"Escape from the neighbours" plan#1 is underway, and I am tidying/chucking stuff like a madwoman, ready to get the house valued and hopefully sold.
So - here's where you help!
Leave me a comment with your top "house moving" tip - for whatever stage of the process you wish. How to impress potential buyers, how to keep my sanity, how to make moving-day itself go smoothly - anything. You can enter as many times as you wish, but each *DIFFERENT* tip has to be in a separate comment. Telling me to brew fresh coffee 98 times will only get you one entry! *Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you*
Prize is two fab AUDIO CDs of new Dr Who stories that were given away with my newspaper last weekend, and I'll throw in a DVD of the cult 70s film "Abigail's party" in case you're not a Dr Who fan. (Sadly, all the way through the film MrNifty and I were recognising ourselves and our furniture and decor from the 70s!)
"The Hounds of Artemis" is read by Matt Smith and Clare Corbett (Dr Who and Amy) and "The Ring of Steel" is read by Arthur Darvill (Rory)
Being "of a certain age", I am also discovering lots of hidden treasures which are being added to my vintage shop, so check it out here!
Giveaway winner will be randomly selected next Monday 7th March *Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you*
***GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED***
19 comments:
Top Tip - Spreadsheet with all your utilities, banks, tv license, driving licence etc etc that you will need to contact when you move house to let them know your new address. I've moved house 5 times in 8 years and this has been invaluable.
In terms of selling the house I always like to look around the house without the owner there so I can have a proper good look and not feel self conscious - so make you estate agent earn their money by making them to the viewings while you are out (good excuse to go to the pub)
Good luck with your escape plan - I am hatching my own - hopefully this time next year.
@haptree
As much as I dislike McDonalds....their boxes are excellent for moving house! I just went in and asked could I have some empty boxes please and they met me outside with a whole stack of flattened boxes. All I needed to do was use a bit of parcel tape along the bottom. Great size for moving house as you can get a lot in them without overfilling them and making them impossible to lift! We still have stuff stored in our attic in them : )
Accept help from anyone who offers or use favours you may be owed from friends. Their help will very likely prove invaluable in some way!
PS. My 6 yo DD LOVES Doctor Who *crosses fingers*
I'm not sure if this counts as a top tip (but I just love Abigail's Partya nd ahven't seen it for years and the girls will have new found love for me if I win some Dr Who goodies) but the last time Simon and I moved (in a time BC) I went to work! Got up at 5.30 am, showered and left, when I got to the new house that evening most of the hard stuff had been done, I just unearthed a kettle and made tea. Maybe you need to have an urgent, pressing engagement on moving day and just leave Mr Nifty to it, what could go wrong?! x
Drape Bouce sheets on the radiators, then remove just before the viewing. The house will smell of fresh laundry!
Claire Manwani.
My tip is for moving...
Pack an "essentials for first day" box. In it put:
-Coffe maker and mugs, with sugar and/or creamer - for the first morning in your new place
-dish soap and dishcloths and towels - to wash anything that needs it
-some plastic silverware and plates - so you don't have to unpack boxes to eat
-Bath towels and washcloths, travel shower gear AND shower curtain (if you think you may need one)- you will want a shower once you are done hauling boxes, and you won't want to unpack box after box to take that much needed shower and rest, or go to the store to gat any of the items here. just shower and relax after that hard day.
-Breakfast items for the first morning in your new place - you won't want to have to run out to get that first thing after your big move!
-Snacks and drinks - pack separate from the essentails box, as that is for when you are in your new place. The snacks are for travelling to the new place - to keep your enegry going.
That should get you through the move and a comfortable start to the new place. When we moved last August, I was so grateful to have the shower stuff and coffee and breakfast for the next morning! (Though I didn't remember the shower curtain, so my daughter and I held towels up for each other while we showered)
This preparation enabled us all to have a (more or less) normal mornging routine after our grueling 3 day driving a u-haul and trailer move.
Good luck in selling and moving!
Rebecca
When I last moved, I bit the bullet and booked the removers to do the packing for me. Best money I've ever spent. They arrived in the morning, I went out for a cup of coffee and a read of the paper, I met them at the new house, and everything was neatly packed in boxes and in the right rooms at the other end. It was one of the most stress-free moves I've ever had. Your sanity has its own price :)
My tip is that you should hand carry to your new house at least 2 rolls of toilet paper during your move. There is nothing worse than needing to use the bathroom in the middle of the chaos of moving and NOT having what you need! Sadly I speak from experience.
keep kettle active! along with tea bags/coffee and milk/sugar. you will require it!
start saving newspapers NOW for wrapping. get all your chums to save them for you too. you can always recyce extras but best to have lots to keep things safe.
remember, its amasing just how much you can get in a duvet cover, they hold a whole lot of clothes/towels/ other bedding etc. no point in wasting 'proper' packing space on squishy things. can also be used to protect things in transit as its like a massive cushion.
Movin day tips..
(1) save ONE box for the essentials. Kettle, teabags, toothpaste, toilet-roll, fresh undies etc so that you can survive the first 24-hours in relative comfort. And make sure it doesn't get buried anywhere!
(2) research the nearest takeaways to your new home and order in on moving day
(3)Move into your new home with an open mind about what your new neighbours may be like (esp. if you've just escape the neighbours from hell)
(4) plant something in your new garden asap. No matter how small, just something that signifies that that's where your roots now lie.
Last two times I moved, I got the removals company to do all the packing - saves days and days of work if you do it yourself. STRESS FREE on removals day (honestly!) It costs more but boy-o-boy is it worth it!
My tip is to paint any rooms that have a theme. pink girl's room, boy's dinosaur room, etc. You might THINK buyers and look past that and see other uses for the room but they can't, they just can't. They will remember your house as the dinosaur house and not even consider it unless they are ga-ga for dinosaurs!
Sort out what you keep and what you throw away, and put everything you throw away in one room (to do it in one go)...don't pack something and say, I'll throw it later;
(desperate Dr Who fan here)
Get banana boxes, nothing is sturdier than a banana cardboard box
And if you want to sell a house, think of smell. It strangely affects your mood, and a smell that reminds someone of a holiday or spring/summer will make potential buyers happy. But it must not be overpowering either.
And don't try to hide the "defects", don't emphasize them either, just don't try to hide them because people will just focus on that.
closing this now - thanks for all your suggestions everyone! I'm just off to random.org to find the winner
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