Why is it that some people go about home relocations like it’s a walk in the park and without a care in the world, while for others it seems like a fate worse than death? Well, if you ask the experts at JC Removals, it all comes down to the way in which some have fallen into extremely positive and proactive habits when it comes to the moving process, while others perpetuate the kinds of bad habits that really should have been ousted by now.
So, in the spirit of taking pride of place in the former camp and avoiding the latter at all costs, here’s a brief rundown of ten on the most common and harmful moving mistakes you’ll really wish you hadn’t made:
1 – Late Packing
Nothing can make the moving process more chaotic and unpleasant that finding yourself at the eleventh hour with most of the stuff you plan to take still not packed. This is the kind of thing that not only breeds terrible decision making and stress, but also leads to half of your stuff either being damaged in transit or left behind entirely.
2 – Late Booking
A good removals firm will of course be more than happy to tackle your last-minute move with little to no notice, but at the same time you can guarantee yourself the best possible chance of a smooth move by booking as far in advance as realistic. The more time you both have to come together and formulate a plan of attack, the better your chances of walking away victorious.
3 – Booking Unwisely
That being said, it’s probably even more important to make sure that you book a good removals company in the first place as to bring a bunch of amateurs along for the ride is to simply make things a thousand times worse from the onset. Check their reputation, ask as many questions as necessary and go with your gut.
4 – Forgetting to Backup
These days, chances are that much of your life and what’s important therein will be on your computers and electronic devices. It’s hardly likely that anything untoward is going to happen in transit, but as no human being can ever know what’s around the next corner, it’s crucial that you backup anything that’s of genuine importance to you prior to going ahead with the move.
5 – Poor Labelling
It’s one thing to label a bunch of boxes ‘Living Room’ or ‘Kitchen’ but what happens when there’s one crucial thing you need to find and you have 15 huge boxes with the same label written on them? Unless it’s just the kind of generic stuff that’s of no real consequence, label your boxes with more detail than just the room they’re to be placed in.
6 – Not Measuring Up
Prior to moving, it’s a good idea to head over to your new home and take as many measurements as necessary to make sure that your furniture and items will not only fit in place, but also fit in the front door in the first place.
7 – Ignoring Insurance
This of course comes down to the choice of removals company you make but is important enough to be given its own separate point. When it comes to insurance, the only kind that’s sufficient is that which totally and completely covers everything you take to the new place during both transit and the loading/unloading stages. If you overlook insurance, you risk losing a great deal.
8 – Not Cleaning the New Place
This isn’t always possible, but if you can have any kind of access to your new place prior to the move itself, you should really take the time to head over and give it a good clean. Of course you’re going to make one hell of a mess moving in there with all your stuff, but the last thing you want is for this to be compounded with an existing mess that’s only likely to make things more difficult and unpleasant.
9 – Not Addressing Clutter
If you have a whole bunch of stuff that needs sorting, disposing of or generally going through for the purposes of assessing what you want, do this in the home you’re in now rather than when you get to the other end. The idea here being confining as much of the chaos and mess to one place as possible, rather than making a mess of both places unnecessarily.
10 – Packing Valuables Away
Last but not least, for the sake of peace of mind above all else it’s a good idea to carry things like wallets, passports, jewellery and other valuable items with you, as opposed to packing them in boxes. This way, you can not only keep an eye on them but also make sure that they are the first things to be put away safely when you arrive at your new home.
