Moving house

joneve

I'm fortunate that my wife starting boxing shit up whilst I was away skiing, but there's still stuff to pack and she wants to do it when we get home from work at night. All I want to do is watch TV and fall asleep. 

stickyfiddle

I've moved twice in the last 4 years. The first time I did everything myself except a half-day of man+van to shift some furniture. The second time I did precisely nothing and "the company" did the whole lot. 

In the first move we lost an Ikea Billy bookcase, and years off our lives in stress. In the second, we lost one cheap brandy glass we never used and nothing else except a couple of dents in our kitchen table (not a big deal on an old rustic pine thing). 

I hope to never have to do anything again in terms of moving except paying for it. That said, both moves were an excellent opportunity to go through all our stuff and chuck out anything we didn't need or want any more. It's quite therapeutic, and you'd be amazed how much shite everyone seems to accumulate over even a short time like a couple years!

Cirrus

All my possessions I actually care about are at my band's lockup space. If we moved house, I'd just move into a hotel for a few weeks and leave my partner to sort out her incredible collection of clothes, books, boxes of utter shit and detritus before arriving back for the last day when furniture is moved.

IanSavage

Cirrus said:

All my possessions I actually care about are at my band's lockup space. If we moved house, I'd just move into a hotel for a few weeks and leave my partner to sort out her incredible collection of clothes, books, boxes of utter shit and detritus before arriving back for the last day when furniture is moved.

I couldn't decide on a LOL or a Wisdom so I flipped a coin; take a 'mental' Wisdom too.

ESBlonde

@npp said

Throw away what you can, and pack systematically, bearing in mind where stuff will have to go in the new place, and label all your boxes clearly. Think about how many boxes you may need, then double the figure, then double it again

Also if you are doing the move yourself, get wheels. At least a decent sack barrow. Have some mates (beer in hand !) to lift out the big stuff. The big day will be very tiring so absolutely anything you can prepare and plan will be a bonus.

There are said to be 3 very stressful things in our modern life. Divorce, death of a loved one and buying/moving house. So take care of your health too and plan a 'day off' from unpacking/decorating within two weeks of moving in.

lloyd

I've moved house about 4/5 times in the last 2 years, it's not that bad. Admittedly it's been from flats so haven't had to lug white goods about, you just have to plan it all and give yourself time to do it...A full weekend should be enough but if you can get a Friday afternoon or a full Monday then even better.

Hire a big van, pack all the little stuff in the days coming up to the move. Live with one plate/cup/pan etc for a couple days so it's actually packed and ready to go.

You will argue with your other half at some point, let it go.

Hire a big van.

Iamnobody

We should be moving next week. l have a toddler, 2 cats, a dog and a new house that needs fully redecorating and repairs/refurb work.

Oh yeah and the trouble and strife is due again in May so can't even help with any lifting!

I'm not worried or stressed. I'm moving myself with help from a mate.

It will work out fine. I've moved 3 times previously myself no hassle.

I'll echo the declutter comments - there's no need to move shit between houses.

Iamnobody

How did it go @rmj? Well I hope?

Despite my confident post above I've been fucked about and looks like my move is off for now.

Last week the sellers of our new property failed to exchange contracts. They should have been exchanged today but it came to light that our buyers mortgage offer expired today.

Unless we can exchange and complete tomorrow - (which we can't) the whole move is on hold until our buyers reapply for a mortgage

Drew_TNBD

Soooooo mucccchhhhh craaaaaaappp!!! Where does it all come from?? Answer: the hoarding wife.

RMJ

Iamnobody;553225" said:

How did it go @rmj? Well I hope?

Despite my confident post above I've been fucked about and looks like my move is off for now.

Last week the sellers of our new property failed to exchange contracts. They should have been exchanged today but it came to light that our buyers mortgage offer expired today.

Unless we can exchange and complete tomorrow - (which we can't) the whole move is on hold until our buyers reapply for a mortgage

The move went very well thanks mate. Removals company were excellent. Reasonable value, friendly and very professional. We then cleaned the house and were out a full day ahead of completion.

Moving house is tough. I would hate for things to have fallen through and can empathise. Hope things work out for you.

Iamnobody

Glad it went well for you.

Cheers for the empathy but it's not the end of the world and I'm fairly relaxed about it all despite the hassles it has already and will bring about.

The problem with moving house is you have to place too much reliance and responsibility with others to do their bit.

It's outside your control really. With all the best planning in the world your side - if something goes wrong elsewhere in the chain you are knackered and fairly powerless to do anything.

RMJ

We were very lucky. Buyer with nothing to sell, and we were moving into temporary accommodation. Minimal cogs in the machine.

boogieman

Drew_fx;553245" said:

Soooooo mucccchhhhh craaaaaaappp!!! Where does it all come from?? Answer: the hoarding wife.

Did you go for the place in Colindale eventually?

Drew_TNBD

boogieman said:

Drew_fx;553245" said:

Soooooo mucccchhhhh craaaaaaappp!!! Where does it all come from?? Answer: the hoarding wife.

Did you go for the place in Colindale eventually?

Yes mate. Here is hoping the next few years aren't absolutely hellish!

boogieman

I used to live nearby, my son still does, it's not a bad area tbh. There's even a guitar shop of sorts on the main drag in Colindale. Even the friggin godawful Northern Line is much better than it used to be.

Drew_TNBD

boogieman said:

I used to live nearby, my son still does, it's not a bad area tbh. There's even a guitar shop of sorts on the main drag in Colindale. Even the friggin godawful Northern Line is much better than it used to be.

Yeah I get the Northern Line most days anyway, and the missus' parents have a house in Burnt Oak, so I know the areas fairly well. We rehearse at Mill Hill Music too, so I'm a bit closer there for random jammage too. Just hoping my neighbours aren't noise nazi's. I'm not overly loud, and I don't play valve amps cranked in the house. But I still wanna be able to make music at night after work.