Do-It-Yourself Moving Tips

by Izzy Smith
(London)

If you are fully capable of moving out of your apartment yourself, then hiring a moving company could be unnecessary. This applies if you have friends and family that are willing or able to help, and you don't have a hard deadline.

If you are going to give it a go, remember there are moving companies out there that offer very affordable services like London Man with Van.

First, you will need to be prepared for a few things. Moving is hard and will take lots of time and energy. For example, you will need to reserve a moving truck or a moving vehicle for the big day. Most people plan their move in the summer or spring when it’s hopefully dry on the ground and no sleet making the move extra difficult. If you want a vehicle, be on time and book it about three or four months ahead.

Next, check with your new community if you will need to reserve a parking spot on the day of and see if there are any possibilities to drive up in front of a door.

Now it is time to start planning your packing. You will need more boxes than you think, so start gathering in good time. I prefer to use reusable eco-friendly boxes, but keep in mind they tend to cost a bit more. Go to your local grocery store to see if they have any banana boxes to spare or check with friends and family if they have any that they want to get rid of. Try not to buy too many boxes; reusing is the key to a happy planet.

Don't forget to get some packing supplies like tissue paper, bubble wrap and packing tape to protect your things. You could use old newspaper, old sheets, sweaters, and bubble wrap for your delicate possessions. Wrap the fragile items separately since they will break easily if you wrap them up together.

When planning your packing, make sure that you are picky with what you are going to bring. Arriving to a new place should be refreshing and bringing old vases and plates that don't go with the new interior might not be optimal. Clean out everything you do not want to keep and donate, recycle or sell the items you don't want. This makes the unpacking process easier as opposed to trying to go through everything after you've moved.

On moving day you should have as much as you can already figured out, so that you can guide your helpers. What should be loaded into the truck first? What should be placed in which room? What is heavy and what is not?

If you have planned all these things in advance, packed everything you want to bring and gotten rid of the rest, this moving process will be a piece of cake.

Again, if you discover that you do need a little professional help, consider a service like this one. London Van Removal Company