Planning your big day – moving house

1st December 2016

The big day is looming, the excitement is mounting, and then you realise you can't put it off any longer the packing. Here are our top tips.

Have you got enough boxes? What about the breakables and family heirlooms? How will you find the kettle? Having drawn up a to do list well in advance, it should be plain sailing.

- Don't leave everything until the day before you go. Consider what you don't need to take with you, what will need careful packing and that you are covered for potential breakages.

- Make a priority list and take your time. As it is a fresh start only take what you really need and use a couple of those boxes to store charity or car boot items.

- Ensure you have enough boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap and marker pens to label things up. Boxes of all sizes will ensure you don't overload the larger ones.

- Pack an essentials box for the first night in your new home (the kettle and tea bags amongst them!) and prepare an overnight bag for the family with household necessities.

- Start early and begin at the top of the house and work your way down, labelling boxes for each room as you go.

- Pack important documents together and keep them in a safe place.

- If you have children or pets, try and get a family member, friend or neighbour to look after them whilst you are packing.

- Don't forget to contact Royal Mail to get your post redirected to your new address.

- Take readings from gas, electricity and water metres, taking digital photographs of the metres to back up your readings.

As well as the huge excitement of moving to a new home, there is also the enormous task of packing. However, with an organised approach and a strict action plan to follow, it may not be as daunting as you think. What's more, it will make unpacking at the other end go a lot smoother!

For further tips please speak to your local office who will be only happy to help.