Halloween Moving House Horrors: A Light-Hearted Look At What Could Go Wrong!

Moving house is a pretty stressful event at the best of times, and that’s when everything runs like clockwork.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always run so smoothly, and there are plenty of potential pitfalls and oversights that you’ll want to avoid if your move is to go as planned.

Here are 6 of the most common moving house horrors you might come across, and how to avoid them.

1. Not Packing An Essentials Box

As moving day horrors go, this isn’t too bad, but it can be extremely frustrating. Just imagine, you’re sitting in your new pad, feet up on the sofa after a long day and your phone battery is down to the final 2%. There’s a mountain of boxes in front of you, and you can’t remember for the life of you where you put that phone charger. Damn!

Substitute phone charger for kettle and tea bags in the above scenario and you’ve pretty much got the same situation.

Just remember when you’re packing up your old place – keep a box of essentials separate from everything else!

2. Furniture Doesn’t Fit

This is an awkward one, especially if it’s something valuable or sentimental to you. Equally, if it’s the sofa or a bulky bed, then you might not have somewhere to sit or sleep for a few weeks while you’re waiting on a new one to be delivered.

It’s always a good idea to measure up in advance, unless you have furniture that can be taken apart and easily reassembled, or if you’re lucky the new place might have double doors into the garden so you’ll breeze through the back door with that swanky sofa.

Again, as with most things, preparation is key. If you’ve measured up in advance and there’s just no practical way of getting your bulky furniture into the new place, then at least you’ll have time to donate or sell it and get something new ordered. And on the plus side, it’s one less thing to have to take with you on moving day!

3. Forgetting To Notify People Of Your New Address

If it’s the in-laws then maybe ‘accidentally forgetting’ isn’t such a bad thing! But on a serious note it’s important you inform a few essential people, such as your bank, employer, and utility providers. After all, you don’t want to be paying for someone else’s gas and electricity in your old place too!

A good way to avoid this is to make a list of all the companies and service providers you use a few weeks before you move, and tick them off as you notify them. It’s also worth getting in touch with Royal Mail and having your post redirected for a few months, as you’re bound to miss someone out.

4. Damaging Items

If you think your smartphone is fragile, just imagine what could happen to your 60 inch Plasma screen if you drop it! The best way to avoid damage is to package everything overly cautiously and don’t rush. Just remember, you can never have too much bubble wrap, and it’s better to take your time and get everything in the house in one piece than finish by lunchtime and have broken glass on your new living room carpet.

Of course, accidents can happen though, so make sure you’ve got your contents insurance in place ready for moving day. And, if you’re using a removal company, check they’re insured too before you hire them.

5. Running Out Of Time

If you’re a naturally laidback person then it’s time to focus and be organised. Just for a few weeks at least!

If you’ve never moved home before it can be easy to underestimate how long it takes to get everything packed up, especially if you’re wrapping your valuables well to protect them.

As much as you won’t want to live among boxes for a few weeks before your move, it’s often necessary in order to have a smooth moving day when the time comes.

So unlike your school exams that you didn’t revise for until the night before, don’t leave your packing until the last minute, or you’ll be running around like a headless chicken on the morning of your move!

6. Getting An Injury

Ok, so you’ll have to be really unlucky to trip over a box and break your leg, but it’s not completely impossible.

A more likely injury is a pulled muscle or a back spasm. Ouch! Just take your time with all the heavy items, make sure you’ve got plenty of pairs of hands to help out, and don’t overstretch yourself!