When you’re moving house it’s easy to get so wrapped up in all the practicalities and organisation that’s involved that you may just forget to take into account the feelings of your children. Moving can be a tough time for them since they’re leaving behind their friends and familiar places. Saying goodbye to their bedrooms can also be a big wrench. They’ll be starting a new chapter in their lives. One which involves adjusting to a new house, sounding out the neighbourhood, starting a new school and making new friends.

Here’s a few tips for getting the kids involved from the get go:

Preparing for the move
Let your children know as soon as you can about the move since this will give them more time to get used to the idea. Let them express their feelings and be totally honest about your own. Help older children to create an address book so they know they can stay in touch with friends or, if they use the internet, help them set up emails or create a profile on a social networking site. You could also encourage them to start up a blog.

During the move
Try and remain positive and calm since any signs of stress will be quickly picked up by your children and may unsettle them even more. Get the children involved in packing. If they’re old enough let them put their belongings in boxes and spend a fun time decorating their boxes. It’s also important during the days leading up to moving day to stick to their normal routine and bedtime. Encourage them to make a scrapbook of their ‘old house’ filling it with photos, a piece of their wallpaper and pictures of their friends. Lastly, remember not to pack their favourite teddy or toy.

Getting settled at the new house
Begin by just unpacking the essentials and leave other boxes until later. Make sure that the children’s rooms are organised with familiar belongings around them, and as soon as you can get them back into their normal bedtime routine. Discuss with them how they’d like their new bedroom to look since this will help them to feel like they’re in control of their environment once more. Also take time out with them exploring the neighbourhood and locating parks and pizza restaurants, or anything else that they really liked about their old neighbourhood. Encourage them to make new friends by inviting them round after school for tea.

Moving house is a big deal for adults and children alike, so don’t expect it all to be plain sailing.

If you’re planning your move, then why not give us a call and tick one more item off your check list.
We’ve been servicing the area of the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane for many years and know it like the back of our hands. Call us today on 0449932603 and let us take the strain.

Prior to moving house people tend to focus their attentions on electronics, decorative, fragile and glassware items and while it’s true that thought needs to be given to how they’re going to be packed, many people forget that their furniture also requires careful handling.

The trouble is that unlike many of the items listed above furniture obviously can’t be boxed and in most cases will be an awkward and uneven shape. There’s also a good chance that your favourite designer couch or Chippendale sideboard is going to be extremely heavy too. So if you’re planning on moving it yourself, then great care needs to be taken.

The first thing you’ll need to invest in is a quilted blanket. Okay so you probably don’t want to go paying a lot of money as it isn’t going to take pride of place on your bed. Instead it’s going to come in very handy when moving your heavy piece of furniture. Alternatively if you have some relatively thick, but old blankets that are gathering dust in your cupboards, then even better.

When you’re ready to move your bulky piece of furniture, manoeuvre the furniture so that you have a clear run from the house to the truck. This will probably entail twisting the furniture on its end so that it’s able to fit through the doors. If this is the case then don’t forget to protect the corners with furniture pads, or even good old fashioned bubble wrap.

Next lay the blanket on the floor then place the furniture down on top. All you do now is simply slide it across the floor. Not only is it relatively easy to move, but there’s absolutely no chance of dropping it. To get over the front steps, cushion them with more quilted blankets and let the furniture glide over the top. Obviously you don’t want to be doing this if you’re three flights up in an apartment block as the consequences could be catastrophic!! However it certainly works on one or two steps.

Once outside and on the flat, continue to drag it on the blanket towards the truck. It’s better over grass but if you have to travel over concrete, then put another blanket underneath for added protection. Finally when you get to the truck if you have a tail-lift, then it’s a piece of cake. If you don’t then place more blankets on the edge of the truck and leverage it up.

It may seem like a lot of hassle, but doing it this way you’ve not only protected your furniture, but also your back.

If you really don’t want the hassle of shifting your own furniture then contact On The Move Removals. We’ve been serving the people of Brisbane for many years and our promise to you is that we’ll take good care of your furniture as if it were our own. Why not call us today on 044 993 26 03 for a seriously competitive quote.

If you visit any removalist sites, whether they’re local specialists or large national companies, they’ll offer a variety of truck sizes for you to choose from. The trouble is, choose one that’s too big and it can end up costing you more money that you need to spend, Conversely if you decide take the smaller option and discover it just isn’t all going to fit, it can be a real problem, especially if the company you’re using has no larger trucks available because they’re all out on other jobs. With this in mind, just how do you make sure that you choose the right sized removal truck for the job in hand?

Cubic Metres
Most trucks are measured in cubic metres. This is determined by the amount of storage space inside the truck from floor to ceiling height. However be aware that unless you’re an expert packer and everything is either perfectly square or in boxes, you probably won’t be able to utilise every available centimetre of that space. Therefore always err on the side of caution and calculate your belongings to be of more cubic meterage than you actually need.

So how do you roughly calculate cubic meterage?

Unfortunately there’s no quick way of doing it and you’ll need a tape measure and some basic maths skills. You’ll first need to measure the height, width and depth of each item. (be sure to measure them at their highest, deepest and widest points) then multiply these figures by each other. Here’s a quick example.

Take a common or garden washing machine – after measuring you discover it’s 850mm x500mm x 400mm. Therefore the equation should be as follows:

0.85 x 0.5 x 0.4 = 0.17m3

This needs to be done for each item that isn’t boxed. For items that are boxed up, then it’s a little easier as they should be a standard cubic metered size. If it doesn’t already say the m3 amount on the box, then ask your removalist as they’ll know. When you have your final list of cubic metered items then all you’ve got to do is to ‘tot’ all the figures up to give you one finalised, overall figure.

Making it easy
Many removalist websites will make it easier by applying real life numbers to your furniture. For example a removal company may state that a typical 3 bedroomed house will be around 45 cubic metres. However this is really an estimate as the figure given clearly can’t account for how much ‘stuff’ you’re likely to have accumulated. Therefore it’s advisable to approach this figure with a touch of caution.

At On The Move Removals we’re a Brisbane based company serving the people of the Sunshine and Gold Coasts as well as the city of Brisbane and the suburbs. We have three sizes of trucks to choose from ranging from small vans to medium and large trucks. Why not contact us on 044 9932 603 for the lowest prices around guaranteed! Alternatively visit our website at www.onthemoveremovals.com.au to see our great prices first hand,