Make the Move: Moving Interstate

Each year, almost 40,000 Australians relocate across the country. Moving is stressful enough without the extra pressure created by transporting your precious goods to another state. According to realestate.com - moving interstate by road is generally considered one of the easiest, most convenient and more affordable ways to move. If you are working with a budget this will be your more ideal choice, plus - you can save more money by sharing a truck or container with other movers who you can find on Truckit.net.

Following these steps will help to reduce the stress of moving interstate. The first step is to section off weeks leading up to your moving day, 6-8 weeks away, 2-4 weeks away, 1 week away, and then on the day.

6-8 Weeks Before Moving Day

Set a moving budget

Moving interstate can be financially straining so be more prepared by creating a reasonable and achievable budget that fits within your means. Make sure you factor in removalists, packing materials, removalists cleaners & insurance to name a few.

Book your movers

Truckit makes it easy to find quotes that are best suited to you. Using Truckit.net, you can simply create a free listing, receive competitive quotes, compare and choose a provider, and from there - manage, receive & rate!

Organise booking insurance

Truckit does not directly protect Customers/Buyers against damages to their items, however Truckit does partner with NTI to protect Customers/Buyers against damages for most items. Alternatively, your transport provider may have their own warranty or insurance process which you can utilise at your own due diligence.

2-4 Weeks Before Moving Day

Book a removalist cleaner

When you’re in the height of packing and getting ready to move, people tend to mentally check out and leave things as they are as it can be viewed as a daunting task. Hiring a removalist cleaner can take that burden from you so you can focus on more important aspects of the move. Professional cleaners also use more industrial strength materials, leaving your house cleaner than if you cleaned it yourself, and they will remember to clean the forgotten aspects like sliding door/window tracks and the stove range hood!

Organise your new address

To minimise the risk of lost bills or other important documents, don’t forget to change your address. This may sound like a no-brainer, you change it for your utilities, license, work, and bank, but have you remembered to change your address on your ATO or MyGov account? You may not use these features often, but more often than not it is at the times you think you don’t need these services, you end up needing them. Another commonly forgotten address change is your toll badge which is especially important if you are driving long-haul to your new state. A safeguard for forgetting to change your address for important instances is leaving a forwarding address so everything is redirected to your new location.

Declutter & sell, donate or discard unwanted items

Us humans are notorious for collecting clutter so you should surely have items hiding throughout your house that you definitely don’t need or use. During decluttering, be ruthless and go full Marie Kondo - does it give you joy? When was the last time you saw or used this item? This process not only saves you on packaging and moving costs, but you can also gain some extra income to assist in the move! We recently released a blog post on Moving: Can you do it sustainably? Which you can check out for more helpful tips for the decluttering process. 

Sort out packing supplies

Now that you have culled all unnecessary items, there should be a smaller amount to pack, and therefore it should be easier to organise what packing materials are needed like boxes, bubble wrap, tape & paper. If you are wanting to cut costs in this process, it would be ideal to reach out to friends or family asking if they have any reusable packing materials to share, or for a more sustainable option, you can utilise blankets, sheets and towels you already own to wrap more fragile items. To maximise packing space, using materials like towels, blankets or older clothing items will save you from using excess packing materials you don’t necessarily need.

Create an inventory

Having an inventory is important, especially if you have a large space. This allows you to tick off items at your new location to be sure that everything made it safely and nothing is missing. If items have gone missing, having an inventory checklist makes it easier to identify what needs to be found. The easiest way to do this is whilst you are packing. Have lists of what is in each box, and make sure those boxes are clearly labelled. When you are finished packing items, keep them all in one space to ensure you don’t double up your inventory!

1 Week Before Moving Day

Create a plan for moving day

Creating a moving plan can allow you to have total control of the day, henceforth freeing your mind of any extra stress. An example of a moving day checklist will be provided further below for what to do on the day you move!

Confirm your removalists and the removalist cleaners

Make sure your removalists and removalist cleaners are still aware of your need for them, and that they have the correct dates, addresses & times. This will help plan out your moving day, whilst also assuring that they will show up on the day and that your booking hasn’t been missed.

Packing

Packing in advance will allow for a smooth moving day. You can hire removalists with a full packing service, however if you choose to pack yourself, follow these tips below:

1. Label every box, clearly indicating its contents and which room in the new house it will be stored in. You could take this step further by grouping them in their locations for when they arrive at the new location.
2. If boxes have fragile or heavy contents, mark the boxes appropriately to avoid injuries and disappointment.
3. Boxes that have contents that need to be stored upright, mark arrows on all sides of the box to indicate to the removalists that these boxes need to be stored upright.
4. If you are sharing a removalist with another family who is moving to the same state as you, be sure to note down on the box your name, delivery address and account number. This should assist the removalists on whose box is whose, avoiding mix-ups.
5. Pack an overnight bag with all of the clothing & bathroom essentials so you’re prepared when spending your first night in your new home.

Pantry & fridge

At this point in time you should have already begun to reduce the food and drink that lives in your fridge and pantry. Make note of what items you have left, and how you can potentially use them before moving day. If you can’t use any of the items before moving day and do not want to take them with you, you can give them to friends or family, donate to the Foodbank if long life, or dispose of them accordingly.

Moving Day!

Now that moving day is upon you, it is time to put that moving day checklist to action! 

1. Start early: the earlier you start, the earlier you can finish and get on the road to your new location. Make sure you have a full breakfast to avoid skipping meals as you will require a lot more energy today than most other days.
2. Call ahead: confirm with your removalist their estimated time of arrival (ETA). You can then work your morning around their arrival time, double checking everything.
3. Pack any last minute items: these could be phone chargers, laptop, toothbrush, water bottles & snacks - anything small that can fit inside your pre-prepared overnight bag. This should be quite simple as you should have packed everything else at least a week - 2 nights before.
4. First sweep: make sure you haven’t forgotten to pack anything - don’t forget to check top shelves & your cupboards!
5. Removalist arrival: welcome and thank them for their help - keeping a positive attitude is best on moving day. Conduct a walk-around of your house with them, noting heavy and fragile boxes, alongside any obscurely shaped items that may require more time and skill to move.
6. Final sweep: Once everything has been removed from the house, conduct one final sweep of the house, just to be sure the removalists haven’t missed anything.
7. Final checks: be sure that the removalists have the correct address for your new location.
8. New location: When arriving at the new location, guide the movers through your house by labelling rooms that correlate to the labels on the boxes. This can increase productivity whilst making the moving process faster.
9. Utilities check: Be sure that your utilities are set up and ready to use (water, electricity, gas & internet).
10. Only unpack essentials! You should already have pre-packed most of these so you should only need to unpack essential kitchen items that are needed for your first night in your new home.

We hope these tips help you in your next interstate move! 

To help you move more sustainably, check our blog post: Moving: Can you do it sustainably?