How to Remove the Stress From Removals

Here at National Moving Month, we've listened to the feedback we've received and acted upon it. That's why we've written this article designed to help you take as much stress as possible out of moving...

When moving home, the hardest thing to do is keep track of everything that’s going on and making sure all runs as smoothly as possible. People often forget the simplest things that could make their relocation a lot easier. Making a checklist is one of those things.

The most important thing to do when relocating is to break down the project into manageable pieces. For instance, packing all your stuff in the last few days not only sounds like the inevitable nightmare, but will play out in exactly the same fashion. Planning ahead is crucial, start by thinking about what you will not want in your new home. Any items that are destined for the scrap heap can be sold on auction websites or donated to charity shops, already cutting down the task ahead.

One of the next things you should do is make arrangements for picking up all important records from health clinics, schools etc. Make sure that these are either forwarded to your next address or picked up in person by you. While doing this, ensure you fill in a change of address kit (you can get these from the post office) for places like banks and insurance companies, along with healthcare providers. Ensure you pack all essential documents are packed in one place for convenience.

Once the ‘life admin’ is dealt with, it’s time to actually begin the packing. Roughly work out how much packing supplies you’ll need and then order them. Once they arrive, work out what you can pack now, what needs to be left till the last minute and mark the boxes accordingly. While doing this, mark on the boxes what should be opened first, bedding and a kettle should be in one of the first boxes opened, after a long day moving, bed and a cuppa may be the only thing you are fit for!

Utility disconnection and connection can be easily arranged at anytime, so it is best to get this out of the way early on. There are companies that will arrange this for you, leaving you the task of ringing one number and speaking to one person, letting them do the rest. This is advisable if you have a particularly large move planned. Why struggle when you can share the strain out?

When it comes to the actual moving day, make sure the removalists are fully informed of the plans, given the full address and a mobile contact number. Ensure you have a contact number for them in case of last minute changes or –heaven forbid- problems, it has been known to occur.

Throughout the move remember one thing; failing to plan is planning to fail.

Good luck!

Halftime and Still Everything to Play For

Well, coming up to the halfway point in National Moving Month and removal firms are still being rushed off their feet.

There certainly seems to be a snowball effect in operation as we crawl our steady way towards the seasonal period, with more and more customers rushing to move so they can have Christmas in their new home.

One thing that often gets overlooked in the madness to move is what to pack your belongings in. This is why Citymove have written an article on carton hire and is available to read here http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Carton-Hire/1221800

Take a few minutes to read through it, you may find it helpful when planning your move.

Until next week!

National Moving Month is Here!

It's been a busy first few days for the National Moving Month. Lots of last minute meetings, arranging last minute bits and pieces, in many ways it's felt like a hectic move in itself! But we're here and we're looking forward to the next month.

First of all, this week we've had a natter with the general manager of Citymove, Jimmy Russell. We covered a few areas with him and what hints and tips he has for anyone planning to move.

Jimmy has been working for Citymove for almost seven years now and has seen it all throughout the six December's he's been here. "I love the madness that starts literally over the last few days of November and lasts right up till Christmas. We've even had people looking to book removalists on Christmas day!"

"It never ceases to amaze me that during what is almost universally known as one of the most stressful things you can, people can fail to investigate properly all aspects of their move. Planning and lots of thought are essential in moving what can be essentially a handful of lives from one place to another."

"Here at Citymove we help people as best as we can, but there's only so much we can do. For instance, it's imperative that customers know how much stuff they've got so we can make sure they have the right truck and crew booked. This is why we have the space calculator. But if they don't use it, we can't help them when they book one man and a van and are surprised when it takes several trips to move a two bedroom apartment!"

"Finally, the best thing anyone can do when moving is remain calm and have faith. There are so many things that could go wrong during a move. The real estate agent may not be there to hand over the keys for instance, but shouting and screaming is only going to increase your stress and will not alter the situation one bit. So chill out and remember that it always works out in the end."

Wise words indeed.

Onto other things now, we're starting to get stories about peoples weird and wonderful moves but we want more so get sending! Email nationalmovingmonth@gmail.com and remember, everyone who sends a story in gets a $50 voucher to use with their next relocation with Citymove.

Remember to check us out next week, where we'll be having a less serious look at the world of removals and moving home.

Until then, have a great week!

National Moving Month FREE Giveaway!

Here's the news you've been waiting for...

After much deliberation over the competition we were going to hold during National Moving Month, we decided that it just wasn't good enough. After all, the point of a competition is that someone wins, but when just one person wins it means that many have to lose.

THAT'S RUBBISH!

So we hit upon a novel idea, why not scrap a competition and instead have a giveaway?

THAT'S BRILLIANT!

So this is what we're going to hold. What we want to hear from you is your weird, wonderful, random and downright bizarre moving stories. What's happened to you during your relocation that's made you laugh, cry, whimper or wheeze? We want it all! It can be regarding an upcoming move, if you -like one person did- want to move 25kg of ice cream between states in an unrefrigerated lorry then we want to hear from you!

We will give everyone who sends in their story a $50 moving voucher to use with Citymove, just to help you with your next move and to make it even cheaper than it already would be with Cittymove. Each week we'll also show a select few of the entries that have stolen our attention, so keep on visiting the website to read others stories!

Send in your stories to nationalmovingmonth@gmail.com and we will send you your voucher.

So get writing!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• We conduct the giveaway at our sole discretion. Any abusive or offensive entries will not be accepted.
• The giveaway can be extended or cancelled at any time by notice on our website, the giveaway period is presently fixed to start at midnight December 1st and to end 11.59 December 31st.
• The $50 Citymove voucher is only redeemable with Citymove and will not be substituted for cash. Only one voucher can be used per move.
• No correspondence will be entered into, our decision is final.

National Moving Month

A study by Citymove has determined that December is the busiest month for home relocations as people rush to begin their new lives in their new homes in time for the new year, creating a fresh start across the board.

With this in mind, Citymove have decided to launch 'National Moving Month'.

To mark the start of the month, new research has been released by Citymove, discovering some of the more bizarre requests made by customers when booking removal services.

Ever since auction websites became an ever present force in consumerism, odd requests have become more commonplace within the sector as customers seek to organise delivery of their bargains bought online. Because of this, there has been requests to move

• A $200 bed from Perth to Melbourne (the removal fee approached $1100)
• A $50 door from Gold Coast to Melbourne

Auction Websites are not the only reason behind bizarre requests. Other customers have -with a straight face- enquired about moving:

• A small goldfish bowl (using a four tonne truck)
• 35KG of ice cream from Sydney to Brisbane in an unrefrigerated lorry (costing $550)
• A car between states, with a dog on the backseat. (Alive, more biting than kicking)
• Australia's largest floor tiles, each measuring 3m x 2m

The strangest thing ever moved by Citymove was a four tonne truck full of single service handy wipes. James Wheeler -director of Citymove- said:

"The wipes were the kind you get when buying chicken from a fast food place, like baby wipes. Except these were being re branded then getting handed out to the prostitutes in Kings Cross for them to use after...servicing clients."

To kickstart National Moving Month, we will be holding a competition with a not to be missed prize, so keep visiting this website to find out more...