10 Tips for Moving House in Sheffield

Moving house in Sheffield can be a very stressful experience indeed, from the initial negotiations on your new property, solicitors, checks, choosing your removal company, moving dates changings, it just seems to be one uphill climb. We have created these tips to help relieve that stress and help you with some important decisions.

1. Which removals company should I choose?

There's so many moving companies in Sheffield it's hard to know which one to choose. Price is always a factor, and with the current economic climate the way it is, everyone wants to save money, but don't be tempted to just go for whoever gives you the cheapest price. Look into the company’s reputation. Have they got many reviews across the Internet? Have they got any bad reviews? If so, have they responded to them and dealt with them accordingly? Do they have the capacity to move you if one of their vans break down? Are their staff experienced and trained? After all, they will be dealing with your belongings all day, and you don't want fragile items smashed, leather settee's scuffed or Fridge-Freezers dented. Make sure the company you use have active measures in place to protect your furniture. While it may be tempting to go with a cheap Man and Van service, if you've paid thousands on sofa's, mattresses, wardrobes and the like, do you want them launched into their vans with no protection at all?

2. What day should you move house?

We strongly recommend moving during the weekdays, Monday to Thursday. Reason being, most solicitors push for a Friday completion, so a lot of removals companies get booked up quickly on this day. Usually, the completion time will be around 2pm, but if there are any delays and the completion doesn't go through in time, you've then got to wait until Monday before everything can proceed. If you've got somewhere else to stay then that's fine, but if not, it's a hotel job for the weekend. You'll also have to pay your moving company a fee for storing your furniture in their vans all weekend, and if they have their vans booked out over the weekend, you are then going to have to pay for a storage unit to unload your contents into or the hire of some more vans so your furniture can remain in the loaded vans. Either way, it can get quite costly. Of course, this doesn't happen a lot, most of the time things do go smoothly and Fridays are fine, but just remember the consequences if there is a hiccup along the way. The advantage of moving on a Friday is it gives you the weekend to unpack and settle into your new home if you have a regular Monday to Friday job.

3. Do you need insurance?

All reputable moving companies should provide their customers with insurance cover. Sometimes this is provided as standard, other times it's an additional cost, but check their policies with them before you book, because it doesn't matter how good or experienced the company may be, accidents sometimes happen, so you need that peace of mind that everything is covered. If you elect to do your own packing, the contents of boxes aren't always covered with the mover's insurance because their staff haven't packed it, and if a box isn't packed correctly, the contents may very well move during transit and smash if they are delicate. If the company you use doesn’t cover boxes packed by customers, then make sure you contact your own home insurance provider to make sure your insurance extends to moving it to another property.

4. Should you pack yourself or let the experts do it?

We touched on packing with tip 3, and the insurance side of things, but that aside, should you pack yourself or put your feet up and let experts pack it all properly? Well, if you're on a tight budget, then you are probably better off taking care of that aspect yourself. Just make sure that you pack your boxes early, don't leave it all until the last minute, as it often takes much longer than you think, especially if you have a lot of kitchenware. ornaments, pictures and so on. Remember that each glass, cup, plate etc. will need to be individually wrapped with protective materials before it is placed in the box to ensure it doesn't chip or smash during the move. If you do budget for a packing service, then getting a team of experts is by far the better option. A standard sized 3-bedroom house can normally be packed up in less than a day by a team of 3 packers, and they'll make sure everything is all protected and packed properly ready for your moving day.

5. Choose your boxes wisely

If you are packing yourself, then you must choose good quality, double sided boxes for your belongings. Don't be tempted for the cheap value boxes or Walkers Crisps boxes you get given for free at the local supermarket. These are no good for stacking in the van and will be crushed, causing the boxes to topple as soon as the van sets off, and then anything in the boxes will probably break or spill.

6. Brewing facilities

One thing you must not back until the last minute is the kettle, a few mugs and the essentials for making a brew! Moving house is thirsty work, and regular tea and coffee for the movers to drink will keep them energised and less fatigued, so less chance of accidents on big moves that last all day! Of course, if the kettle is the last thing off the van, it's also the first thing off it, and the first task at your new home!

7. Measure your furniture

Check that entrances and doors in your new home are easily accessible for your furniture. You'll be surprised how many people come unstuck when all their bedroom furniture come down their straight staircase no problem when moving out of their current property, but as soon as they unload at their new property and forget about that tricky dogleg at the top of the stairs, they quickly find out that beds, wardrobes etc. will not fit, causing a heck of a lot of stress on moving day. A lot of people have flat packed wardrobes so it's always an idea to have these dismantled ready, or ask your moving team to dismantle them, to make sure they will fit upstairs at your new place. There are ways around furniture not fitting, such as taking windows out of lounges or hoisting furniture up to the first floor, but this needs advanced planning so that the moving team can have all the necessary tools and lifting equipment prepared ready.

8. Draw up room plans

It's always a good idea to draw up a plan of each room so that the removals team know exactly where each item is going. It doesn't have to be a work of art, just a label of where you would like the sofa and TV cabinet in the lounge, the beds and furniture in the bedrooms and so on. Simply stick it to the front of each door with a bit of masking tape and the moving team can have a look as they are bringing each item in. Other than that, make sure you or a delegated person is supervising each item coming in to direct the movers. All too often customers will disappear and leave the mover to unload the van with no instructions of what piece of furniture goes in what room and where, so things soon start getting distributed to the wrong places.

9. Wires, wires and more wires!

I'm sure you've looked at the back of your TV cabinet. You've got your TV, sound bar, DVD/Blu-ray player, Skybox, you get the idea and you can guarantee those cables are all jumbled and tangled like the spaghetti junction! Take time to sort these out and fold them neatly ready for transport. Take a few pictures from different angles first so that you have something to refer to when you are reconnecting at your new place. If you have coloured labels or even just plain white ones you can write on, stick these round the cables so you know what wire is for where.

10. Get your bed made asap!

One of the first things you should do in your new home is make your bed. Once you or the moving team have built it up, get your pillows and duvet set up straight away. At the end of a long day moving, you'll be glad you can go upstairs and collapse, without having to do that final chore before you can rest!