Every move is full of mistakes, and defined by how well you roll with the punches. On the bright side, we learn from our mistakes — you get knocked down, you get back up again hire removalists next time — but what if you just want to ace moving day on the first try, without all the guesswork? Read on to take our moving house 101.
Moving isn’t something you do every day, so even if you consider yourself a seasoned veteran, you’re bound to forget something. To make it out unscathed, you have to pay respect to the basics, adding in a new and improved hack here and there.
Time to take the 101. Here, you can find all the intel, every trick of the trade. No mistakes necessary.
Lighten Your Load
Decluttering feels like a chore, but when it comes to moving, it’s much less of a chore to get rid of it. Instead of asking yourself do I want to keep this, ask yourself: do I care about this enough to pack it, haul it over to the new place, then unpack it again?
Figure out what’s staying and what’s not, then sort out where the excess is going. You can either sell it, donate it, TAXIBOX it, or bin it.
Where the stuff goes depends on what the stuff is (“donate it” also applies to any friends that never seem to have any furniture, but those same friends probably don’t want you “donating” your old uggboots to them).
Simple Trick: Use up your food before you move by throwing a party (outdoors, cause you want to keep your bond, right?)
Pack Properly
Chucking your life into boxes sounds easy — maybe even a little therapeutic — but when push comes to shove, it feels impossible. Turns out it doesn’t have to be.
Make packing (and unpacking) easier by:
- Duffel-bagging all your essentials (medications, toiletries, phone chargers)
- Packing your non-essentials first so you can unpack them last
- Labelling and colour-coding your boxes by room, based on how critical they are (green = you can unpack me later/red = I’m urgent, unpack me immediately)
- Packing for your back by lining every box with one layer of books
While it might take a little more time, packing your TAXIBOX efficiently will speed up the whole move overall, so you can clock off ASAP.
Need maths? Practice packing with our Storage Calculator.
Get Flat
When you were ruining your weekend with IKEA instructions, you probably weren’t planning on doing the whole flatpack thing twice over. Let alone planning on disassembling it, ever. Count your blessings screws. Now’s the time to get flat.
By disassembling furniture — like cots, furniture with detachable legs, and anything you’ve ever bought from IKEA — you can save space, avoid time wasted moving and packing stuff into your TAXIBOX, and keep things from getting broken in the move.
Make disassembling easier by:
- Having/getting/finding/buying a drill
- Keeping instructions handy
- Putting screws/legs of furniture aside, in labelled bags so they won’t go missing
Simple Trick: Get your clothes and bedding flat by sealing them in vac bags — it’ll make things easier to move, save space, and keep things from getting dusty.
All the Gear’s Not a Bad Idea
All the gear, no great idea. While you won’t need too much, it’s worth spending on some of the classic stuff that never goes out of style, like quality cardboard boxes and a sturdy trolley.
Make sure you have all the moving house 101 must-haves:
- Cardboard boxes that are the same size (they’re easier to stack)
- Blankets to wrap heavy (ahem, hardwood) furniture
- A bunch of bubble-wrap
- Packing tape, pens, and a boxcutter
- A trolley for heavy-lifting (rent one from us if you need)
With all the above, you’ll be prepped for every possible moving day emergency.
Get a good deal on the lot by sourcing all your packing supplies from the one place.
In Movers, We Trust
Don’t trust your gut, trust everyone else’s gut. Booking your move is the one time you should give in to peer pressure. If the reviews are good, your movers will be good too.
Avoid scams with these red flags:
- Companies that don’t answer the phone
- Mysteriously low prices
- Reviews that don’t match up
To get the most out of moving, you have to lean on a combination of friends, professionals, and time. Hire professionals for the hardest parts (you’re paying them for a reason), then lean on your friends for the less crucial stuff (just make sure you remember to pay them with your mate’s award rate… pizza).
Simple Trick: Got an awkward driveway or a weirdly narrow front door? Get your movers on your good side by giving them the heads up ahead of time.
Weigh Up Your Options
Once you’ve figured out what’s coming with you and who’s gonna help you, you have to decide what’s going to get your stuff from A to B: a car, a van, truck, a 5-star TAXIBOX… the sky’s the limit (just don’t get a plane).
Just because you can hire the big truck doesn’t mean you should. With TAXIBOX, you can dodge the headache of getting the truck back on time and in-tact, and you won’t have to worry about parallel parking your whole life into a tiny car space.
You’d only have the truck on the day, but a TAXIBOX can sit in your driveway for weeks while you pack (carefully).
Make the whole move easier by having all the time in the world to pack.
Tetris It
Your Tetris skills will come in handy on moving day. Especially if you need to move an L-shaped sofa… or an assortment of L-shaped blocks.
Tetris your stuff the smart way:
- Put the heavy stuff in first and distribute evenly
- Load in your fragiles last
- Wrap anything that’s going to damage easily
- Like Tetris, you should fill every gap (this will keep things from moving around in transit)
- Keep it structurally sound with stacked boxes that are the same size
Simple Trick: Protect your fragiles by putting them into small spaces, like drawers, closed cupboards, and under dining chairs.
Cross Things Off the Admin List
You’re gonna have enough to worry about on moving day — like, what box goes where and what’s in what box and where’d I put that box that I put the kids inside — do yourself a favour. Plan ahead.
Write yourself a moving house 101 admin list, then double-check you’ve crossed everything off:
- Organise utilities
- Get your bond back and pay your bond at the new place
- Sort out babysitters/petsitters
- Redirect your mail
- Register your change of address
Simple Trick: For peace of mind, print out a comprehensive admin list to keep with you on moving day, and keep a settling-into-your-new-place list, too.
Keep Cool, You’re Going to Make It
Even if you’re an expert in the moving house 101 – or just some guy that’s moved too many times to count – everyone needs help sometimes. Especially if you’re trying to move a fridge.
Don’t forget, moving day is still a day of the week — you have to eat, use the bathroom, breathe air, and answer the phone (and you have to remember to do these things). There’s nothing to lose in asking for help, so appreciate your neighbours, redeem all your favours, and lift with your knees (and if you already have a bad back, please just hire someone else to do it).
Remember, we’re here to help. Let us make your moving day easy.
