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).