What You Should Go Through When Moving with a Van

By Guest Writer Ella Andrews

There are so many things to do and to think of, that to find the best order is often quite a challenge. However, let's get through the basics.

Make yourself a great plan for your relocation.  A great tip is to start making your plan at least a couple of months before the move. Organize everything from changing the accounts for suppliers to telling your neighbors about the move. If you have small kids - tell them about the change of house and perhaps the most interesting details about the new house - how far it is located, the arrangement of the rooms, something interesting about the new school, etc. Give plenty of time to your kids to get used to the idea of the relocation, which will definitely reduce the stress. Another great tip for the planning is to make yourself a moving checklist. It requires plenty of time to organize it in a clean and proper manner, so put it high on the agenda. It is essential to do it as early as possible, which is the key for a flawless moving day without the need for hurry. During the planning, highlight some goals or milestones in the checklist.

The next basic step is to prepare everything for the move. Give tasks to all the family members, which will definitely enhance the hustle and bustle at home, but it will definitely make everything easier as well. For instance, the kids can take care about the sorting and de-cluttering of their own toys and clothes, while the strongest family members can take care of the dismantling and sorting of the biggest and heaviest furnishings. You want to prepare only the things that you really want to take with you to the new house. Once the true volume and size of your belongings are determined - it's time to find the perfect removal company and to make the booking of your relocation. Start by asking a friend or a colleague maybe to recommend a company. If they have a great previous experience with such a company - a recommendation can save plenty of time for searching. Or else, stroll through the sites of the companies in your region, check out their services, removal vans, specs, offers, etc., and request quotes. Compare the quotes and select the one that suits your needs. Then, call the moving agent to discuss the details and the preferred date for the move. Find a company at least a couple of weeks before the move. If moving house with all the furnishings from two or three floors - then you probably need to look for a company with a team of professional movers and book a huge removal van, or perhaps a truck. Request enough boxes from the company or in brief - prepare everything for packing and loading in the moving van.

The packing might be a long and overwhelming journey too. Always label every box with a proper label according to the checklist. Make special boxes for fragile items, for very expensive items, or for the biggest and heaviest items. Protect well your belongings before packing by using different protective materials. Bubble wraps, heavy-duty tapes, plastic bags, edge protectors and plastic wraps - there are plenty of useful materials that you can probably find in your home. Apply all the space-saving techniques that you know and try to dismantle as many objects as possible, which indeed is one of the best ways to save valuable space.