This blog is about moving house in London and factors in everything you may want to know about moving successfully, with a couple of helpful tips thrown in for good measure. So, whether you’re upsizing or downsizing or indeed finding your first home, our guide should help you sort through all the issues that tend to arise.
Trek Removals in London has been offering advice and high quality removals for a number of years and for this reason knows all the ‘insider’ secrets for a successful move.
A home move itself is one of them most stressful experiences in life and if you’re trying to organise your entire worldly belongings while working, looking after the children and beyond, it’s important to know that someone will be there to help relief that stress.
What to take with you?
In truth, while it’s tempting to keep every possession and move it on to the next place – it’s actually far better to see it as a reason to de-clutter your life! You need to be as brutal as possible here too. If you haven’t used it for a year or more, you probably don’t need it, so give it away, donate it to a charity shop or if you want to make some extra cash, why not sell it?
Who do you call?
When it comes to moving home, you want to make sure that the removal company is highly experienced and professional. It’s often tempting to simply go with the cheapest price, but in truth this is a very false economy. In fact, calling in a professional removal company will actually save you a lot of stress on a big move, so look after your health if you can!
When, where, what?
Try and be as organised as possible. Find the right removal firm who have experience and can help you tick all the boxes and make a list of your possessions so you don’t forget anything.
Good luck with your move and if you’re based in London or surrounding areas and you want any tips or advice, you can read our blog, go to our website for a free checklist!
In the previous blog we took you through the specifics of moving home while fighting against the tide of recession and potential lack of finances. So here in this second part we look into the depths of the removals process in this economically landlocked period.
So to continue on…
Planning ahead if you are self-moving
Relocation is something that requires thought – and we don’t just mean on the removal side of things. We mean casing your new area that you are moving to. You need to know such things that can save you hassle or even expense ahead of time.
For instance; is there room to park a removals van on the street? If not, how are you going to unload and take in your removal boxes?
Are you moving into a flat? If so, how many flights of stairs do you need to climb to get your belongings into your new home? Is there a lift? Are the stairs wide enough to pivot bigger furniture around the corners?
Do you have help? Is there anyone in your family that is willing to lend a hand? Do you have friends that are free to pitch in? Can you manage it by yourself?
Budgeting for the home removal
Whether you are self-moving or using an expert removals company, ask yourself how much you have set aside to accomplish this move.
For people planning to move themselves without professional movers then the majority of your expenses will be on buying packing materials and transportation costs.
If you are unsure of moving yourself you can always contact removal companies for free moving quotes to get an idea of just how much it would cost and whether or not it is worth investing in. Always keep an extra margin in your budget for unforeseeable problems, situations and scenarios such as breakdowns, delays, shortage of moving supplies, extra manpower etc.
Other options for saving money during a home removal
Consider how you can find cheap or free alternatives for the move if you doing it yourself. We have listed ideas in previous blogs, so here’s a refresher:
Use your local directory to call around and check prices on van rentals, both independent and professional. Avoid using any dodgy cowboy-like “man-with-a-van types,” no matter how cut-price they appear to be. Read some of our true removal horror stories on this to get a better idea of just what can happen. If you have a friend with a van who is willing to loan it out to you, or better yet, drive it, then your problems here should be nought and your expense should be minimal.
See if you can pick up cheap or even free packing materials from your local supermarket or newsagents. They often have a wealth of collapsed boxes that they are usually willing to give out. However, it is always advisable to get fresh, new packing boxes from a reliable source as to ensure that they won’t fall apart or collapse at the wrong moment!
You can potentially buy bubble wrap and other packing materials at a good price online or through a removals specialist.
These are essential tips on how to achieve a cost effective move during a recession and should be looked at as the best alternatives on saving money. For more information on home removals and how we approach them, please contact us.
Look out for more of our tips of removals in the near future!
Times have changed in the last few years, which shows if you read the papers, watch the news and look at the state of the current economy. This may have put people off the idea of moving, but for others, the need to move is less of an option and more of a necessity. We’re not even necessarily talking about homeowners, those who rent are usually the ones who need to move the most. Perhaps rent has gone up, or cost of living is too much in your area, whatever the case may be, sometimes the choice to stay where you are is in fact no choice at all.
So what to do if you are in the position of needing to move home?
Well, bottom line, it can be costly picking up every single item you own and transporting it from one side of a city to another, or even worse, from one end of the country to another. Relocating always requires much more planning and thought. It depends on your circumstances and access, but you can always make the move yourself if you know what you need to do.
But remember, we are in the middle of recession which unfortunately makes things more difficult in terms of cost and financing. Money is the precious commodity and everyone is thinking about it! Being budget conscious is good, but do you know how to assess the feasibility of a home removal?
For instance, have you weighed up the differences in cost of moving yourself versus hiring a removals company to manage the load for you?
Have you considered the cost variations between part-load moves made of all your big furniture and perhaps you moving the smaller items yourself?
You can reduce your costs if you know someone with a van you can use to transport your goods and all you need to pay for is the petrol cost.
There are multiple ways of going about a self-planned home removal, which can depend on what your budget is looking like and the distance between removal points. The thought behind self-planned and carried out removals is that it saves the cost of hiring a moving company to do everything. However, having a professional do everything for you can save you lot of headache and stress. You can always go for partial professional help, if you can’t spare the time.
It’s up to the individual to weigh up the pros and cons of the options before them. In the case of long-distance removals we always recommend a removals company to get the job done. If you are moving a particularly short distance then you can probably manage and organise it yourself.
It’s a matter of calculating the cost, time and feasibility. In our next part of this blog series we will address the issues specific to both an independent home removal and a professional home removal service.
If you have any queries in the meantime please Contact Us.
Yes, we’re still trekking all over the world! In fact, we never stop. It’s a non-stop, always-on-the-move experience with us. If you read the first part of our Trekking all over the world blog then you’ll be familiar with our options to some extent and you’ll have a further insight into our international removals process.
So let’s get more specific for part 2 shall we?
Our vehicles leave and travel to a range of destinations regularly. We can move you to the following locations:
You could call us Europe-centric!
However, if you have a specific location in mind that you are planning on moving to, let us know about it and we will see what we can do. Trek Removals specialises in international removals for certain countries outside of Europe, you just need to contact us and ask.
Our services include containerised storage for all household removals at our Central London warehouse. Arrangements can be made to store all removals to Europe at origin or destination. We offer to transport full, part and/or return loads. Our commercial activities include the aforementioned office removals and personnel relocations, home deliveries, exhibition and conference moves and fine art/antique deliveries.
What’s great about our Europe removals service is that you receive a free on site survey and you get a comprehensive quotation tailored to your individual requirements. This is one of the reasons why we have an online quotation system to give you a quick idea of what costs are involved. Our previous clients found them very reasonable for the services offered.
The process of moving home and relocating overseas involves a lot of planning and there’s already enough on your plate with the stresses of transferring and repositioning your life to a new country. Allow Trek Removals to help unburden you and we will handle your packing, removals, transportation and delivery. We run our home move services, international relocations and overseas moves like clockwork.
Trekking all over the world has never been easier with Trek Removals. For more information on our removal services and storage solutions please contact us or get a free quote.
Part of the joy of working at Trek Removals is that we get to go all over the place. Our removals services aren’t just exclusive to moving within the UK. We perform international removals to various destinations in Europe and include services such as international shipping and storage.
But hold on, we’re getting ahead of ourselves!
Let’s talk about the kind of people who need this particular service first.
Relocating overseas is a popular option for families, individuals and businesses. However, there are many people who believe that the task itself of actually making an international move can be an incredibly daunting prospect, chiefly because you are taking an entire home or business with you. It’s not just belongings you are transporting and moving; it’s a life.
So it’s a big deal in theory. But it doesn’t have to be.
If you are planning and executing the specifics of the international removal yourself then yes, it can be a stress beyond all imaginings but if you leave it in the hands of a professional removal, storage and delivery firm then all you have to worry about is choosing the right one.
Now look, we’re not saying “pick us!” just because you’re reading our blog, we’re just laying down the facts. There are many professional removal services out there that have the qualifications and experience to do a good job. It’s up to the individual or business to make the decision between who they want. Do your research. See who you think is the best for the job and go with your instincts. It’s a big task, entrusting all the worldly possessions or company assets into the hands of strangers!
All that said, if you’ve read our blog series on removal horror stories you might want to seriously contemplate getting help from us at Trek Removals. Our expertise and experience will lighten the load substantially we can assure you. Consider this stage one of your research into who to pick and who looks up to the task.
So let’s talk about the domestic side of removals with the process of moving home from the UK to Europe. Trek Removals deals with many different regions in the European community and has a vast wealth of experienced removal persons on staff.
Locations include such destinations as
Each of these destinations can be discussed in more details if you Contact Us or even browse our site for further information.
We’re just getting warmed up on this topic. Check out Part 2 of this blog series for more on the subject of international removals to Europe with the help of Trek.
We really are trekking all over the world!
