On the move

Tips to make moving house as seamless as possible.

Your finances are sorted, contracts are signed and the settlement period has finally come to an end which means it’s time to move into your brand new house.

But moving can be stressful at the best of times so use these tips from the experts who have seen it all so you can start your home owning adventure with minimal fuss.

Pack smart

Kevin Chokshi and Alex Pearson of Ray White Cheltenham have seen their fair share of house moves and have discovered some easy hacks to make your packing and unpacking easier.

“Put all hanging clothes in bin bags, that way it makes it easier for when you do finally move to take them all out and keep them nice and clean,” Mr Pearson said.

“Another simple hack to make life easier is to label and colour code all of your boxes, when you do move that way you know exactly where everything is, saving plenty of heartache for when you have the long task of unpacking.

“Numbering your boxes from most important to least and putting them in the truck with the least important at the back will also save a lot of time and frustration on the other end.”

Mr Chokshi added his own packing tip, “wrap your drawers with cling wrap, pull the whole drawer out and wrap it with plastic cling wrap and once you get to the next property unwrap it and put it straight back into the drawer.”

Declutter before you move

Who wants to have to declutter when they unpack? Instead Ray White Wetherill Park agent Mathew Bell’s moving tip is to get rid of it before you pack

“The amount of owners who carry unnecessary items from house to house is crazy. Think of the amount of money in removalist fees you'd save if you had ten less boxes,” Mr Bell said.

Dealing with heavy items

Moving heavy piles of books and furniture has probably contributed to more than a few back injuries over the years. Using these hacks will save you the back pain and the physio bill.

“Put all your heavy items into a suitcase because they generally have wheels and you can go straight into the new property and not worry that you’re going to put your back out ,” Mr Pearson said.

While Mr Chokshi said when it comes to heavy furniture, sliding a magazine under the legs will make life easier.

“Slide heavy furniture using a magazine, rather than straining your back, all you need to do is grab the magazines and put them under your furniture and then it’s nice and easy because all you do is slide it along,” he said.

The little things

Little things have a tendency to go missing when moving house, so making sure they are stored effectively and close at hand it a must. Electronic devices and cords can also prove a nightmare for some inexperienced movers.

“Snap a photo of your electronic devices set up, whether it be your TV, surround sound, Foxtel or whatever it may be,” Mr Chokshi said.

“Once you move, you need to reconnect all those cables and you’re probably not going to remember what cable goes where, so take a photo of it because that way it’s so easy to set up your new home.”

Storage wise, keeping cables in toilet rolls and furniture fixtures in snaplock bags are a simple and budget friendly way to move smoothly.

“Store your electronic cables inside a toilet roll, that way they’re not going to get tangled up and will be easier to manage when you’re unpacking and trying to reconnect all your devices,” Mr Chokshi said.

“Snaplock sandwich bags are your best friends when moving, they can store things like jewellery, keys and nuts and bolts. Make sure you label these sandwich bags so once you get there you know which bolts and which nuts go for which piece of furniture.”