Moving into a new home can be a daunting life change, especially if you don’t cope well with change. You have to pack up your entire life, and then move it into a new home – which is not an easy feat. To make the process easier, here’s a step-by-step guide of what you need to do, from moving truck hire, to what kind of packaging materials you’ll need.

Step 1: Get Prepared 

How does one get prepared for such a significant life change? If you’re not in the habit of clearing your cupboards out regularly, it’s understandable why moving to a new home would be so off-putting. You probably have a lot of stuff!

But before you get overwhelmed by thinking of everything you need to do, the best thing for you to do is have a clear list of ways to get prepared for the move. What you need to do first is book a moving truck hire from a rental agency that you can afford and trust. Once the moving truck is booked and ready for when you need it on moving day, you can relax! That’s one major thing on your list – done!

Next, you need to review your insurance – for moving, and for the moving truck hire. You don’t want your items to be damaged, stolen or lost. And you most definitely also don’t want to have an accident in the truck, have it break down or get stolen either.

Once that’s done, get boxes and packing materials. The packing materials you’ll need include:

• Boxes
• Bubble wrap
• Newspaper or packing paper
• Trash bags
• Permanent markers
• Heavy-duty packing tape and plastic wrap
• Moving blankets and furniture pads

Step 2: Start Packing! 

Packing up your house is what will take up the most time during this process, so make sure that you take your time and do it carefully. If you’re rushing, your items could break, get damaged from being packed poorly, and you might throw things out that you actually wanted to keep.

Go through every room and make a list of its contents. Think about where these things will go in your new home; if they don’t fit, don’t pack them! When you start packing, make sure that you have a pile to give away, sell, or throw out. If you haven’t cleaned out in years, you’ll cut down on stuff to pack significantly because you’ll know what you want to keep.

Keep in mind that your moving truck hire is only so big, and the more stuff you want to keep, the more you’ll have to transport to your new home. And the more there is to move, the more trips you’ll have to make in your hired moving truck. Remember, you’ve booked your moving truck for a limited number of days. For most people, it’s a weekend – so you need to have time to load, transport and unload the truck more than once. The more you keep, the more you’ll have to transport.

Step 3: Prepare For Moving Day 

Once you’ve packed everything up into boxes, and donated, sold or thrown out what you don’t want to keep, you can prepare for moving day. Moving day is stressful, especially if you have people helping you, and with so many boxes to keep track of. But you’re not in your new home yet. You still have to prepare your old house for the new owners.

Deep clean your home by cleaning the floors, counters, windows and cupboards. Pay close attention to the areas you couldn’t get to often when heavy furniture was in the way. You can even get carpet cleaning professionals to shampoo your carpets.

Now that everything’s packed away, you need to have a few essential items available for the days that follow before the move, so pack a suitcase of a few changes of clothes and a bag of toiletries.

Step 4: Moving Day

When moving day arrives, you need a streamlined plan of action to get your stuff into the hired moving truck quickly and efficiently. Load the large items of furniture and appliances first, at the back of the truck. Then fill the gaps with boxes and softer items like bags of clothing, couch cushions, etc.

Packing up and moving to a new home can be overwhelming, but it’s much easier to manage if you have a step-by-step guide to follow. But remember, the most important thing is always to arrange and book moving truck hire ahead of time. Chat to Auckland Vehicle Rentals for all your moving truck hire requirements.

Elbert Price