Moving House Guide - part 2 of 6

Time spent preparing, could save you a lot of stress and money.

If you are having various company representatives to come and visit make sure you are prepared. They will want to look every where, under the stairs, inside cupboards and even under your beds. Anything that needs to go with you must be put on your inventory form or shown to the company representatives. It you do call up and ask several removal companies to give you a quote it is very important that you ask them all the same questions and to do exactly the same things, if not then you will receive quotes that not only vary widely, but are for completely different jobs.

Let's start at the top of the house. With a pen & paper to make notes, have a look in the loft space. Is it all to go? Is it going to be brought down by yourselves or the removal men*?
*Health and Safety regulations will apply; the companies will be able to tell you about this.

You will have to go through everything, and decide what you would like to keep, throw out, sell or give away. For tips and hints on de-cluttering please visit our new section on 'Clutter' in the advice section of the website. If you separate everything into various piles it is easier to see what you have. The loft is always a good place to start, as nothing is in constant use and therefore can be boxed up well in advance. Books and videos are other items that are often not used frequently and could be sorted out and boxed.

Be ruthless, if not you will only have to pay for it all to be transported to the new house, so why not sort through it now.

Do start to make a list of questions to ask, otherwise you will forget.