Moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do, regardless of whether you are a tenant or homeowner, and packing to move is the cause of a large proportion of that stress. But there are things you can do to mitigate that.

Follow these simple steps to help make your packing go smoothly and reduce the number of things you need to worry about when moving.

Organise

Make a list of the things that you will be using right up until moving day and a list of the things that you will need during the first few days in your new home. Keep those items in a separate, open box so that you avoid having to unpack boxes to find them.

A few days before the move, get each member of your family to pack a suitcase with their essentials for the first week in your new home. Include things like:

  • essential paperwork
  • your children’s favourite toys
  • clothes for the first week
  • toothbrushes
  • kettle, mugs and tea & coffee.
  • Make sure that these suitcases are easily accessible.

Make a plan of which rooms you are going to tackle and in what order, and stick to it so that you don’t flit from room to room. The sense of achievement you get from seeing one room completely packed up will help spur you on to do the next one.

Declutter

Don’t waste your time and effort transporting items that you no longer want or need to your new home. Clear out the clutter from your home and give yourself less to pack!

Supplies

Facebook and Freecycle can be great places to pick up moving boxes for free, or it is possible to buy them online.

Making sure you have plenty of high-quality packing supplies on hand before you begin will make the entire process much easier.

You will need:

  • strong boxes
  • packing tape
  • labels
  • permanent pens
  • thick bin bags
  • and bubble wrap.

Start now

As soon as you start to think about moving, you can start preparing. Once you have decluttered, start packing things that you don’t use every day into boxes. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be finished, and we all know how stressful last-minute packing can be.

Be prepared

If you've followed all of the tips above, all you'll need to pack on moving day is your bedding and a few other essentials. By having a box already made up and a roll of thick bin bags to hand, you can easily pop these last few bits into the bags and into the box, ready to go.

Ask for help

If you find packing a bit overwhelming, then consider asking a friend or family member to help or employing a professional packing company to do it all for you. If you need recommendations, just get in touch. We know all the best local people.

Renting

If you are moving rental property we find that most tenants arrange to move into their new rental property about a week before they return the keys for their current rental property.

The advantage of this is it gives them time to go back to the rental property they are leaving to do a thorough clean and ensure that the property is returned in the same condition (allowing for fair wear and tear) in order that they can get their tenancy deposit returned to them in full.

So, try and give yourself time when booking move-out and move-in dates with your landlords.

If you are considering moving home in Preston, Leyland, Chorley or the surrounding areas and would like to be added to our early bird list to be one of the first to hear about our newest rental properties then please give us a call on 01772 284606 or send us an email to office@prlettings.com.