Tags
We moved house this weekend. But, because of my spectacular attempts at organisation, we are now back in our old house 200 miles up the road, cleaning. I say “we”, I mean “me”. And I say “cleaning”, I mean “blogging”.
It turns out moving house is quite a different experience when you throw kids and work into the mix. In my overly optimistic mind I thought it might be as easy as chucking a few clothes into a suitcase and bunging them into a van. I wish.
After going through the hell that is moving with a family, I thought I’d bring you some tips for what not to do, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.
1. Do your own packing
Packing everything yourself is really fun. No really, it is. You get to rediscover things you thought you never had. Plus, the process takes absolutely ages, so you end up living amongst boxes for at least a week.
It means your house turns into a cross between an assault course and a campsite – fun! Also, you get to spend all that money you’ve saved by doing the packing yourself, on takeaways and pub meals. So, by the end of the moving period, you not only look haggard from exhaustion, but you’re at least a stone heavier too. Result!
2. Do not prepare food for moving day
Sensible people prepare things like sandwiches and salads the day before a big move, realising that their fridge will be out of action. But we’re not sensible, we’re fun, live-on-the-edge type people. Plus, we’ve been too busy packing to think about food.
To do moving the fun way, forget about food until everyone gets really grumpy and you have a big family row, then dash to the nearest supermarket and spend £20 on three pre-packed (unhealthy) sandwiches and some crisps. While you’re there, forget to buy food for when you eventually arrive at your destination, offering your family the delight of yet more sandwiches and crisps for their tea.
3. Move house on the hottest day of the year
Moving house is fun, but a little too easy. To make it more challenging, plan your move for the hottest day of the year. Then pack all of your summer clothes so you are forced to complete the move in thick jeans and a long-sleeved T’shirt. More fun still, move to a house 200 miles away and make sure your car’s air con is broken. Driving in a hot car, wearing thick jeans, with a grumpy, hungry family makes for lively and spirited conversation en-route!
4. Ignore all the good things about your new home
Ignore the beautiful views and the stunning location. Do not even think about discussing all the other benefits, like cheaper house prices, proximity to family and lower living costs. Instead, focus only on the negatives, like the smaller front room and unsightly carpet. This will lead to yet more lively conversation, as above.
5. Continue to work
Do not take any time off work for moving. Instead, cram the entire move into one weekend, dismissing any unpacking period as for “wimps”. It leads to increased blood pressure and a week on a friend’s floor as you complete your last week of work before the school holidays. My husband tells me that this is good for stamina and a test of the endurance of a relationship.
If you have any other tips for how not to move house, please do share!
I hope you placed the kettle in a box clearly labeled! I HATE moving. We still had 12 boxes in our garage from the last move 7 years ago full of books!
All sound advice for what not to do – although when we moved I couldn’t take time off work as the person who covered for me had already booked her summer holiday – so I had to go to work and my husband took the day off. I have to say that was a brilliant way of moving house because I went to work from one house and came home to the other and it was mostly unpacked! A nice stress free day for me!
I’m nodding my head to all of this. Very similar to our last move. We are definitely getting the moving men to pack us up next time. And hiring cleaners! We too spent a FORTUNE on last minute food. I can barely exist in this heat so I can’t imagine what a nightmare moving in it was! Anyway, you’re here. Even if you’re not yet unpacked. I’m still unpacking…
Oh, I thought of another how not to move house tip: Use cloth nappies during the entire move because you definitely need yet another thing to stay on top of while moving. Disregard the fact that this is EXACTLY the kind of situation for which disposables were invented.
The House move BEFORE this one, we moved on 21st December and My Molly (who was 11 months old at the time) had Chicken pox…….
In the run up to this, the packers had come and packed up almost our entire house on the Wednesday (apart from our beds) with a view to coming and packing the rest and loading the van on the Thursday and moving us to the New House – imagine my HORROR when the Builders rang 10 minutes AFTER the packers had left to say that our lovely new house WOULDN’T be ready to move on Thursday, and could we move on say Monday instead???? Pretty sure she picked up on my desperate screams of “BUT MY BABY HAS CHICKEN POX AND THEY’VE PACKED ALL OUR STUFF!!!!” down the phone as she rang back 30 mins later to say they had arranged a hotel for us for Thursday night and had spoken to our removals firm and were covering the extra cost of moving us in on the Friday instead!!!
Moving House is one of lifes little ways of testing your inner strength as a Human Being……and sometimes, it wins…….
Aww! Hope you’re happy in your new home….In a few weeks the stress of moving will all be forgotten about
x
Move house on cup final day – when the stadium is just around the corner and parking is at a premium! TG for fab neighbours who kept spaces for me as I drove between the old and new house with my stuff…
Also your new home looks gorgeous, hopefully you’ll all the very happy – and more relaxed – there xx
Awesome advice -
May I add to it?
Ensure you ram your Merc A class full with boxes, (because the removal van you booked was too small so your husband has to hire a an extra which he drives from london to the midlands but needs to return it by 5am the next day) The dog, a cat, suitcases, a 3 month old baby and drive 180 miles desperate for a wee because you’re pregnant again at that ‘need a wee every five minute stage’ but can’t stop because of the dog, cat and baby (driving on your own) and oh and don’t forget, to ensure it’s dark and raining heavily.
I think that covers everything.
Oooh and I forgot the ‘ensure your house purchase gals through the week before so you have to go love with the in laws for 8 weeks and put your stuff in storage. That was THE best bit!
I hate to say I told you so….
It is always worth paying someone to pack x
Moving during the Christmas holidays is also a bad idea. if you move during such major holiday, you could have a much more difficult time transporting your belongings in a timely manner. Traffic is always the first things that comes to mind. Packing up your items can be a long, arduous process, so actually traveling to the new home shouldn’t be as difficult. These times of year can have significant delays when it comes to sitting on the highway, and it could definitely hurt your stress levels.