5 Essential Tips for Moving into a New Home

Moving into a new property is an exciting time. Sure it can be a stressful experience if you’ve not planned your move correctly, but generally once you’ve moved in you can enjoy your new home and surroundings. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed when moving home that our focus is solely on packing and unpacking boxes. Of course this is a huge part of moving house, but there are also a few other important things that should always be checked when moving house.

Being a home and office removals company, we thought we would share these essential property tips and checks so you can get a head start come move day. If you’re moving house and looking for a reputable insured removal company in London, call to us today for more info on our excellent affordable house removal service.

Read the meters

Before you start powering up your computer and boiling the kettle, you should take a meter reading. Take a few snaps on your smartphone and job done, it will take a few seconds max! It’s important that you get an accurate reading before you start consuming energy so that you can be billed correctly by your energy provider. By doing this it will ensure there are no mix ups and disputes over the energy usage when your bill comes in. Disputes with energy companies on over usage can be a real headache which is the last thing you need when moving into your lovely new home.

Check the alarms

Checking that you have alarms installed and that they are working is a priority when moving into a new property. Your safety should never be compromised, so first things first check that the smoke alarms, security alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are working!

Did you know around 40-50 people die each year from poisonous gas fumes in the home? Carbon monoxide is a silent killer and undetectable unless you have a CO alarm. Around 5,000 people are treated in hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning every year. If applicable, make sure your CO alarm is working!

If you have a security alarm installed then it’s best to immediately reset the password or code to one of your own choosing. Test the system is working properly so you can be safe in the knowledge that your new home is secure. Smoke alarms are essential in any home so make sure you have enough and that they are placed in the right areas of your property.

Smart packing

Packing up your belongings is a bit of a drag but doing it correctly can save you a bit of stress when unpacking! Our top hack would be to create one box of essential items that you will need for the first day. This can contain things like your smartphone chargers, food, toiletries, underwear, towels and important documents such as passports etc. Basically anything you will need for the first day and night pack, in the same box! This will save you searching through all the other boxes to find what you need.

Add string to your packing tape. String? I hear you say… This little hack is an awesome way to save your nails or damaging your items with a knife or scissors. Before you tape up the box, lay the strip of tape sticky side up on a flat surface. Cut a length of string longer than the tape so it overhangs a bit each side and place in the centre of the tape. Now use the tape as you would normally to seal the box. When it comes to unpacking the box simply pull the string and tear it open … Genius!

Use coloured labels for certain rooms so you can organise your unpacking quickly. Picking up cardboard boxes and searching for your scribbled writing indicating which room it belongs to can be a pain.

Instead why not try using coloured labels and assign them to each room. Write one list of colours and the assigned room next to it and keep it in your pocket. Blue for kitchen, pink for bathroom etc. All you need to do now is place the label on the top of the box and forget about writing the room names over and over again! It’s much quicker this way and saves you a bit of stress unpacking them.

Take pictures

When it comes to wires and electrical items such as digital TV boxes, a great tip is to take pictures of the leads and setup before you pack them away. For those of us who are not technically minded, this can be a real time saver when it comes to setting things up again. Take a few snaps on your smartphone and you’ll have something to refer to or show somebody if you need help setting them up.

Update your address early

This is something that you’ve most likely already thought of when moving to a new location. Rather than wait until you’ve moved into the new property before you change your address, try and do it 1-2 weeks before.

Create a list of all the companies/organisations that will need your new address details including your employer, bank, credit card companies, dentist etc. Calling these people and updating your address online can take time so make sure you give yourself a head start so you won’t have to do it once you’ve moved in.