Moving to your new home is exciting. Finally having a place you can call home is personally satisfying, it is an achievement. However, moving to a new home is not always easy. Depending on the things you own, and the furnishings you would want to include in your new home, you may have to pack a lot of stuff and move it from your current location to your new home.

To make your move a less stressful and inconvenient one, here is a checklist of things you can follow for an easy and successful moving house.

Things To Do 1 Month before Moving House

After your home loan is approved, you have a month or so to prepare to move from your apartment or house to your new home. You may need to rent a truck or a moving company to help you with moving. Here are some considerations to look into.

• Cost of moving out and moving in
• Does the moving company have insurance?
• Will you require paid help in packing?
• What are the delivery and claims procedure?
• What are the costs you may need to consider in the event of a reschedule or settlement delays?
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Delays in the settlement can be quite common. If you are to book removalists, a book for around a week after your settlement. If you are renting a truck, it would be advisable to give your managing agent an advance notice. Renting a trolley would also be advisable if you are moving large pieces of furniture. Blankets, plastic and bubble wrap can also be necessary to protect your furniture during the move.

You might want to consider these activities prior to moving out of your old home.

• Dispose of or sell items that are no longer needed. Let go of any item that has no more use or even the new ones that have been lying around your home for quite some time. It would be ideal to keep things at a minimum when starting in a new home. Consider this as a fresh start.
• Take note of items that require special attention when moving such as jewelry and fragile items. This may require special care during the move. It would be ideal to make a list to ensure that no valuable item is left unaccounted for.
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• Measure your furniture prior to moving. If you plan to bring furniture to your new home, it would be ideal to take measurements of these items and your new home to ensure that your things will fit into your new home.
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• Kitchen items that are past its use by date should be checked and disposed of properly. You do not want to bring expired condiments in your new home. You would also want to use up the food inside the freezer.
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• Your washing machine and refrigerator may require special instructions when moving. Be aware of these instructions to avoid damage when moving.
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• Create a folder or archive box where you can keep all your necessary documents. You might want to organize school papers for possible transfers or other documentation that will be affected by your move to your new neighborhood or new home.
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Preparing Your New Home for Your Arrival

Preparing your personal belongings is not the only things to consider before moving homes. You need to prepare your new home as well. Here are some areas you can look into to prepare your new home for your move.

Cleaning your new home

In most states, the vendor is NOT obligated to clean the home before you move in. You might want to do it yourself after the purchase settlement or you can book a cleaner to do the work for you. Same is true with your old home. You should leave it clean when you move out.

You might want to buy supplies of cleaning materials that can be used during your move. You may need to do a few touches even after the cleaners are already through cleaning your homes.

Utilities and Services

Cancel all services and utilities in your old home and if possible, transfer it and have it installed in your new home. You’ll find it comfortable to have your utilities and services already available in your new home when your home.

Children and Pets

You might want to ask a family member or a friend to be in charge of the kids, or your pet on the actual moving day. You do not want them to be among the possible chaos you’ll experience during the move.

Redirecting Mail

Advise the Australian Post that you are moving into a new address so all your letters and correspondence will be delivered to the new address.

The Home Layout

Prior to the move, you should provide a layout of each room in the new home so your movers would be able to place the furniture, especially the big and heavy ones in their respective places. A furniture placement layout would be so useful.

Basic Necessities

Set aside towels, bed lines, pillows, pieces of clothing and other items that you may need during the first night in your new home. Medications, toiletries and first-aid kits should be ready as well when you move into your new home.

Things to Do a Day Before the Move

You are a few hours away from leaving your old home and settling into the new one. Defrosting and emptying your refrigerator should be done a day before your move. Valuable items like jewelries and paintings should be kept with you and not in the moving truck. You might also need to recheck every detail about your move to ensure a smooth flow during the actual day of the move.

Moving Day!

It is exciting to finally move to your new home. It would be ideal to avoid visitors or keep them to a minimum to keep things in order. Here are also some points to remember.

In Your Old Home

• Give clear instructions to your movers, especially about furniture placement on your new home
• Collect all house and car keys and disconnect the telephone lines as well as other utilities in your old home
• Turn the main switch off to ensure that all electrical items are already turned off
• Share your furniture layout/ placement to your movers
• Do a quick sweep on your old home to see items that you may have forgotten to pack or boxes that were not picked by your moving team
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At Your New House

• Turn on the utilities connected in your new home. This also includes gas lines and hot water.
• If you are concerned with security, change or add locks or add your favored security system
• Contact the local council for details on garbage collection
• Look forward to meeting new neighbors
• Inform all authorities and relevant people of your new address. This may include your doctor, employer, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, banks and lenders as well as your car license and registration of your car insurance.
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To make your moving house a memorable experience, rather than a stressful one, create a checklist and keep in mind important details you need in moving to a new home. This tips from Intellichoice can help you a lot in your venture and new chapter in life, now in your new home.

Darin Hindmarsh

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