Friday 6 June 2008

M… is for moving on

We are in the middle of moving home. In fact, so in the middle, that I am starting to get the shivers. We have been living in north London, above a pub my husband owns for the past two and a half years. I could tell you all about the benefits of living above your local boozer, but I think you can guess them. And yes, it’s a sweet life although it has some (I know, hard to believe) drawbacks. Back to where I started, we are moving and although we’ve known for the last 6 weeks we are still to start packing our belongings and actually get ready for the move, which is in three days time now. I am, you could say, the typical woman: I buy buy buy and never throw anything away. Maybe because I am an only child but the fact is that I get attached to things and I can’t bear parting with them. To me they are all memories. Memories I don’t remember until I find that photo, that book, etc but memories none the less.

But we are moving and I need to get on with it. Pronto. When we first decided to move, I intended to have a major spring clean and get rid of all sorts of useless things I keep in the house but needless to say I will be taking every single bit with me to the new place in the hope that I’ll do the clear out there. Inevitably once we get there, I’ll get side-tracked by some other more exciting thing (that could be the mini-greenhouse where I intend to grow aromatic herbs as well as tomatoes and perhaps some salad leaves. I’ll report on the tribulations of gardening in due time) and never actually throw away any of the junk I've hoarded over the past decade.

I am not a clumsy person but I have a proven record of falling down the stairs in every single house move I have ever done. That’s every single one of a total of 5. Now, older and hopefully a little wiser, I convinced my husband to use a removal company to help us out. After a lot of internet searching I narrowed my choice down to four companies. It took some time because there are literally dozens in the area but it is definitely worth the effort as you can save a few £££ by doing that. I will let you know how it goes but for the time being they have been pretty damn good with the pre-move logistics. They even agreed to do some of our packing for us at no cost! I am not one for haggling but remember, “if you don’t ask you don’t get” and there’s no harm in asking, right?

Something I found to be quite useful is this website, I am Moving where you can register (for free) and they handle all address changes for you (for free). Great idea, easy to use and so far, very effective.

What are your top tips when tackling a house move?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Top tips? Let your wife organise everything (except the curtain)