We are in the process of looking for our first family home, to buy and it is really hard work. They are either too small, wrong layout, bedrooms all on different floors or the garden is tiny. I feel like we are being incredibly fussy, but I want to get this right. We do not have the cash to move after we have got our mortgage. Who does? It’s made me think about things for when we do move, that will make it less stressful like: removals, storage, decorating, cleaning and getting family to help us out. We have moved house 4 times in the past 10 years, so you would think I am a pro at this moving malarkey.
So here are my tips on how you can make moving house a little easier with a family:
Check out the surrounding area before you move
Knowing where the local shop is to grab that pint of milk will be essential on the first weekend of moving in. Or if you do have the children with you on moving day, knowing where the local park is would be essential information. When the children become tired of unpacking boxes and sorting their teddies out they can burn off steam with a run around. Also, if you are not lucky enough to have a decent kitchen in the new house a local pub is always a good thing to know about so you can grab a well earned hot meal.
Hire a removal company
This might sound like a waste of money to some people. Lots of people thinks it’s easier to hire a van and do it all yourself. But with small children running around your feet this can be dangerous. What better way than to hire a removal company to take that stress away from you. You can find some fabulous companies out there by searching in Google for removal companies and your location, like this: “removal companies Brighton“.
Get the family to help with childcare
This might come as a surprise, but many people do not think to ask for help in situations like this. The children having a sleepover at the grandparents house for the weekend, for example, can mean that you have the entire first weekend to get the house in shape for the children’s arrival: cleaning and carpets, adding their furniture to the bedrooms. It might seem insignificant but these are the little things that will comfort the children when they go to bed for the first time in their new room. We have the other issue that they currently share, we will be buying a house where they do not need to share, so Isla will have to learn to sleep on her own again! She had huge anxiety at bedtime up until she was 3, so I hope this doesn’t revert back.
Ask your friends
Joking aside, we have never moved house without the help of our friends and family. The last time we moved I have friends unpacking the kitchen items away in cupboards for me, friends putting the beds together, it was like a military operation to get us set up so the kiddies could go to sleep in their beds that night. It was hard work and there was 6 of us. One time we moved and I was pregnant with Isla, so I couldn’t help clean properly due to the detergents and products. So it was essential that we had help otherwise we couldn’t of done it. One of our moves also meant a 90 mile drive to transport our belongings and us. That was a fair few trips with friends helping out either end. It’s incredible that we have such a good network of friends. They really wanted to help us too. Don’t be afraid to ask. I hear people joking when they move house that they will have a paint party – but nothing ever comes of it. Do it! Get them in, get them painting and feed them pizza to keep them going.
Tell the Royal Mail
Silly but really important, tell the Royal Mail you are moving and set a divert on all of your mail for the first 3 months. You can do this online nowadays too. Great tip for saving hours of toing and froing between properties or wondering if you remembered to change all the addresses on all of your accounts.
If you have any more fabulous tips I would love to hear them for when we do finally make our move into the family home. Comment below or get me on social media with @mummyconstant.
