11 Genius moving house tips that will change your life.

Moving to another house is exciting but it’s definitely not a walk in the park. It can be stressful and overwhelming. You didn’t think you had so much stuff until you started packing. You start thinking, how the heck am I going to empty this house? I will never make it out of this mess. It happens to the best of us, so don’t worry. 

You’ll eventually pack everything and you’ll safely make it out of the mess. But are there any tips for moving house tips I can do to make things easier for myself? you ask. Well, there’s actually. 

I have moved many times across neighbourhoods, cities and even across countries, and I have learned a few things along the way. Now trust me when I say this, I hate moving and I dread packing. But someone has to empty the house for the other tenants to come over eventually.

Here are my top moving house tips.

1. Pack clothes in plastic bags

Overwhelmed with endless piles of clothes, you have no idea where to put them? Easy, use large plastic bags, you don’t have to worry about folding, sorting, or squeezing outfits to fit the only two suitcases you have. This trick will also save you a lot of space.

2. Keep the clothes on the hanger 

Now, what about the clothes you don’t want to put in a plastic bag? The clothes that are dear and you don’t want to get wrinkled. Just pop them on the suitcase with the hangers. That way, when you reach the new home, you’ll just grab them and hang them, sorted. 

3. Put small and random stuff in a big box

Do you know what’s the most frustrating thing about all the stuff you have to pack? It’s actually the smaller things. Like where do I put you now? In a big box or in a small one? Or I may just throw you away and pretend you never existed! The easiest thing to do in these situations is to grab the biggest box you have, and start putting these smaller items that you find around the house, as you pack, inside it.

Once you finish packing the bigger items, grab that box and sort through it. See if there’s anything you don’t actually need to take with you. And then you go from there, see if you have some spaces left in the other box you’ve packed, and try to squeeze as many smaller items as possible. If there are no spaces left, then just transfer them all into one small or big box depending on your items. You eyeball it. 

4. Clean as you go

You lived in this house, that’s how it accumulated dust and dirt. But after you finish packing it’ll suddenly hit you that you still need to clean the whole house and make it spotless before you move out, that’s another problem.

Some people prefer to get an after-tenancy cleaner but I personally prefer to do it myself and save me some bucks. And one thing I found to be helpful is to clean as I go. If I emptied the pantry, for example, I would wipe all the shelves. If I finish with one room I will clean it too. That way I will not have to worry about deep cleaning after I move out because I did it all as I went through the house.

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5. Label every box

This is a game changer for me, once I started labelling the boxes, I knew exactly where things are. You would think you’ll remember but the truth is, you won’t. Boxes will get mixed up easily and if it wasn’t for labelling no one would know which box belongs to which room and which box has what.

When you reach the new home, put the boxes straight into the rooms where they should end up. This will save you from cluttering the new home, and moving things around a lot. Especially if you have kids. They will start digging for their stuff immediately and you don’t want your new house to get messy. 

6. Start with big items

Big items are the easiest to pack. That’s why you need to start with them first. All the smaller things can be put above the bigger items. That way you will know where things are once you open the box.

7. Make a todo list and break down your work

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all the stuff that you have to pack. But one thing that can help is to break down the task into smaller tasks. For example, today you can start with the kitchen and tomorrow you’ll do the children’s room and so on. 

8. Prep your meals ahead

The last thing I want to do when I start packing is cooking, I hate cooking when I’ve got other stuff to do, and I hate ordering takeaways too. So one thing that helped is to meal prep in advance. You can either freeze or just prepare the ingredients beforehand.

9. Get rid of what you don’t need

Declutter, declutter, declutter. If there’s any advice you should take from here it would be this particular tip. You’ll be amazed about how many things you haven’t actually used in months or years, or perhaps you never used.

If you have an attachment to things just like I do, then start now and get rid of this bad habit. Unless it’s something that holds a precious memory of course. Other than that, just sell, donate or throw away. That way you’ll go to the new house with a fresh start, with things you only need and use. You’ll make better and more conscious decisions about what you bring into the house from now on.

10. Don’t mix items that don’t belong to the same space

Do you remember what I told you about labelling? If you want to be successful with that, then don’t mix things that don’t belong together. Work with structure and pack every room individually. That way you’ll not end up panicking about missing items from your room or the kids’ room. You’ll rest assured that you know exactly where things are. 

11. Start packing as soon as possible 

Once you learn that you’re moving, start packing. Don’t wait till the last minute. You’ll give yourself so much time and you’ll save yourself from stressful events. You’ll be calm and you’ll pack with ease.