EPMEPM: Productivity

Camera Snaps and Cling Wraps – 10 Clever Ways to Help Your Tenants ‘Hack’ Moving Day

On moving day, most houses resemble a fortress of cardboard boxes and the occupants are so stressed that no amount of green tea or yoga can calm their nerves. Here’s where you can step in and share some tried and tested tips from the moving experts, Direct Connect.

Recently Direct Connect ran a ‘moving hacks’ competition on NovaFM to encourage people to share their top tips and tricks for moving house, with the winner receiving payment of their electricity bills for a year.

While everyone understands the reality of moving is never simple, Direct Connect have been doing their bit to help make it easier by sharing information, tips and advice to make the process smoother for everyone. Direct Connect CEO David Holman says,

“We want to create a community to help provide advice and assistance to people moving house, as we know what a stressful time it can be. We’ve helped move over a million households and want to use this knowledge to help future movers.”

TOP MOVING TIPS
Snap a photo of your electronic device set-up
Rewiring your electronic device set-ups, like your television and surround sound system, can be impossible. The interweaving colourful wires appear to be a labyrinth that not even the Goblin King could traverse, so it’s a good idea to snap a photograph of the set-up on your smartphone to use as a reference point when setting it up again in your new home.

Place your hanging clothes in garbage bags
We know it doesn’t sound glamorous, but you can save a lot of storage space by sliding bundles of your clothes on hangers inside a plastic garbage bag on moving day. This will not only keep your clothes and hangers in the one place, but it also allows them to be stored flat and protects them from dirt and rain.

Label and colour-code boxes
Label and colour-code boxes, so they can be identified at a glance. Correlate different colours with rooms of the home – like green for the kitchen – to make sorting through boxes a breeze. Use clear plastic boxes for items you need first, like the kettle and the toaster.

Store electronic cables in toilet rolls
Do you have old toilet paper rolls sitting around your bathroom? Well, you can use them to store your cables so that they don’t wind themselves into a tangled nest while you’re in transit. You might even decide to label each roll, so you remember which device each cable belongs to.

Protect fragile stemware with socks
If you’re looking to protect the kind of stemware that only makes an appearance on your dining table at special occasions, then we have the answer you seek. Protect fragile stemware during your move by storing wine glasses and glassware inside clean socks. This clever life hack will help prevent breakages and scratches in the glass, while also freeing up space in your drawers.

Wrap drawers with plastic cling wrap
Who said you had to clear out your drawers to move house? We suggest that if possible you keep the contents inside your drawers and simply wrap the drawer with plastic cling wrap. This will eliminate the need for additional boxes and all you will need to do is remove the plastic wrap and slide the drawer back into place.

Use suitcases to carry heavy items
If you’ve recently returned from an overseas trip, then you probably own a suitcase or two. As they will most likely be joining you on your move, put them to good use and fill them with heavy items like books or kitchenware. You can roll them along the floor using the suitcase’s wheels without having to worry about boxes breaking.

Place foam plates and coffee filters between porcelain plates
When it comes to packing porcelain plates, you can protect them from breakage by placing either foam plates or coffee filters between them. This will also save precious moving time, because you won’t have to wrap each plate individually. The same holds true for your kitchen knives – simply place them inside an oven glove for safe storage.

Slide furniture along using magazines
Rather than straining your back by lifting heavy furniture like your couch, you can slide it across the floor by placing magazines beneath each corner. If you’re looking for something a little more heavy-duty, then you can even use a frisbee to ease the physical burden of moving furniture.

Snap-lock sandwich bags are your friend
From storing your favourite jewellery pieces to important screws and nuts for your coffee table, snap lock sandwich bags will keep small items safely together. Put your trusty permanent marker to work and label each sandwich bag, so you can easily spot the screws and nuts needed to put your furniture back together when the time comes.

MORE HACKS:

  • Number your boxes 3,2,1 according to “unpacking urgency”. Make sure all the boxes labelled 1 go on the removal truck last so they come off first. Or if you are doing more than one run, get them delivered on the first run so the essentials are in place.
  • Wrap up your dishes in your shirts. Not only are you saving on bubble wrap, you’re also packing double the stuff at once. Genius!
  • Label your boxes on the side as well as the top, so when you stack them you’ll always know what’s inside.
  • Put an elastic band around both sides of the door handle so you don’t get locked out.
  • Get the kids involved, make it fun, counting items one by one. Let the kids plan their room, pack treasure boxes and time will zoom!
  • When you get to your new house, the first thing you should do is make your bed so you can get into it at the end of the day.
  • Put all your essentials in one box, that way you don’t have to spend hours unpacking every box looking for them.
  • Start well before the move – get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past year. De clutter your move!
  • Put the clothes straight on the back seat of the car, still on their hangers, then hang straight in the wardrobe in the new place.

As the moving experts, Direct Connect provide advice in all aspects of the moving process. Their local account managers are on the ground in each state hearing stories from property managers, which gives them a full perspective and understanding of the stress involved in the moving process.

The Direct Connect customer service team bring this understanding to the call, and use empathy to understand the moving process and the stresses along the way.

Download these moving day tips as a PDF for tenants here.

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To contact the editorial team at Elite Agent email editor@eliteagent.com.