Moving everything you own internationally is never something to be taken lightly. It’s a time consuming task coupled with the stress of selling your house, negotiating on the new one, fixing dates, not to mention the costs which are all a part of the joys of moving house. To get the job done correctly it takes a bit of planning. Start with one room at a time and label the boxes so that you know their destination when you reach your new place. Before any of this happens you will have taken delivery of packing materials from your movers / removals company, purchased or begged them from local shops / firms etc. Scrutinise what you’ve got and make a point of getting rid of anything you no longer need. There’s nothing worse than trying to find space for old tat in your new home, especially if your new place is smaller.

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The key is to start well in advance of your move but not so early that you are without the essentials needed for everyday life. One of the best places to start is with small ornaments and framed pictures etc. These are perhaps some the items you can do without but nevertheless will want to package up properly so they are not damaged during the move. Use plenty of bubble wrap and newspaper between small items. It’s best to avoid over filling any of the boxes as you’ll want to keep the weight down and make sure things aren’t crammed too tightly together.

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Work your way through the house but leave the boxes in the rooms where the contents came from. This way you can retrieve the odd item and keep filling gradually as you get towards your move date. On move day you can fill the last of the boxes double checking you’ve labelled them before you finally tape them up. Bigger items can be packed at the last moment and very large items such as washing machines and fridges will probably be handled and protected by your removals firm separately. If you have opted to use just a ‘man with a van’ you may want to have some extra protection available as they may not provide much for you.

Don’t forget to give thought to any pets and who will transport them as you move. Have you collected the dry cleaning, redirected mail, cancelled the milk and organised for the gas and electric meters to be read? If you are moving internationally, or just some distance away, you’ll not feel much like driving back to pick up or organise things you forgot. It’s easy to over look these simple tasks but making notes beforehand will mean that you can take care of them one by one and reduce the level of stress you feel on move day.

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Once you are unloading items into your new home it’s best to have someone who dedicates time to ensuring the boxed up items end up in the right place. Check the labels and direct the removals people to the room where they need to go to. Some items you may wish to store elsewhere such as the garage (if you have one) so that the items can be positioned once you have had time to organise the essentials. Those small items you packed up at the very start of the process are perhaps the kind of thing you can give proper thought once you have got over the initial moving stresses.