Shifting houses is one of the most stressful things – and for a good reason. So much goes into preparing for a move, actually shifting, and finally settling down after. No wonder most people dread shifting houses and choose to stay put wherever they may be. 

 

Nonetheless, house shifting is sometimes unavoidable. A new job, a new opportunity, a new school, or other unplanned events are all reasons that may force you to shift houses. Regardless of your reason for shifting, house shifting doesn’t always have to be stressful.

 

With this guide to house moving, your next move should be as seamless as possible. When shifting houses, you can either choose to go through the process by yourself or hire the services of a professional shifting company. 

 

Whichever way you choose to conduct your move, this guide to house moving will give you all the tips to make house shifting as seamless as possible. 

 

1. Preparing for Moving Day.

Whichever way you choose to conduct your move (DIY or shifting company), you must have a plan and prepare beforehand. You can prepare for house moving in the following ways:

 

• Set a budget

A budget is a good way to start when preparing to move houses. First, ask yourself how much you are willing to spend, and afterward, decide whether to use a relocation company or go the DIY way. This will ensure that you do not end up overspending or going into debt after moving.

 

• Make a Checklist

 

Before moving day arrives, a moving checklist will do you a lot of good. The checklist should contain the following:

• Moving day
• The shifting company you will use
• The address of your new home
• What to pack
• When to start packing
• Any other thing you don’t want to forget

 

• Declutter

Another way to make your house move go as smoothly as possible is to declutter. Before packing, go through your belongings and get rid of or donate anything you no longer use or need. This will save you a lot of packing materials, reduce packing time, and save you a lot of space on the moving truck.

 

• Ensure your new home is ready to be moved into

Before packing and uprooting your whole life, you should ensure that your new home is ready to accommodate you. This involves ensuring that the little things that make a home cozy are taken care of. These can include:

• The house has been repainted
• There is running water
• Home Internet is set up
• Taps and toilets are all working etc.

 

2. Do It Yourself (DIY).

 

Are you on a tight budget? Do you prefer conducting your house move by yourself? Here are a few tips to help your shift as smooth as possible. These tips should come after you have selected a moving day, decluttered, and ensured that your new home is ready:

 

• Look for a moving truck

Since a moving truck is essential for safely transporting your household items, it is therefore imperative that you hire one in good time and avoid last-minute rushes. The size of the moving truck will depend on your budget and the size of your household items. You also must be careful when hiring a moving truck and ensure you can trust the transporters with your valuables.

 

• Enlist helpers

When carrying a DIY move, asking for help from your friends or family is always advisable. This will ensure that you are not too overwhelmed and the move doesn’t take too long.

 

Your helpers will come in handy during packing and unpacking as these can take up a lot of time. 

 

• Move on a weekend

Weekends are the best time to shift houses when conducting a DIY move. This is because weekends will give you plenty of time (two days) to pack and settle in your new home.

 

Moreover, since you will need help from friends and family to move, weekends are when most of these people will be free from work and can help.  

 

• Purchase packing materials and boxes

Moving boxes and packing materials are a must-have so that your household items are not damaged during the move.

 

You will need packing material such as:

• Packing paper
• Bubble wrap
• Packing tape
• Packing labels
• Moving blankets 

 

• Pack an essentials kit

An essentials kit is a box or bag with all the things you may require on the first night at your new home before you have everything unpacked.

 

This kit should include household supplies such as cleaning supplies, trash bags, batteries, bath towels, lightbulbs, can openers, toilet paper rolls, paper towels, plastic cups, and plates. You should also include personal items such as bed sheets, pillows, pajamas, toothbrushes, toiletries, medications, chargers, necessary electronics, underwear, clothing and outerwear, shoes, socks, a first aid kit, and your wallet.

 

• Packing

After packing an essentials kit, the next thing is to pack everything else. This process will require some packing know-how because you risk packing your items the wrong way and damaging them.

 

For example, you should use mainly small to medium-sized boxes when packing heavy items. This will keep you from overloading a large box, which will inevitably result in the bottom falling out and your belongings falling to the ground.

 

Additionally, for fragile items such as glasses, plates, and things that break easily, it’s best to use small boxes that are easy to handle and have cardboard dividers to prevent them from shifting around the box.

 

 

Another essential thing to remember when packing household items is not to overfill your boxes. When you pack too many items in your boxes, they may not be as sturdy as you may want them to be and may cause your valuable things to fall out and get damaged.

 

While it is advisable not to overfill your boxes, you shouldn’t leave too much space in the boxes with your fragile items as they may shift around and collide. It is, therefore, recommended that you fill all the extra space with packing paper to ensure the safety of your items. 

 

After everything is packed into boxes, you should label all the boxes appropriately. For instance, you should ensure that all the boxes packed with fragile items are marked with large letters, so it’s hard to miss them when loading and unloading them. Additionally, for easy unpacking, you should label each box with its corresponding room, such that, for instance, if you have a box containing utensils, it should be labelled kitchen.

 

• Unpacking

After shifting into your new house, unpacking your items can easily take weeks or even months, especially if you don’t have a system.

 

 

Here are a few tips you can use to ensure unpacking and settling into your new home doesn’t take up too much of your time:

• Unpack your essentials bag/box first
• Go room by room. 
• Arrange the kitchen first. Hook up appliances and unpack all your food into the pantry and fridge
• The next rooms to be arranged are the bedrooms. This ensures you have a place to relax after a hard day’s work of unpacking and arranging. 
• You can take your time arranging the rest of the house, including the sitting room and bathrooms.

3. Using a Shifting Company.  

If you find house shifting very stressful, then using a relocation company may be just what you need. Moreover, a shifting company will do you good if you have many fragile items, fine art, special clothes, and other furniture that require special handling, such as pianos. 

 

Nonetheless, not all shifting companies can get the job done – a reputable and professional shifting company should be what you use. 

 

Here is a guide to what you should expect should you hire the services of a shifting company:

 

• Do your research

Before settling on a shifting company, you must do your research to get the very best. You can either go online and read online reviews or ask friends, family, or colleagues who’ve previously used house shifting companies to relocate. This is because what people say about a service is, to some extent, very true.

 

 

You can find online reviews for serious shifting companies on Google, their website (if they have one), or their social media pages. So it’s paramount that you do your due diligence.

 

• Make calls

From your research online, you should have selected a few relocating companies. Once you have chosen a few shifting companies online, you can call or email several of them and request their shifting rates.

 

In line with your house shifting budget, you can decide which shifting company to move ahead with.

  

• Pre-move survey

A serious moving company will ask to conduct a pre-move survey to estimate what they will need during the move and if they require special equipment.

 

Note that after a pre-move survey, the movers can increase your moving cost if you have equipment that requires special handling and transportation.

 

• Packing

On moving day, the shifting company you chose to move forward with will do all the packing. You can either choose to supervise this process or not, but if it is a trusted relocation company like Nellions, you can rest assured that your items will be in safe hands.

 

 

Unlike a DIY move where packing can take days, this process will take very little time since most shifting companies use many movers to move the process quickly.

 

You’ll realize that your movers will use special packing materials to ensure that your goods are transported safely. 

 

• Shifting

A reputable house shifting company will ensure that your household items are transported in clean, safe, and lockable moving trucks. This way, your items reach the destination safely and in the same state, they left your previous residence.

 

• Unpacking

Getting your household items unpacked and arranged into the rooms they belong to is yet another perk when you choose to use a shifting company.

 

 

A serious moving company such as Nellions will ensure they leave you fully settled in your new house. We take care of all the little things such as hanging clothes in closets, connecting DSTV, tying and making beds, mounting your TV, hanging art, stacking your shoes and books, etc.

 

Contact us

If you decide to use a shifting company for your move, then you should hire the best movers in Uganda to do the job. We have conducted many shifts within Uganda and internationally and have tons of experience.

 

Our past clients can also vouch for us and the services we offer. So we guarantee that you will get the very best. 

 

Are you interested in using our house moving services? Call us at +256 753 000 100 or +256 783 294 229 should you need further information. You may also email us at MOVE@NELLIONS.CO.UG and get a free quote!