Moving house mistakes are common because moving house isn’t always a straightforward undertaking. While many people believe that you have to simply pack up your belongings and transport them to your new home, the reality is much more complicated.

There are many decisions that must be made throughout the moving process, as well as details to consider and plan. If even one step goes wrong, you could be faced with a very stressful experience. This is why it’s so important that you don’t make any moving house mistakes. With that in mind, here are twelve huge ones you must avoid when moving house. 

1. Choosing A Bad Time

A badly scheduled move is going to cause a lot of unnecessary stress, as well as potentially lead to delays and unexpected costs. To avoid this trouble, you should choose your moving day very carefully.

Make sure to plan around already stressful times for your family, like exam season and big work presentations, but also keep clear of big moving days. Weekends and public holidays are when most people move house, so, if possible, you should relocate in the week. 

2. Taking Everything With You

The more stuff you take with you to the new house, the more complicated your move is going to be. It will take longer to pack and unpack all of your belongings and will probably cost you more too, as you’ll need to hire a bigger moving van.

For this reason, you should take your relocation as an opportunity to clear out the clutter. Before you begin packing up the house, you can go through every room and set aside the things you don’t want. These can then be thrown away or donated. 

3. Overlooking The Hidden Costs

One thing many people don’t realise before moving house is how expensive it can get. Just the moving company themselves can cost you hundreds, especially if you pick a weekend or public holiday as your moving day.

Although you aren’t going to be able to plan for every single cost involved, there are many hidden expenses that you can’t afford to overlook. These include repairs and packing materials. Make sure you have a cash buffer in case you go over budget.

4. Buying Cheap Packing Materials

Unless you have an unlimited supply of money, you’re going to want to keep your move as cheap as possible. However, that doesn’t mean that you should cut all of the costs you can. Packing materials, for example, is one supply that you don’t want to skrimp on.

The reason for this is that cheaper boxes tend to be of lower quality. Rather than risk these boxes collapsing and damaging your valuable belongings, you should pay just a little bit more to ensure that your stuff is safe. 

5. Moving Without Expert Help

There are many things in life that you can more than easily do yourself. Moving home, however, is not among them. Regardless of whether you’re moving halfway across the world or just down the road, you should hire furniture removalists to help you out.

These experts understand that moving house is a complex process and do all they can to support you every step of the way. They also have experience with lifting heavy items, so you don’t have to risk injuring yourself. 

6. Failing To Change Addresses

You might know that you’re moving house, but that doesn’t mean that anyone else does. Utility providers, banks, and the post office aren’t automatically informed when you relocate. Instead, it’s up to you to tell them.

If you forget to do this, then you could miss important letters and might not have electricity or gas when you arrive at your new property. You should inform these companies of your move as early as possible and no later than two weeks before moving day.

7. Packing The Night Before

Packing up your home is a task that is always more complicated than it seems. You tend to have much more stuff than you think you do, so you should never leave it until the night before to start putting it into boxes.

Ideally, you should begin packing a few weeks before you plan to go, starting with the rooms you don’t use every day. The attic and spare bedroom are just two examples. Once you’ve cleared a room, you can then use it to store any packed boxes. 

8. Skipping Labelling The Boxes

Labelling your boxes is a task that takes only a few minutes. However, those few minutes that you spend are absolutely crucial. While this might not seem a particularly important job, it will save a lot of unnecessary hassle the day you move and those after it.

Without a label, you will have to rummage through every single box to figure out what goes where. This is going to get incredibly frustrating when there’s something in particular that you need to find and put away. 

9. Keeping The Kids Off

Your home is the one place in the world that your kids should always feel protected. The trouble is, the day you move, it won’t be very safe for them. With strangers going in and out of the house and large pieces of furniture being moved around, there is a very real risk of your little ones getting hurt.

Because of this, you shouldn’t allow them the day off school. Instead, aim to move the entire house during school hours. If this isn’t possible, then ask a friend to look after them. 

10. Forgetting Your Survival Kit

Although you’ll probably unpack a few boxes the night you move into your new home, most of them will be left untouched until the next day. This can cause issues if you don’t know where your coffee maker, pyjamas, or toothbrush are.

These are things that you will definitely need at some point the day that you move in. Rather than go through all of the boxes, you should pack these things together. Also, ensure that this survival kit travels with you and not the movers. 

11. Handing Over The Valuables

While you will want the movers to transport most of your belongings, there are certain things that you’ll want to keep close by. As well as the moving day survival kit, you should carry your own valuables. These include things like electronics, passports, and jewellery.

No matter how reputable your moving company may be, there is always a chance that one of their crew could take these precious belongings. Keeping them with you makes sure that they are always safe. 

12. Treating The Movers Badly

Moving house is stressful, and that is something that is never going to change. However, you being stressed is not a good enough excuse to treat your movers badly. You wouldn’t want people being rude to you while you were at work, after all.

Although you’re sure to be busy, you should make an effort to introduce yourself to the moving crew. You can also ask if any of them want a drink before they start working. Making a good impression could help to protect your stuff.

As exciting as it can be, moving house is far from easy. In fact, most would agree that it is one of the most stressful experiences a person can put themselves through.

That being said, it is possible to make the process smoother for everyone involved. All that you need to do is avoid making any of the huge mistakes that are listed above.