Top tips on how to prepare for a painless moving experience

Top tips on how to prepare for a painless moving experience

So you’ve gone through the gruelling process of searching for an affordable place to rent, planted your signature on the lease and have finalised all of the things to do before moving into a new flat. Now all that’s left is preparing for D-day; moving day, to your new place.

At this point, the hardest part is over, and you’re closer to the finishing line. Soon, you’ll be relaxing in your new home. But first, let’s help you prepare for moving day. If you keep reading down below, you’ll find useful moving house tips and tricks.

Packing for the move

Packing is a task dreaded by many; it’s infamous for being time-consuming and more difficult than it should be. But it doesn’t have to be stressful – we’ll share our trusted packing tips for moving house. We’ll also help you with hacks on how to pack clothes for a move.

Make a list

By now you would have consulted with a moving truck, and you have a rough idea of the moving costs. The fewer items you have to move, the easier and cheaper the moving process will be for you. But if you have many things, you’ll have to be smart about how you pack. The first thing you want to do is make a list of all of your items, separating by three columns; items you’re getting rid of, items you’re moving yourself and items to go with the truck. Keep in mind that every box you pack fit in the moving truck might cost you money, so think hard when making your list. Go room to room to ensure that you don’t miss an item. The most common things people forget when moving include essential electronics like chargers.

If you have sentimental items, depending on their size, it will be best if you pack them to go with you, whether you’re taking your car, a friend’s car or a family member is helping you with the move. That way, you can be there to ensure that nothing happens to your special pieces during the move.

On the other hand, make a plan for the items you’re getting rid of. Know exactly where they will be going. You don’t want to find yourself stuck with unusable items; you’ll either end up paying to move extra items you didn’t account for in your budget or taking multiple trips unnecessarily. Are you donating them? Are you throwing them away? Or are you putting them in storage until you can decide what to do or someone takes them off your hands? Make this decision before moving day.

Label boxes

Getting organised is your best chance of having a smooth sailing moving experience. The list you made is going to make the labelling easy for you. For this, you’ll need stationery tools, waterproof marker, stickers, sellotape, and scissors. Develop a labelling system that will help you locate your items when you start loading things in the truck, car and unpacking at your new place.

On each box, you can write the destination, the moving vehicle, and the type of items in the box. For example, your label can be “box one, books, moving truck, new place”. Don’t forget to label the boxes on all sides. So that when the movers offload items at your new place, they have an idea of where to place the items. With items like kitchen appliances or a large mirror, you have to ensure to label them “fragile” to warn the person who will carry the item to be more careful with it.

How to pack clothes

Packing clothes is simpler than packing household items. All you need to do is pack the clothes in suitcases. You can choose to wrap them with sheets or pack them as you would if you were travelling for a holiday. But remember to leave out a few clothing items to change – enough for at least two days and a day after moving. This includes all essential toiletry items such as a towel, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.

Final thoughts

Moving a house is a tiresome task, and it can be overwhelming if you’re unprepared. To ensure that it goes smoothly, organise yourself using the tips above. If you’re moving to any of our properties, we’ll ensure that everything is ready for you when you move in. But if you’re still in search of an affordable place to rent in Johannesburg, connect with us and we can help find you a home suitable for your needs. You could soon be the one using these tips.