Along with getting divorced and dealing with the loss of a loved one, moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do in life.

But unfortunately, this is something most of us must do at some point in our lives.

Whether it be because we needed to sell our house, or simply because our existing rental lease expired, almost 50% of Australians have moved to a new property in the last five years.

If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to note that relocating is not just a matter of packaging up all your possessions and driving them to your new abode. It actually takes a lot of careful planning and preparation. 

Depending on the size of the property you are moving from, the overall act of preparing, decluttering, packing, moving and settling into a new place, is a transitional phase that could take between 6 and 8 weeks to fully complete.

This might seem like a protracted lead-in time, but in this article, we will explain why it can take this long.

Stages of moving home

There are several stages of moving that can take between 6 to 8 weeks overall to complete. These can be broken down as follows.

Preparation (4-6 weeks prior to moving day)

One of the first things you should do when you know you are going to be moving out of your current home is to inform the correct people of your leaving date.

This includes the likes of your real estate agent, (if they don’t already know), as well as any existing providers of utilities like electricity, gas and water, your landline phone and internet and the satellite TV provider. Make sure they turn these services off, as the last thing you want to do is pay for usage at a property you no longer reside at.

If you know where you will be moving too, many of these services can be transferred to the new house, so they can be seamlessly turned on and ready for you to use when you get there.

It is also a good idea to set up a postal redirection service starting on the day before you move to ensure that you don’t lose any mail. You can have the post redirected to a PO Box for a short period. Until such time, at least, as you have informed every one of your new address - once you have fully moved into it.

The other main thing you should do around this time is decide how you will move. Will you be doing most of the packing and physical moving yourself, or use a company like Muval to find furniture removalists?

If you are planning to use a removalist firm to do all the heavy lifting for you, it is worth booking them in as far in advance as you can. Be sure to get a few quotes and read some customer reviews about them too, to ascertain their level of reliability.

Similarly, if you plan on doing the moving yourself, it is worth making a reservation for a van or other suitable vehicle if you need to hire one.

The other thing you should do, as soon as you know you need to move home, is to clear your calendar and book the time off work.

Packing and decluttering (2 - 6 weeks prior to the move)

It’s never too early to start packing, and in fact the bigger the house you are currently in, the earlier you should start packing.

One of the best ways to start packing is on a room-by-room basis, starting with the rooms you use the least.

Clearing out one room completely is a very good idea, as instead of having a large number of moving boxes everywhere around your house, you can have them neatly stacked in one, otherwise empty, room.

Also, when packing be strategic. Put all kitchen items in one box. All bathroom items in another etc. This will make the process of unpacking much easier.

Also, if you pack a bit every week, as opposed to everything the week before you are moving, it won’t seem such as daunting a task.

During the final week, it's also a good idea to only use enough cups, plates and cutlery for the number of people living there. As that will mean you will have less to pack on your last night.

A very smart thing to do is to write a list of all the items you packed in any given box and then cellotape that list to the outside of the box. That way, if you need to check what you have packed in a box, you can just refer to the list on it.

When moving, you will be grateful you did this, as clearly labelling what box goes in what room will save you a lot of hassle at that time.

Another reason for packing early is that it gives you plenty of opportunity to declutter. Over your time in the property, you are moving from you probably accumulated a lot of stuff. Much of which you might not have used in years.

Packing early gives you the opportunity to get rid of stuff you don’t use, or no longer want in your new home.

Apply the classic ‘keep, dump, sell, charity’ technique, to work out what you will be taking to your new place, what items you can send to the tip, what you might be good to sell, and which items you can give to charity.

This is an invaluable exercise because the less possessions you will have to move, the cheaper it will be for you, especially if you are hiring the services of a removalist firm.

Moving Home (1-3 days)

When it comes to the act of moving home you may need to set aside anywhere from one to three days to do this. Especially if you are performing the majority of the moving yourself.

If moving locally, many couples and families, especially those with multiple cars, often try and take more easily transferable possessions to the new property, over the course of a couple of days. Before then finalising the move on the last day with the help of the removalists.

This enables them to reduce the costs of moving and unpack certain rooms at a time in their property. In doing so they can ensure the kitchen and bathroom are fully set up for the first night they will be sleeping there.

If you are moving out of state, or a significant distance away from where you currently live, you might need to factor in an extra couple of days, and maybe even a night or two in a hotel, before you get fully set up.

Settling In (1-2 weeks after moving)

Just because you have physically completed the move, does not mean you are finished yet.

After moving you will have a stack of boxes to unpack, as well as cardboard and other rubbish to get rid of. Which could take as much as two weeks to do.

When unpacking it is worth doing this on a room-by-room basis again. But this time in terms of which rooms you use the most.

Kitchens, main bedrooms that are being used ,and the lounge/TV area are great places to start. Once you have done these, you can take your time with the other rooms over the course of the next two weeks.

Final Thought!

So, there is the answer to your question of how much time do you need to move home?

While 6 to 8 weeks might seem like a very long time to prepare, it is actually not when you break down a list of all the tasks you have to do.

At the end of the day how much time you need to fully move house depends entirely on how much planning and preparation you have done.

If you have been strategic, and organised in your packing in a logical way, then it shouldn’t really matter how long it takes. 

All that matters is that it wouldn’t have been as stressful an experience as it has been for many other people. Which at the end of the day is what you should be aiming for when moving home.

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