Moving House

Moving House: Do I need removals? *

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Moving house is one of the most stressful things which you can do. As many of you may know this is something which we did last summer. We combined two houses into one and created our first family home which was amazing. There was a lot of stress involved due to things keeping going wrong. One element which saved us a lot of stress was having a removal company.

Due to the nature of our move we moved 50 miles from my house and around 25 from where we had been living. On top of this we had some things at Joe’s parents another 70 miles from the new house. This meant that we could not do everything alone. The stress was already high because this is what you find when you are purchasing a house.

There was a lot of logistical planning which went into moving house. It was almost like a military operation but a lot more organised. It including having to hire a van from a company to be able to get the things from his parent’s house. We had a storage unit which we was using to put purchases in alongside things we had already moved. This meant that we did not have to purchase as much when we moved. There was only a period of around 2 weeks after the move before Joe deployed again.

One day while we were in the storage unit we realised how full it had become. We had planned to do the removals ourselves to save money. We knew it was going to be a number of trips between the unit and the new house. Of course, this was going to cost us a lot of time and also money in fuel

The reason that we had decided that we were going to do it ourselves because removal costs would be high. This could not have been further from the truth. I was pleasantly surprised we managed to do it in all in one trip with a huge van and a smaller van. Of course, there were smaller elements which had to go in our car mainly fragile pieces I was worried about. It took the removal men around 3 hours to empty the storage unit. It was a huge 100sq ft unit, and there was two of them. I seem to remember Joe had to help them to get it done quicker as well.

We paid around the £300 mark for this service, which I did not think was too bad. This was due to the distance as well for them it was almost a whole day job. For sure it would have taken us longer and we would have had to sort out childcare. I am sure that we saved money because we would have to have hired a van and also pay fuel. This did save us having a huge argument as well which is not doubt something which would have happened.

When I checked at the price of the removal van against what the average is I realised we got an amazing deal. I hate speaking on the phone so I wish I had known about get a mover. This would have meant I did not have to make calls because they get quotes of local removal companies. They then email you the quotes because we all know when you are moving house you do not have a lot of time. There is always something else which needs to be done.

I am so glad that we spent the extra money and got the removal men which we did. It saved us a lot more stress which is always a bonus everything was put in our garage so we could sort it as and when we needed it rather than rushing. For sure if we were to move house again no matter how far away from our current home I would be looking at get a mover in order to get quotes. Anything which makes life less stressful is always a bonus to me.

Have you moved house did you use removal men or did you do it yourself?

Charlotte xx

This post is a sponsored post by get a mover

Preparing To Move House

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Keys

As you may know, if you have been reading my blog for a while we have purchased our first home. We purchased it way back in June and are looking to move within the next month. It is all systems go here so this means that we have been doing a lot of decluttering, packing and all sorts. Today I thought I would share with you some of the things which we have been doing in order to be prepared when we do finally move in . If you do not know we are actually purchasing our first home together so this does mean that we are combining two houses at least. So we are not moving as you may traditionally and we are actually moving around 1 hour away from my family home and around 40 mins from York which is home at the moment for us.

Make a list

Making a list of what we needed it something which helped me so much because this meant that I did not purchase things which we did not need. Even though we did by some bits which I am sure we have more than we need of. I know there are only a small few bits which I need to order now.  I also found that making sure that I have the Quidco cashback toolbar on has helped me manage to get a chunk of money back. For example, on our washer and fridge we got £17 back and of course, every little bit helps.

Sell what you don’t need

This for sure is something which we have been doing because of the fact that we had all of Jess’s things from when she was a baby down at the grandparents. This has meant that we do have several things twice so it has allowed us to be able to sell one of the highchairs for example so of course, this does mean that we have been able to get more pennies. We have been able to sell a 3/4 bed which we no longer have a need for because of the fact that it is way to small for to adults to share and it is so low. This does mean that we do not have to move this and end up storing it in the garage someone is actually getting some love out of this. I have also been able to put this money towards something else which we need for the house.

Make sure you’re getting the best deal

This is something which we have been doing before moving into the house. We have made sure that we could get the best deal for the things which we need on sky because what is the point of having things which we do not need. For example, the cinema package is something which we would not get the best used out of so we might as well spend the money on the sports package which is something for sure I know I will be using. We made sure that we go the fastest internet as this is something which we need because Joe is always gaming using the internet. While of course I like to spend a lot of time doing things on my blog.

Pack slowly

This is something which of course we have had had the luxury of doing because it has taken so long for us to be moving into the house. This has meant that instead of having the stress of packing everything in the last few weeks we have been able to spend time slowly making sure that thing is in boxes related to the room which they are going to be going in. For example all of the things which are going to be in Jess’ room are in a box which says Jess on it. This is something which is going to be able to help so much when we move because we are going to be able just to take the boxes straight to that room.

Have an essentials bag

This is more for when you do actually move into the house on the day you get the keys you do not want to have to be opening every box to find a phone charger for example. This is something which I am going to create in the next couple of weeks before we do move. In this bag/ box I am going to make sure that we have our phone chargers because of course, we need them to have power. We will end up making sure that we have our kettle to hand when we move because of course who can live without coffee. This is something which we are going to make not long before moving and making sure that we have them to hand. I think the plan is to actually put them in the car boot because then there is no way where we actually end up losing the box on the day of the move.  I think also in the box we are also going to have some loo roll and some snacks. The fridge we have ordered does not get delivered for a few days after we actually move in so we can only have small shops till it is in.  We have choosen this so that I do not have too many people coming with deliverys when we first move in.

What tips do you have to someone moving house before they actually move?

Charlotte xx

 

 

What To Look For In Your First House

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Keys

Purchasing a house is something which we are going this summer as you know, currently we do not have a date which we will be moving. One of the things which people have asked is what we have looked at in the houses which we have purchased. There is a few things which we have looked at before we put the offer in our house.  Of course even though this is our first house this is actually a family home as well because we have Jess. Today I am I going to share with you some of the things which we asked or checked.

Check how much mortgage you can get

This is something which I would really recommend going into the banks . Yes I know it can be boring and asking for a mortgage chat even as someone who get anxious very easy I managed to do around 5. This allowed to to see what amount we could borrow and then also allowed us to know the price range of properties we could purchase meaning we did not pick a dream house but not be able to afford to live there that nearly happened. We thought we may be able to get about 50k more than we could actually borrow.The leg work in the process will help you avoid heartbreak I promise it is worth it.

Ask what your new neighbours are like

There is nothing worse than moving in and finding out that your neighbours are not the best and could cause you some actual problems. This is something which we have made sure we asked at every house we were looking at and due to the fact that the lady who lives at the house we have purchased showed us around we got the truth. Some estate agents will not actually know what the neighbours are like, we know that we have a family with a girl one side and then an older couple who have grandchildren visit at times. This is going to be good because of course you don’t want to find out you have noisey neighbours if you have a young family like us.

Why are they moving?

This is something which we did actually ask as well because we did not want to find that there is some problems wit the house and this is the reason for the move. This is something which we asked the majority of the houses which we saw and found out the reason for most was due to the fact they were downsizing, this is one of the reasons the lady is selling her house to us. Again if they do not really want to tell you why they are moving this may start giving you some warning signs that everything is not ok.

How long have you lived in the house?

This is something which we did ask because most people do not purchase a house and then move again within a very short period of time. This may make it harder for some of them to answer the questions. Just because they have not lived there long does not mean that there is a problem with the house they could be moving because of moving for work. This for sure is something to keep an eye on. If something does not seem right it is likely that there is not something right.

Check your commute/ School run

This is something which we made sure that Joe was not too far from work I think that at the moment it is only 40 minutes. Of course, at the moment I do not have a job but I am looking at ones which are about an hour max of the house. We have made sure that we are close to schools because of course Jess will be starting school in 2 Septembers time. We have managed to make sure that Jess have found a nursery which is close to the new house so that she does not have to commute.

Make sure you have enough space

If you are like us when there is a chance that we may have another child in the future. If this is something which we do I do not want to have to move house because we would need the space. In the house we have actually purchased we have two spare bedrooms which will mean we still have a spare room if we have another child. This will save us having to move house for a long period.

Check the wifi speed

The internet is something which we do actually use the internet so much because of course I spend a lot of my time on my blog. Where as Joe on the other hand is always playing with his friends online which means that he needs to be able to have good wifi in order to not lag in the game because this for sure can be too annoying. We have found fast wifi and we have found that this is not actually going to be breaking the bank.

Parking

Make sure that you are going to be able to park outside your house because this is something which is very annoying if you can not.We are going to be lucky and actually have a drive but currently I at my house when we pull up it is unknown if we are going to be able to park which can become very annoying. I would check near the house at different time of days and different days in order to know what it is like. There is nothing worse than been able to park during the day when your at work but not when you want to be able to when you have finished at home and are on an evening of chilling out.

How far things are way

This is something which we had on our spreadsheet for far the basics which we need are away from the property. For example we had how far the primary school was which Jess could attend in a few years time. How far the local shop is away for when we need basics like milk and bread along with the major supermarket which we could do our weekly shop is away. This also included the train stations as it is likely when I get a job I will have to commute without the use of a car.

Check the eco rating of the house

This may give you an indication on how eco efficient the house is because the last thing you want to be doing is spending all of your money on the bills. This is something which we looked at and for free you can see how you could improve the rating. This is good because you could save yourself some money in the long run however, it does not tell you the price of the bills this is something if comfortable you may feel like you want to do with the owner.

Make sure you visit more than once

There is nothing worse than only seeing a place once and then putting in an offer. This is because it might not be as you remembered it. We have bought the first house which we saw however, there was around 15 viewings of different houses which we shortlisted to those which met our needs. Then there was around 5 which we viewed a second time and then we found the one but it allows you to compare things between the houses and also make sure you remember the correct house.

Of course we have only purchased our first home recently but these are what I would recommend for anyone who is looking. We used Zoopla to find the houses which we found worked for us both been able to have the app really helped. Enjoy the time you spend looking we started viewing houses and selected one within a month but had been looking online for over a year so I feel like we kind of knew what what we wanted.

What tips would you give to someone who is looking to purchase their first home?

 

Charlotte xxx

 

Ideas For Decorating a toddler’s bedroom

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

 

As many of you know we are planning to move house this summer which is going to see Jess get her own room for the very first time.  I have not been able to actually design a nursery when she was born so I am so excited to do a toddler room for her. I have been thinking about the types of things which I want in her room of course some of them she might actually get a some of them may be able to occur not long after we move in the property which we get.

Reading Corner

Jess does actually love reading books and story time is something which I want to implement in her bedtime routine. I do actually think that reading is something which is very important when your child is young because of the fact that it allows them to be able to increase their language. I think this is something which may actually help her sleep better due to the fact that she is not going to be having a lot of screen time before bed as we all know too much blue light can make you not sleep. I would love to be able to get her a really nice bookcase which means that she is going to be able to reach her books so she could read them when she wants. Hopefully, we can have either some cute cushions to sit on or some bean bags so it is a very cozy and pleasurable area to be in.

Feature Wall

Feature walls can make a child’s room feel very personal. While browsing on the internet I found Wallsauce who are a company who sell made-to-measure children’s wallpaper.  There is some amazing wallpaper I think the one which is the lego pattern would love amazing in the man cave which Joe wants to create and would fit in with the gaming/office room he is hoping to create when we get the house. I know for sure that there is some of the wallpaper which Jess would love for example the animal ones due to the fact she is obsessed with them. I think I would be really fun to have something which is a bit different to the standard wallpaper which is on the market. These come in panels which I think it may make it easier than actually wallpapering normally.

Storage

Making sure that Jess has enough room for the oodles of toys which she has managed to accumulate in the short time which she has been here is important. I want to be able to make sure that she can get the toys which she wants to be able to play with easily without having to pull everything out.  This may mean that we end up having storage boxes which can be pulled out for example like the ones from Ikea which every blogger seems to have somewhere in their house, to be honest. Making sure she knows were things belong may actually lead to her been able to keep her room more tidy well I can always dream right?

Playden/ Tepi

This is something which I can see Jess really wanting due her always now wanting to build dens or as she calls them tents. This is an area which for her could be soft in case she does fall over because we all know she is a very clumsy child. Causing damage to herself is not something which I really want to occur I also think that this could be another area which she would be able to read in along with the fact she could play cars there no doubt quite happily. I have seen a few which are not too girly which I am sure is something she will like because she is not all about the pink.

Quotes and pictures

These are a great thing to put in your toddlers/ child’s room because of the fact that they are going to grow up. This means that things are going to want to be changed over this time as they will calim that something is for babies instead of the age that they are. A benefit of having quotes and picturres in frames it means that they can be updated over time which means can fit whatever the child is in to at the moment and recent pictures. For example, at the moment we have a few nice pictures of Jess which I would love to display along with some motivation/educational pieces. When I feel like they are no longer relevant it would be easy to get new ones along with the fact it would not break the bank.

 

How did you decorate your toddler’s room?

 

Charlotte

This is a collaborative post

 

 

 

Move or Improve?

- cupsofcharlotte Leave a comment

As some of you may know we are looking to purchase our first house this summer.We finally want to have a house were we can all live together instead of spending half of the time solo parenting. While spending the rest of the time together it is now about time to combine two homes into one. With the budget we have it could mean that we have to make sure that the house is something which we can improve over a period of time. So it could me we do move and improve the house. Hopefully this is only simple things such as painting and making sure that we have our own touch on the place. I really do not want to be one of those peoples who have to knock wall down and build an extension because we really want to move in this summer. As you can imagine i don’t really want to live in a building site with a toddler.

Like most people location of the property which we are going to purchase is important but of a study of 2000 people conducted by Slater Gordon found only 35% stated that this was important. For us we want to be able to have good travel links due to the fact it is unlikely that we are going to have a job in the area we live. We also want a house that is going to be big enough should we have another child it will mean that we do not have to move we may end up moving again however,I hope to be in the house for a long time as well. However, you never know if you are going to have to due to job relocation or something similar. So you could say that I am one of the 1000 who wouldn’t say that they are never going to move in the future. As some of you know moving out fully is not something which I have done so it does mean that the whole new moving house experience is new to me.

I guess you could say I have moved a few times because I have actually changed houses while at university but these were not properties which I could have stayed in long term however, on average adults move 3 times during their adult life. So who know I may just not be normal.

This means that we are likely to be moving and improving the house both things which I barely have done in my life. However, some tips which I have been given when speaking to people about moving houses is make sure that you have removal men to take things from our house to the new house. This is something which I am unsure if we will have to do because we will be purchasing a lot of furniture new because we don’t currently have a family home.I know there is going to be a lot of bulky things which have to be moved so this could see us hiring a van so we can actually get them to the new house.

Another tip which I have been told is to make sure that you tell people that you are moving this is people such as the bank, phone companies and others who you may have to pay bills for. Don’t forget if you have something such as a subscription box do not forget to tell them that you are moving otherwise you will not have it at the new address. This is not going to be a problem for use because we are still going to have people who we know at the address which we are moving from. But usually of course this is something which you will need to do.

There is not guarantee that we are not going to have to do work on the house this could see us having to get tradesmen such as electricians and gas fitters. These are people who you need to make sure are qualified don’t try and do it yourself or you could see yourself as one of the 220,000 people who end up in hospital a year as a result of DIY.

Are you a person who would rather move than do their house up?

Charlotte xx

This post is in collaboration with Slater Gordon