Ten money-saving tips: Moving house

MOVING house can be one of the most stressful life events. But there are ways to take the pain out of moving day.

The delivery auction website Anyvan gives home-movers the chance to shop around for cheap removal options. Here the founder of Anyvan, Angus Elphinstone, shares his top ten tips for making the day you move house as easy and as stress free as can be.

1 Declutter

Use moving house as your opportunity to get rid of anything you don’t absolutely need. It’ll save you time packing, and unloading, and it’s good for the soul, too! As well as selling clothes, shoes and furniture online or giving them away to friends/charity shops, some charities will come and collect bulky, hard-to-shift items like furniture to save you paying to have them removed.

2 Pick your day

Moving at weekends or over Bank Holidays is not advised. Not only will the roads be busier, you may find removal firms are booked up or that their fees are higher. Weekdays are preferable.

3 Money-saving

If you’re looking to move without spending a fortune, there are cheaper alternatives to using a traditional removal firm. To get a rock bottom quote – and check feedback from other customers to ensure you’re going to get the best possible service – try a delivery auction website. These can slash overseas moving costs by around 70 per cent because your home contents will be transported along a scheduled delivery route, filling up any empty space in vans or lorries. Post your job online, and delivery firms will bid for the job at their best possible price. They’ll also pack and load if requested.

4 Insurance

Make sure your removals firm covers your possessions in transit – including any valuable items. Check the details of their insurance policy, as sometimes it won’t cover items that were not packed by their own employees. Jewellery and other small, precious items should ideally be packed and moved with you.

5 Packing

Long distances and furniture stacked together heightens the risk of damage. Consider paying your removal company to do some of the packing for you, particularly for bulky items like white goods and furniture or fragile items. It might seem like an extravagant luxury, but they know what they’re doing, and it can be a big time saver too.

6 Access

If you live on a narrow street or a main road you’ll need to think about parking. It may be worth asking the neighbours if they could park elsewhere on moving day, and organise the removal firm a parking permit if there are restrictions. It is also worth thinking about access at your destination as well. The last thing you want to do is annoy your new neighbours on day one.

7 Babysitters

Children who aren’t big enough to help, animals and home removals don’t mix. Offload kids, cats and dogs on kind grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends for the day, and preferably for the night too, whilst you organise and co-ordinate the unloading, unpacking and get settled in. If you have cats, make sure their address is written on their collar, in case they get disorientated in their new neighbourhood.

8 Admin

Take final meter readings on the day you leave and notify your suppliers. Give your employer, children’s schools and the council your change of address, as well as your bank, mobile phone provider and any other service provider.

9 Moving day kit

You should have some emergency supplies at hand for moving day. Tea bags, milk, cups, a kettle and some chocolate Hob Nobs aren’t luxuries, they are essential! Pack a change of clothes and some toiletries for the first night, plus a bottle of celebratory wine. There’s no way you’ll want to cook, so order a takeaway. The HungryHouse app is great if you’re new to the area, because it will find every takeaway near you, and lets you order via the app.

10 Security

Once in the property, get the locks changed. This is a sensible precautionary measure as you never know who might have been given a spare key in the past.