Whether you’re a first-time buyer or upgrading from your existing home, moving house should be an exciting time. For many home movers, however, the initial buzz can be quickly displaced by mounting stress as they try to juggle the seemingly endless lists of tasks, responsibilities, and admin required for a smooth transition.
Thankfully, with guidance and forward planning, you can remove the stress from many of these tasks and make your home move something to look forward to again. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on the causes of moving house stress, alongside helpful tips on reducing it.
What causes moving house stress?
With many things to consider, feeling stressed while moving house is expected. Even the most straightforward of house moves comes with numerous costs, commitments, and tasks, including:
- Negotiating a contract with sellers
- Applying for a mortgage
- Hiring a conveyancer
- Arranging a surveyor for your new home
- Hiring an estate agent to help sell your existing home (if applicable)
- Arranging for a removal company to collect your belongings
- Packing
- Changing your address and informing friends, family, and relevant organisations
- Settling bills in your existing home
- Redirecting mail
- Paying for temporary storage
- Cleaning your current and new homes
- Sorting out home insurance and energy providers
With all of these commitments to consider and unforeseen issues that can arise along the way, it’s natural that many people feel overwhelmed when arranging their move.
In the next few sections, we’ll cover some tried and tested ways to reduce moving house stress.
Gather all the info you need about your new house
One of the main causes of stress when moving house is not having all the required information. Whether it’s the location of the fusebox or instructions on how to work the boiler, not having this info to hand can turn minor problems into day-ruining events.
One of the best ways to eliminate this stress is to get this info before you begin your move. When you’re at the buying stage, talk to the existing occupants to gather key information about your new home.
Some things you may want to ask include:
- Where are the water, gas, and electricity meters?
- How are utilities paid for? (Monthly direct debit, prepaid meter, smart meter, etc.)
- Where are the smoke alarms located?
- How does the burglar alarm work?
- Where is the fusebox?
- Where is the stopcock?
- How does the boiler work?
- Are there instructions for household appliances? (e.g. cooker, washing machine, etc.)
- What days are the bins taken?
- Do you need a permit to park in the street?
Plan ahead
Organisation is the most important factor for reducing the stress of moving house.
Without proper planning, you can easily become overwhelmed by the many tasks and responsibilities, leaving you exhausted when the big day arrives. This not only increases the stress of moving house but can also result in unexpected financial and logistical issues that continue to give you headaches down the line.
One of the best ways to stay on top of your tasks is to create a moving house checklist. Some of the key tasks to include are:
- Confirm your moving date
- Give moving-out notice to current landlord (if renting)
- Clear out items you’re not taking with you to your new house
- Make a list of everything you’re taking with you to your new house
- Buy boxes, crates, bags, and anything required to store belongings while moving
- List the main things you’re buying for your new house (furniture, appliances, carpets etc.)
- Redirect mail
- Settle bills in the current home
- Take readings of the utility meters in existing and new homes
While this list should cover many of the key responsibilities, feel free to add any others as they come up. From here, you can tick off each task as you go to ensure a smooth move.
Start early
Even with the help of a removal company and any friends and family, moving your stuff will likely take a while. While moving your belongings may take a day or two in itself, gathering, sorting, clearing, and packing your items can take far longer.
Sorting out the items you’re not taking with you is a great way to declutter and prepare for your move. By doing this early, you’ll have enough time to decide what you’re going to do with these items (e.g., sell, give away, or recycle). This will also make it easier to determine how much you’re taking to your new home and allow for more space while packing.
Similarly, packing your belongings early gives you more time to work out the best way to arrange items. Rather than just piling everything up in one mad dash, you can organise various boxes by the type of equipment they contain (e.g. electricals, cutlery, delicate items) and label them. This will make it easier for the removal company to load your items and reduce the stress when it’s time to unpack.
Sort out the essentials
There’s nothing worse than moving into a new house and finding that you don’t have the essentials to make your first few nights comfortable. Whether it’s a lack of warm clothing, no toothbrush or toiletries, or the inability to make tea or coffee, misplacing essentials can take an already stressful period and increase it tenfold.
Putting together a couple of bags containing essential items can ease this transition, ensuring a comfortable first few nights. While it may not be possible to have all of your stuff moved right away, your bag should include the stuff you’re likely to need as soon as you move in, such as:
- Medication
- Kettle, tea, coffee, and milk
- Snacks
- Toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, toothbrush and toothpaste)
- Bedding and duvet
- Electronic items (laptop, mobile phone)
- Chargers
Making a designated essentials bag before packing will reduce moving house stress and ensure a relaxing start to life at your new place.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
If there was ever a good time to ask for help from friends and family, it’s moving day. The more people that can help you pack, load, and transport your belongings, the less likely you are to feel overwhelmed on the day.
Having more people on the job can reduce the amount of help you need from a removal company, resulting in lower costs for you. Additionally, this will result in fewer journeys to and from your current home, meaning you can move into your new place quicker.
Though it may be tempting to manage alone, seeking help from friends and loved ones can save you time and money while alleviating much of the pressure.
Get rest
Though the mix of excitement and anxiety before moving can result in sleepless nights, it’s essential that you still take time out to rest.
Treating your moving duties in the same way you would a work schedule can be a good way to separate planning time from relaxing time. Setting designated ‘move planning’ hours throughout the week allows you to focus solely on these tasks for a set time before switching off and relaxing until the next period.
Other anxiety-reducing activities like exercise and meditation can also help alleviate stress and contribute to more relaxed evenings. While it’s easy to put these things on the back burner, keeping them up will help give you the energy and productivity required to tackle moving day head-on.
Hire removals professionals
Moving day can be stressful enough without the burden of transporting all of your belongings on your own. This is particularly true if you’re moving into an unfurnished home and plan on taking large items like sofas, wardrobes, and kitchen appliances.
Hiring a designated removal company will help ensure these items are transported safely and efficiently. This will take away the stress and effort of loading these items yourself and allow you to focus on tackling other key moving tasks like cleaning, packing, and sorting out bills.
FAQs
What to do with home insurance when moving?
Usually, home insurance won’t automatically transfer over when you move house. However, many companies allow you to transfer your plan from one house to another.
Changing from one house to another can result in admin charges and a change in premium prices, so it’s worth discussing these things with your provider in advance.
How much are estate agent fees for selling a house?
Estate agent fees can vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including:
- The value of the house
- The location of the house
- The estate agent/company you hire
- The time taken to sell the property
According to the HOA, the average estate agent fees in 2024 equate to around 1.42% of a home’s value. This means that a property sold at the average UK price of £292,000 would command estate agents fees of £4,150.
Will I get a council tax rebate if I move house?
If you’ve paid for your council tax in a lump sum (e.g. annually, quarterly) or forgotten to cancel your direct debit, then you may have overpaid and be entitled to a rebate at your old address.
If you think this is the case, contact the council at your previous address via phone or email for further information.
