Moving home can be both exciting and stressful. It can be difficult finding and acquiring a new place to live, but the real work begins once you have the keys. It can take a few weeks to get your new home into a state suitable for moving into to, so here are a few tips to help you out.
1) – Cleaning – Whether buying or renting, a new home should ideally be in a clean enough condition to move into. Unfortunately this is not always the case and the new owners or tenants find themselves with piles of dirt, dust, left over rubbish from work men or the previous people who lived there. Once you have your keys it’s a good idea to invest in a good sweeping brush, dustpan and plenty of cleaning equipment. The floors are often likely to be bare so give them a good sweep to shift the dust. Wipe windows, frames, skirting boards and kitchen units down with cleaning solution and water.
2) Cover the windows – Even if not moving in straight away, you don’t want strangers staring through windows looking at what’s inside or watching you decorate. If you don’t want to risk spoiling new curtains or blinds then a cheap alternative would be to tape newspaper onto the window or hang a cheap old pair of curtains up until your ready for new.
3) Decorating – Depending on how good you are with a paintbrush and wallpaper stripper, this bit can either be exciting or extremely stressful. Shopping for wallpaper and paint can be fun, especially so for children. Have in your mind a clear idea of what colour scheme you want per room, take measurements of walls so you know how much to buy. If you’re rubbish at hanging wallpaper then consider using paste the wall wallpaper which I find incredibly easy to hang. Get friends and family to help with the decorating or to watch the kids whilst you get on with it.
4) Carpet & flooring – Once decorated you’ll probably want to consider floor coverings. Be it Carpet, wood floors or some sort of lino; it’s often a good idea to shop around for deals as this can get expensive. If you can’t afford to carpet your whole house straight away then stick to the most used rooms and areas first such as living room, stairs, kitchen floor etc. Then concentrate on the bedrooms at a later date. It’s best to invest in good quality flooring for the rooms you use the most and paying that little bit more so you get the most out of it.
4) Furnishings – Now that everywhere is decorated and carpets are down it’s now time to properly move in and that means either bringing the furniture you have or buying new. There are hundreds of removal companies and man with van people in every area. Each one will have their own price and terms. Some charge a set price for the move whilst others charge by the hour. It’s a good idea to google who you use and look for reviews from people so have previously used their services. You can of course move yourself and hire a van from a reputable hire company. These usually require a deposit along with hire fees and relevant documents. If this is your first home, you may not have much furniture of your own to bring, in this case it’s good to ask relatives and friends if they have anything to donate and also shop around for deals. Many charity shops also sell cheap items of quality furniture too.
