How to make moving house an easier task

Packing up house can be a nightmare. Kya deLongchamps offers suggestions on how to make it as pain-free as possible

SECOND only to death and divorce, moving house is a nightmare for most of us. Time is the enemy, so if you have the idea of jumping ship, three months is not too long a period to start meticulously planning an orderly exit.

LIGHTENING THE LOAD (AND THE BILL): Paying a premium price to have unwanted items stalk you to your new home is madness. Use the first period for a soul freeing purge. Go through the house identifying things to recycle, gift or bin. You can take this process right down to the last day, keeping a charity box at the ready as you unearth detritus behind drawers and doors, but the main ballast should be long gone before the movers arrive. Ask friends and neighbours in to take a look (everyone loves a freebie).

Most moving companies offer a part-pack or simple un-pack service, so doing some of the work yourself can slash a budget. You can elect to have heavier, awkward or fragile items handled by the pros and have the family handle the rest. The more information your mover has the more accurate their quote will be. An on-site survey, room by room and provided free by most moving firms, will get the number nailed down. Your potential movers, will provide you with a good idea of exactly what you need, together with a range of price options for varying levels of DIY packing and even the packing materials itself.

YOU WILL NEED:

* Double skinned cardboard boxes in a range of sizes. A specialist packaging firm can supply these flat-packed.

* Bubble wrap in a large roll.

* Packing paper — plain, tissue and newspaper. Newspaper can transfer ink to pale surfaces. Use it for the outer skin of wrapping.

* String. Great for tying drawers and wardrobe doors shut where packing tape might lift a polished surface.

* Industrial strength packing tape. Beg or borrow a hand held tape reel with an integral serrated cutter.

* Retractable razor knife.

* Blankets for larger furniture.

* Bin bags — great to coral heaps of clothes before boxing.

* A large pair or two of scissors.

* Pens, an A4 notepad, clipboard and paper labels in a variety of colours.

* Tape measure.

* Digital camera. Record the sequence of taking anything complex to pieces.

THE FLIGHT PLAN: With some forward planning your belongings will neatly wing their way to their ideal location in your new home.

* Create a rough floorplan of your new home assigning names (eg, bedroom one, upstairs corridor) or even colours to each destination area.

* As you progress, write the destination area on the side of each box (not the top where stacking will obscure it). Large coloured labels are easy to spot in a cliff-face of boxes.

* Create a careful inventory of the contents of each box and assign the box a number. Write this number and a rough inventory on the box (eg Box 6. Books on gardening). Put the detailed inventory inside before sealing up the box.

* Keep a list of the boxes by their numbers and rough inventory separately and with your personal bags when you move.

* Put the boxes together in destination area groups so that they come off the van together and go to their area together.

* Before the movers arrive at your new home, post up a copy of the house plan in the entrance way for reference, with the names of the destination areas on the floorplan.

BOXING CLEVER:

* Pack smaller boxes at waist level to save your back.

* Check the bases of any recycled boxes for staples that may scratch your new floors when rudely dumped.

* Place small items together in larger boxes and larger items in smaller boxes.

* Don’t pack boxes to be heavier than the weakest adult involved can lift. 15Kg is a reasonable maximum.

* In a mixed box, place heavy items on the bottom and lighter items on the top. Cushion those yawning gaps with balled up wrapping paper to prevent shifting.

* Tape up small wrapped items to highlight their existence and to avoid seeing them shaken out with the newspaper or even thrown out by mistake.

* If your boxes are going into storage, tape all edges to prevent insects crawling inside. Taping edges will re-enforce the strength of your boxes when stacked.

* Fragile boxes should carry the word ‘Fragile’ in large block capitals on every side.

DON’T PACK:

* Safe box— these contain your vital documents (including the inventory of boxes) and personal props such as your handbag, passports, laptop computers, insurance documents, address books, jewellery and so on. Lock this box in the boot of your car just before the movers arrive on the big day.

* Your survival kit of toiletries, including a change of clothes, toys for young children, loo roll, vital telephone numbers, a charged mobile phone and laptop, a snack box, kettle and tea/coffee things.

* Fragile, valuable items requiring specialist treatment (valuable paintings etc). Leave these in the hands of the professionals, along with your main furnishings.

* Anything flammable, combustible, perishable, liquid or otherwise hazardous.

* Pet wise: Your dog or cat is better left at a boarding kennels or with trusted friends on moving day. The will be distressed by all the activity and may well bolt.