The Yellow Van Company

The Best Tips & Advice For Your Big Home Move

A new beginning, new challenges, and the opportunity to personalise your new home are all wonderful aspects of moving. That doesn't mean that it won't occasionally feel too much. Fortunately, there is a technique to keep any unpleasantness at bay. To make things easier on yourself, get started early, create a plan, and take all reasonable steps to ensure a smooth operation. Here is our best advice for a stress-free move.

Studies have found that in 2022 almost 400,000 UK households wanted to move home, showing that changing your residence is a trend that is on the rise. Moving from one place to another takes a lot of time and effort, especially if you already have a full schedule. If you have immediate plans to move, it's best to choose whether or not to enlist the assistance of a moving company.

With the housing market expected to lower over the next few years, UK residents may be looking to find their long-term family home and hunker down. How much warning do moving companies require? The straightforward response to this is: as much as you can! Scheduling a moving company as early as physically possible will almost always result in a lower price. You will save more money on moving days if you can be more organised with your plans.

Pick a Removals Firm Early On

You might find it challenging to reserve a date based on when you plan to move. Since most people give themselves extra time, they try to move during the weekends, school breaks, or bank holidays. Avoid being taken off guard by making a strategy. Choosing a removal team may seem simple in comparison to the other decisions you have been taking, but it is crucial to choose the pros. Your possessions depend on the company you choose, therefore it's crucial to conduct your research to prevent damage to objects or property or spending more than you intended.

Look at customer reviews, confirm the details of your removal quote, and inquire whether the company is willing to perform a valuation. This entails having someone visit your home to determine how much stuff you have and ensure that you have the appropriate-sized vehicle and number of group members on the day of your transition.

Make a List

On the eve of your move, it may seem like there is too much to remember; after all, regular life goes on in addition to your moving plans. Create a list of everything you need to do and consider your time frame to reduce stress. You can still be weeks away from completion even though your offer was just approved. But that doesn't imply you should put off getting ready until the week preceding your relocation.

Declutter In Advance

Before moving, decluttering your house of any outdated, useless, or unneeded belongings will save not only your effort and frustration but also money! You can reduce the quantity of material you have to move by giving, recycling, or chucking away items you don't need. The smaller the vehicle and the fewer hours your moving team needs to work, the fewer items you have. Avoid paying to transfer items that you'll only discard once you arrive at your new house to save funds on your move!

Make a Packing Plan

It is usually advisable to start packing as quickly as possible because it always takes more time than you anticipate. The places you use the least are the greatest place to start when you have removed anything you no longer need. Your life will be least disturbed if you pack up those areas and use them to keep boxes of things, which will enable you to accomplish as much as you can. It's simple just to outline the contents of a moving box on the label, such as "kitchen things," but this may not be helpful when you have to prioritise unpacking.

On the container's label, you should mention the location in your new home and list a few of the items in headings and subheadings so people know what's in there. Once you do not have to search through fifteen boxes marked "kitchen" to find the one with the plates, you'll be happy you hired us! Crates shouldn't be packed too tightly. Although it may be tempting, try to use smaller boxes for heavier things and larger ones for lighter ones. Otherwise, there is a chance that the box could break, injuring anyone who is carrying it and possibly harming your belongings.

Think About What You Can't Transport

Removal companies won't transport certain items. These include stuff like poisonous substances, soil-filled plants, paint cans, or chemicals. Don't think that everything has to be wasted because paint jars can frequently be donated to a good cause. You might wish to remove the majority of the dirt from your plants, pack them in their pots with plastic so they can't shift around, and carry them in your car if you can't stand to abandon your plants behind.

Not only with the weight of the boxes but also with the items you're moving, don't forget to think about the security of your removal team and yourself. When packing away garden tools, take care to clean and box them securely. Before being transported, large garden gear like lawnmowers or tools that run on gasoline need to be drained and cleaned. Knives should be packaged correctly, and the contents should be noted on the box. Ask your removals company if you're unsure of what you can bring; they can advise you on how to bundle specific items and let you know if there are any items they can't move. They might even provide an additional service where they package more challenging products for you.

A big thought should go into moving the pets you have. The ordeal of moving a pet can be stressful for both the owner and the loved family pet. It can be a smart idea to prepare things for your pet in advance, including the moving procedure and the setup for them at the new home.

Dealing With Paperwork

To ensure simple access, keep all crucial paperwork in one box or file, including passports, house deeds, wills, and insurance papers. After that, you should put this somewhere so you won't lose it. Important papers can also be converted into electronic copies by scanning them and saving them to a USB drive or a cloud storage service like Dropbox and then you'll have availability to them.

You may wish to establish the Royal Mail's diversion service, which will move mail from your old address to your new one, to ensure that you continue to receive it. This offers you some more time to update your address on all of your providers, memberships, and other accounts at your convenience without having to worry about missing out on critical mail.

Organise Utilities

It's incredibly simple to overlook final metre readings, yet doing so will simplify everything. To ensure that you don't lose any documents you create, you may even take pictures with your phone. Don't forget to register in advance with new broadband providers, as well as with gas, electric, and water. Just in case your buyer wasn't as prepared as you were, it's worth calling to announce the home has been purchased and that the account is finished if you're not sticking with the same supplier in your new home.

Starting or in the process of your next move? Don’t risk damaging or losing your precious possessions - get the move done right and that piece of mind with The Yellow Van Company. Enquire today!

We'll be happy to answer any question.

It doesn’t matter how silly you think the question may be, let us help you so you can have peace of mind. Even if it doesn’t necessarily have everything to do with your move our team have a wealth of experience. Like the saying goes; it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Can the price go up after I book?

The accuracy of what you tell us is important when it comes to this. So long as the job is as you described it then the answer is NO.

But should your booking take longer than you initially requested, you need us to take things up floors that were not mentioned when booking or if you need us to do additional stops then this would incur additional charges.
Which areas do you pick up from?

We will collect from anywhere in England, Wales, and Scotland and so long as you are coming back to London then it’s all factored into your quote.

Should all of your addresses fall outside of London there will be additional cost, but this will again be factored into the quote that you do with us.
How do I book?

The easiest way to book is online as this can be done at your convenience and so long as the information given is correct, it will be the same price as booking over the phone.

But if you want to speak to us then our London based call centre is on hand to answer whatever questions you may have or take your booking over the phone.
Can I rely on you to turn up on the day?

Absolutely! We’ve never failed to turn up to a customer. It doesn’t matter what the world chucks at us, we will be there!
Can I travel in the van?

We guarantee 1 passenger seat in all our vans. The only exception is when you are booking 3 movers, as the van only has 3 seats in it.

If you need two passengers to travel in the van, please let us know this at the time of booking and we will try to accommodate this as best we can, but we offer no guarantees as the job before or after you may require 2 movers and the spare mover needs to travel in the van.
Do I need to pre-book?

Not necessarily but booking at least 7 days in advance will normally mean that we can do whatever day and time you want. If you book with less than 7 days’ notice, then we will always try to fit you in wherever possible.
What happens if I go over my booked time?

We do advise for our customers to book enough time for their move and if you’re unsure maybe add on 30-60 mins. As this can save you time, money, and stress in the long run. For tips on how to calculate the amount of time you need for your move please click here.

That being said, we do understand that sometimes customers accidently underestimate the amount of time they need to move, therefore if you go over your booked time, we will charge the standard rate for the first half hour but after that every additional half hour will have a 25% surcharge on top.

For customers that are way off with their estimations there may be circumstances where we must finish the job off on another day or time when we have availability. As we may have another customer to move after you and we cannot continuously postpone them.
What do I do if I want to complain?

In the unfortunate event of you wanting to complain about something this must be done via email. Please send this to enquiries@theyellowvancompany.com. Once reviewed by us we will be in contact with you.
Where are you based?

We are London based with our headquarters in Mitcham, South London. But that doesn’t limit us to where we can go. We carry out jobs all over London, if you keep your eye out, you’ll see our vans dotted in the north, east, south, and west.
What size are your vehicles?

We operate 2 types of vans: Large Transit and Luton Van. Please see the dimensions for the vans below. If your building or the parking in the building has a height or width restrictions we must know in advance as we sometimes send a bigger van at no extra cost if your original van is delayed.

Large Transit:
Length: 3.5m (Internally), 6.0m (Externally)
Height: 1.9m (Internally), 2.55m (Externally)
Width: 1.6m (Internally), 1.8m (Externally)

Luton Van:
Length: 4.0m (Internally), 6.7m (Externally)
Height: 2.2m (Internally), 3.3m (Externally)
Width: 2.0m (Internally), 2.0m (Externally)
What are your quotes based on?

Our removal quotes are based on several factors. Location, distance of the move, complexity of the move (what floor each address is on etc.), what type on van you need us to send, the number of movers you need, and the amount of time needed. Packing and storage will also be factored if you require them.
Do I need to organise parking?

If parking is difficult outside your property or is restricted to permit holders only, then you will need organise this for us before we arrive on the day. If it is pay and display, then you can pay for this for us on the day as well.

We will not park anywhere that we may get a ticket unless you pay for the cost of this ticket in advance. We charge this at £80 which is non-refundable whether we get the ticket or not. The reason for this is because we sometimes have circumstances where we do not get the ticket until several months after the date of contravention and therefore cannot put a timeline on when we know if we got a ticket or not.
Can we tip the movers?

Yes, feel free to tip the movers if you feel that they have done an excellent job.