shifting house...101 for dummies
Mate is in process of shifting into his first home,got me thinking about the many many times I have moved in my lifetime (20 ish) and the simple things that make it easier,the traps to fall into and avoid.
thought it be a good idea to put up thread for benifit of others about to shift,it MAY save someones sanity.

#1 put a jug,some cups,tea,coffee,sugar etc into box and DONT LET IT go anywhere but straight to new kitchen bench and get unpacked,dont put it down or it will get shifted,personally put it there and unpack it....

#2 if you carry item of furniture into room and see logical place for it to go DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES put it there....the woman of the household will shift it...fluffing n feathering nest I call it...put it in unlogical place,SHE can then get it moved to where SHE WANTS IT...and it will stay there,usually where you wouldve put it in first place...trust me on this one,it will save your back,shifting n shuffling it numerous times.

#3 pack your hunting/fishing stuff yourself....if SHE packs it up,you wont find it,sometimes for years....think this is how bolts go missing.

#4 do all the big furniture items in one hit while you still fresh

#5 designate a room or garage for boxes...put all the non essential ones here and unpack and place stuff into home one box at a time over next few weeks.

#6 if shifting frail old Mum...put a chair in driveway and give her a stick...MAKE her sit there and direct items to whichever room as they come off truck...or she will start unpacking and get stuffed quicksmart and you end up putting stuff in wrong places.

#7 big fat felt pen is much easier to read on boxes than biro

#8 if possible shift as much outside stuff before the big day,firewood,garage stuff and man junk....it takes up lots of time and a lot of trailer loads,if you leave it till last you will be poked and not want to do it.

#9 potted plants SUCK,,,but SHE loves them so embrace it..deck load them,preferably all in same load,dont drive like a dick with that load,baby them along ,same as boxes,place in one holding area and let HER decide where their new home will be.

#10 tins of paint WILL fall over if not placed carefully,fuel tins the same...lawnmowers n chainsaws best in bits n bobs loads for similar reasons.

#11 start chucking out stuff long before the big shifting day,the otto bin only holds so much,guarantee you will end up with trailer load for the dump which you will pay to dump if you dont keep on top of this...would hate to shift again as know how much of a load this would be for me.

#12 if you are fortunate enough to have many hands,many trailers AND big truck hired....be cleaver about it...do truck load of big stuff first ,maybe 2nd deck load then de hire truck....lots of little deck loaded trailers is easier than tightly packed full ones...and all that garage stuff really doesnt pack up well.

#13 put freezer food into chilly bins if short shift....put freezer in truck and stuff back into it if long drive,can rest freezer for 15-20mins and plug back in while in truck if going to sit for any length of time....when you put in new home DO NOT PLUG IN...for at least 30 mins-1hour,this lets the oils n gases settle down again...they noisy as two skeletons bonking in tin bath ,if you dont.

#14 IF wifey has belly full of arms and legs...DO NOT put large empty boxes anywhere near you books.....its just about impossibly to lift TV box full of the wee suckers.

#15 pies are perfectly acceptable lunch for all the shifting team,2 each much recomended and fish n chips perfectly good meal for afterwards.....got to be feeding the troops

#16 dont piss off into town to buy new TV when old one breaks and leave your crew of helpers to finish doing the shift,this will GUARANTEE they wont ever help you again....

#17 if you fortunate enough to have brother in law etc who is good at shifting furniture...embrace it and be happy to take back seat and do donkey work....if they happy to take charge,be happy to be ordered around.

Thats why I'm still in my first house... I look around and just dont ever want to deal with moving all the crap.

Wife wants new carpet... told her its about the same as moving, all the rooms have to be emptied out. We've talked about it for 15 years now... will probably talk about it for another 15.



-DallanC

about 5yrs ago the misses wanted to take out all the carpets in the house and low and behold there was hardwood floors she was happy and I guess I was too.

After moving 8 times in 26 years when in the Army, I am well settled into our first home...and I don’t plan on moving again. Moving is a massive pain in the butt, but there is an up side....it allows you to get rid of crap and corruption that you have put down somewhere planning to get rid of later. You will be surprised how much of this type of stuff will surface, especially in your garage. It’s probably worthwhile ordering a “Skip Bin” to throw stuff into as it surfaces it’s much easier than running numerous trailer loads to the refuse dump, and will probably be cheaper in the long run as well.

Elvis, thanks for reminding me of all the pain of moving mate...I thought I had managed to push it all out of my mind, to be forgotten forever.

I have moved over 15 times since I was a young boy, first with my parents, then alone until my last one in 1993 when I got married 28 years ago.
This last one I am happy with and have done a few renovations including changing the carpets to hardwood.
Soon (within 3 years) we would pull this house down and rebuild.
Yes it is a pain but home is where the heart is and what made my little woman happy is what made me happy.

digging through old threads I found this wee gem...and cant get grin off my face as wife n I bought our home last year AND it was house we were renting so didnt have to shift LOL....
we back on to retirement village and old folks home .have told kids we will put in a gate so when getting decrepid the nurses can come look after us,bring us meals etc and when we cark it,kids can either sell home to village or close gate and do what they like with property.

Interesting that this subject came up. I've been in this house for 36 years. But the place next to my oldest daughter is coming up for sale. 13 acres of woods, with some swamp/water in the back. Newer house. I'm going to look at it in a week or so. Weighing pluses and minuses. Big plus is that I could walk out the back door to shoot or hunt. We'll see...