We all love the idea of moving home. The excitement it can bring to move into a new house, put your own stamp on it, begin a new life and build new memories. However, there is one thing that we don’t all love (well, some of us might!) and that is the process of moving home. Packing boxes, organising your belongings and trying to organise everything you need to do, so we have put together this handy guide to packing up, tidying up and moving on!
10 Tips To Help You Prepare For Moving
Take a look at our quick checklist of 10 things to think about when preparing to move home.
Gather Boxes And Containers. You will need these to store things away in. Label them with useful information that will help make unpacking easier. Also, highlight any items that are fragile so that you know to be extra careful with that box.
Start Packing Away Items. Anything that you no longer use or won’t have a need for before the move you can pack up now. By clearing away things that aren’t needed, will also help you preparing items that you could take to the local charity shop, recycle or pass on to friends and family. Remember, if you don’t want it, someone might!
Book The Movers Or Truck Hire. If you are using a furniture removal company, book well in advance. If you are using a truck hire company and plan on doing it yourself, make sure you again book in advance and closely consider the size of the truck that you will need; probably better booking too big than too small to save petrol costs of additional journeys.
Use Up The Food In Your Freezer. It is going to be highly unlikely that you will be able to take it all with you and it is good to reduce the amount of tricky items you need to transport.
Get Your Mail Redirected. Notify banks, utility companies and other providers that you are planning to move and arrange to have change of address – no one wants to have mail going missing.
Review Your Household Services. Change the details for TV subscriptions, phone, electricity, lawn mowing, window cleaning, rubbish removal and others to your new property.
Get Moving Insurance. Make sure that your belongings are covered during your move, review your household insurance policies to check that any breakages or losses that occur will be covered.
Plan Your Moving Day. Set a schedule, it can be a hectic day and having a schedule can help keep you on track.
Be Prepared. Get your important documents and records together and ensure they’ll be safe during the move.
Save Money Relocating With A Rental Truck
NZ truck rentals are a great way to move house without a hefty moving cost, even if it’s just across town. If you’d rather spend that money on your new home, here are some tips to move house safely without breaking the bank.
Get Free Labour. Fit and able friends and relatives can help immensely with packing and moving your worldly goods, so try and get as many people on board to help as possible.
Keep Everyone Safe. Make sure everyone knows how to lift heavy objects without hurting themselves. Hand trucks and trolleys can be invaluable for moving heavy items.
Keep Everyone Motivated. Provide free food and drink to keep the troops happy. Shout them a pizza or have a barbeque at the end of the day and offer to return the favour.
Get Free Boxes. Supermarkets and shops are constantly throwing away their cardboard boxes, so don’t be afraid to raid a skip to get what you need. Banana boxes in particular work great as they have built in handles. For boxes that don’t, consider cutting some in before you start.
Use Rope Instead Of Tape. Once tape is used, it’s gone, and the heavy duty tape required for packing can be pricey. Rope is reusable and you can borrow from friends or use any you have lying around.
Use Old Blankets For Packaging. It’s essential to pad items properly when moving, but blankets can do just as well as expensive commercial padding. Just ensure there are several thick layers on delicate surfaces such as wood and glass, and that it is all bound tightly.
Get Insurance. Of course, if nothing goes wrong this won’t save you money at all – but if something breaks or gets lost or stolen in transit, it can be extremely costly to replace.
Lighten Your Load
Moving home is an exciting and changing time, giving you an opportunity to start a new life in a new place, and to adjust your home and living accordingly. This makes it the perfect time to assess how much of your furniture and possessions you really, truly need. When we stay in one place for a long time, we have a tendency to hoard things and squirrel them away “just in case”. Moving house means a fresh slate, so why not take the time to sort through your items and make some tough decisions on what stays and what goes? It will also make packing your rental truck and transporting everything much simpler, plus it will be easier to get everything settled into your new home.
Discarding old objects needn’t be a waste, either. There are many worthy ways to get rid of your stuff or recycle, because after all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
Garage Sales. Easy and simple as you don’t need to go anywhere or transport goods, think about proceeds going to charity to encourage more participation.
Online Auctions. Larger objects such as tables and chairs, or more expensive items are best sold online to get the best price.
Second Hand Stores. Many organisations depend on the donation of items, and if yours are in good condition they could very well help with a worthy cause. You can also give to charities that redistribute items directly to those who could not otherwise afford them.
Give Aways. You can pass on items still in good working order to relatives and friends for free. Particularly appliances that still work, or essential items such as beds and tables – these can be great for those starting a new home themselves.
Trash It. Many rubbish processing centres have drop-off points for unwanted furniture, clothes and other household items that are sorted and resold at local recycle retail outlets.
7 Of The Best Packing Tips
Once you have all the moving preparation in place its time to start packing! Packing up and moving house is an exciting experience, but it can also be a stressful one. Making sure that every last item will fit into your rental truck may at first seem like a bit of a puzzle, but there are some tips you can implement to make it much easier on yourself.
Don’t leave everything to the last minute; spread the packing out over several days.
Label the essential boxes containing items you’ll want as soon as you arrive, such as kitchen appliances
Use extra, separate padding for fragile items, and write “Fragile” on multiple sides of the box.
Packing tape can be used to both seal and reinforce boxes, so make sure you have plenty in stock!
Label each box with the room it’s destined for. This way you’ll avoid confusion on the day.
Pack the boxes only to extent you can carry them. If you seriously hurt yourself you won’t be doing any moving for a while!
Don’t pile the boxes up at the front door of your destination – this only leaves a mountain that must be sorted later. Put them into the correct rooms, and stack them around the edges.
Loading Up A Rental Truck For Moving Day
In your haste to get going try not to just throw everything in a your rental truck, there are a number of strategies you can employ to ensure loading the truck is a quick and easy process.
Get rid of the stuff you don’t need before you start packing. Most of us accumulate nicknacks and outdated objects that are a pain to move and are essentially useless. See above for some excellent ways to lighten your load.
Devise a system and plan ahead so that everybody knows what their job is and how they should be loading your items into the truck.
Use moving pads or blankets to wrap furniture as much as possible, particularly easily damaged wood and glass items. This also keeps the load tightly packed so nothing is jostling around during transit.
Wrap the padding tightly with ropes or shrink wrap to ensure items cannot move or shift.
Tape furniture doors and drawers shut with a low tack tape to stop them flying open in transit.
Use a hand truck to avoid injury when lifting heavy items.
Start with the absolute essentials. If you do run out of room, you can choose between non-essential items.
Load the largest heaviest objects first and fit smaller items into the gaps. If there are any leftovers, you’ll be able to bring them over in a smaller van or car.
3 Tips For Your First Move To New Zealand
While moving across country can be daunting, moving to a new country altogether can be a massive task. New Zealand is a popular destination for immigrants from countries all across the globe – it offers a peaceful lifestyle, great environment, good healthcare and benefits, and good opportunities for work and education. However while it’s an easy place to live, moving here comes with just as many challenges as moving anywhere else. Once you’ve selected your destination and found a suitable new home, the challenge then becomes simply following through and doing it. While there’s a lot to organise, there are some things you can do to make it easier.
Get In Touch With A Local Rental Company. Although most removal services will deliver furniture directly to the new address, some objects may be easier to simply bring as checked baggage for an additional fee. Hiring a van or rental vehicle right from the airport will make it much easier to transport everything to your new home.
Look Up Nearby Amenities And Shops. One thing you’ll want to do is to start stocking up on food and living essentials, and having to go out and forage for a store just adds extra stress. With mapping applications you can look things up well before arriving so you know where to go right away, and can start making your house a home as soon as possible.
Research Your Area. Knowing what to expect in at least some form will make you feel much more comfortable with finding the place, as well as just making it less intimidating in general. Google streetview is a great way to browse a whole neighbourhood easily without even leaving your home.
Good luck with the move, and remember to stay calm. Moving house can be a stressful process but if you plan accordingly, it can run smooth and be an exciting day. Need to hire an affordable erntal truck? USAVE Van & Truck Rentals have a large range of trucks for hire at great rates – check them out here.
