 Packing Tips to help you move house

1. Start early – Don’t leave the packing to the last minute. It is a good idea to allow about six weeks to get it all done. You might have it done earlier but at least this gives you ample time to pack everything and to not race around like a mad person.”
2. Label everything! – I know it sounds obvious but make sure you have labels printed out or at the least write on the boxes what is in it and what room it is for. For example: Kitchen, cutlery, plates, and bowls. Having labels on boxes makes it so much easier when you get to the new place. You will know what room the box goes in and if you are looking for a certain item you can clearly see on the box if this item would be in it. Here are some extra tips from Hire A Packer about packing up your kitchen.
3. Don’t pack boxes heavier than 20kg – If the boxes are too heavy you will not be able to lift them and the box might break too. Make sure you pack heavy items at the bottom of the box and lighter ones on the top of the box. Also make sure that don’t over pack the box.
4. Use quality boxes – Don’t use garbage bags to move, they can tear and cause you more issues. You don’t want to have your things falling out everywhere. Good strong cardboard boxes are best. The boxes also can handle more weight so that is good if you have a lot of heavy items. If you need boxes for your move Hire A Box has some that you can purchase or hire.
5. Pack one room at a time – If you pack one room at a time you will feel more organised. Packing a whole house is a HUGE job so doing one room at a time makes it more manageable. Make sure to pack the items you don’t use all the time first, this way if you need something that you use it is easier to find.
6. Pack a travel bag – This travel bag will have changes of clothes, toiletries and other essential items. It is a good idea to have it with you so that you are not going through boxes when you are at the new house. If you have your toothbrush, pj’s and a change of clothes that will save you getting annoyed when you are super tired from the move. Make it easy and have all the things that you think you might need on your first night with you or really easy to find.
7. Hire Packing Professionals – So if going through all your bits/things and much adored stuff was stressful, hiring packers to pack all your items is the way to go! The team at Hire A Packer are experts and can have your house packed up in hours. Yes, you heard that right, hours.No arguments with the partner, nobody telling you not to do it that way. Leave it to the professionals to organise and you will be a very happy person and of course family.You could even go off to the pub for lunch while your house is getting packed up…. I think that sounds much better if it was me moving.

Unpacking Service

Did you know that the wonderful staff at Hire A Packer can also unpack and put things away in your new house! What a brilliant idea and again this would lower my stress levels.  This can all happen in one day! Yes one day…. I would be unpacking and sorting the house out for weeks, maybe months with kids and other things that need to happen.

Hire A Packer believes “moving should be a pleasant experience”. If this was how I moved last time it would have been a very happy experience.

Would you like to have someone pack your house and then unpack and sort your new house out for you? I know I would.

Do you think that this would change how you move in the future? I think it is well worth the investment as I hate moving and now with three kids it would be a fabulous helping hand. Someone to pack and unpack would be a dream come true! 

Let us know what you did with your last move? Did you do it yourself or hire professionals to help you out? Also what tips did you learn from the experience?

The next post in the Moving House Series will be live in December, and will be about boxes. Making sure you have the right box is super important.

I hope this list of tips helps you with your next big move.

This post was written in conjunction with Hire A Mover, a Sydney Removal company.