Selling your home and moving is one of the biggest life changes and financial decisions you can make. Moving can be extremely difficult considering the process, paperwork and packing!
The key to a successful move is mainly in packing — the more efficiently you pack, the fewer boxes you require. With fewer boxes, the transportation of your contents becomes easy and saves you a lot of money. When you pack smartly, your unpacking process will also be much easier.
We work with many customers at Homesuite who are packing their homes to move after 10, 20 or even 30 years. This article unearths some of the best packing tips that will not only make your move easy but also save you money.
â€"Early bird catches the worm†is the most appropriate phrase when it comes to saving money on your house move. Whether you are moving to a new house in a year or the next two months, now is the time to get organised. Forward-thinking can save you big bucks.Â
Last-minute packing (even while travelling) makes us forget and leave behind a lot of important stuff. It doesn’t even allow us the time to organise our ‘stuff’ properly.
During interstate or local moves, a challenge can be estimating the time it will take for your contents to arrive. People tend to pack a lot of unnecessary belongings in their luggage thinking they are going to need them all.
Ensure that you’ve packed only necessities enough to get you through a couple of days. Simple things like a change of clothes, toiletry, basic kitchen things to get you by. After all, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of your things arrive and you start setting them up in your new home.
Make sure you keep these things safe with you and ask the removalists to not touch these boxes or bags. The last thing you want is for these essentials to get dumped in the transport truck somewhere to be found last.
A moving strategy is a document that outlines all the tasks you need to complete. Listing the tasks can help you stay on track without missing out on vital steps or losing patience.
We often forget tasks and expenses while preparing for a move and have to buy supplies at the last minute, which may not enable us to get the best price deals. Creating a moving strategy gives you ample time to get organised and find things at cheaper prices.
Setting a budget
Listing all your content
Settling outstanding bills and contacting utility services
Collecting packing and storage boxes
Packing items that you don’t need before moving and disposing of unnecessary items
Selling or donating items that you don’t want
Making advance travel arrangements
Coordinating pet arrangements
Redirecting and changing your mailing address
Collecting any spare keys from friends/family.
If you’re hiring removalists then it's best to leave the heavy items for last so they can do the heavy lifting. They can disassemble and organise them in special boxes to carry and move easily.
Make sure you use heavy-duty boxes with weight ratings to carry fragile and heavy items like plates, ceramics, cutlery, pots, vases etc. Reliable movers advise what can be put in them and how much the contents should weigh. Label them clearly and mention HEAVY or FRAGILE on the box so that the removalists are careful when picking up or shifting the boxes.
While you already have a deadline and time limit set for your moving day, it is equally important to set aside a definite budget for each task.Â
Start by assessing your financial capability and determine how much you are willing to spend. It’s easy to overlook expenses when moving to a new house. For example, you may need a new shower curtain or clothes rack. Cumulatively, these small costs can add up, so they should also be considered in the moving budget.
You should also factor in secondary costs like flight tickets, petrol and meals depending on how you’re travelling to the new home. Meals while travelling can be quite costly as you may need to eat out frequently.
Round up on all your expected moving costs and ensure you save some emergency funds for sudden, unexpected issues. You should also keep aside a sum to cover daily expenses.
Working on your move strategy and budget early on avoids conflicts and confusion and also gives time and money to work on any unexpected shortcomings.
Over many years, we tend to collect a lot of items and appliances for our house. We often don’t realise just how much we have until we have to move it with us, so we can underestimate the space we might need on the removalist truck.Â
Most removalists charge by cubic meter so it makes more sense to list items, organise stuff and dispose of all that we don’t need to avoid paying more. Homesuite’s expert decluttering partner can help you make these tough decisions and take the stress out of this process.
The less you take the more you will save. Listing the contents you plan to move allows you to calculate your required space accurately.Â
Labelling your items and boxes is extremely beneficial. You can create inventory lists and stick them to each box along with the room they are going to be kept in. This will make it easy upon arrival and help you greatly as you start unpacking.Â
Keep a copy of these inventory lists along with photos of the contents of each box. If anything goes wrong with the contents of the boxes, you can make an insurance claim.Â
Pack things in smaller boxes to ensure that they are not overloaded beyond their weight carrying capacity. The smaller boxes are easier to carry and place throughout the house without using a trolley. The only problem with bigger, bulkier and awkward shaped boxes is they are difficult to stack in the truck and unpack. Smaller boxes are more manageable.
You don’t necessarily need to buy new furniture for your new home and the price of buying new furniture will definitely exceed the cost of moving what you’ve already got.
It is important to safeguard your belongings therefore it’s crucial to choose a reliable removalist. All of Homesuite’s partners are reputable, insured and police-checked to give you complete peace of mind.
Once you’re through with the move strategy, start packing. The quicker you get on top of packing, the easier it will be to move. Keep only the essentials that you need daily and place all frequently used items together.
If you are overwhelmed with the steps, start here:
Purchase a variety of packing boxes.Â
Pack the smaller, heavier items in small and tough boxes and the larger, lighter items in bigger boxes.
Use old newspaper and magazines or brown paper to wrap up items that you don’t want to be damaged or scratched during transit
Get Clothes Hanger Boxes — they allow you to take the clothes straight from your closet and put them in the same way in vertical boxes. It saves you the effort of reorganising your full closet and saves a lot of time.
If you don’t have enough time or aren’t able to pack yourself, it may be worth hiring a professional packer. They usually charge by the hour and bring in everything required to get the job done.
Start looking to book your move at least 8 to 12 weeks ahead of time.Â
Many removal companies use the backloading strategy where they don’t utilise the total space of the truck but only take up a portion and leave the remaining space for purchase. When you plan things, you might be able to find a removal company that is going to the same destination and is partially full. You can place your belongings in the same truck and save a small fortune on the move.Â
Homesuite has partnered with an expert removalist company that have helped thousands of Australians move into their new home. Call Homesuite on 1300 025 108 to find out how we can support your entire move, from selling your property to moving house.Â
