Moving into a new home is exciting yet it can also be overwhelming and stressful, and often we just don’t know where to start.
No matter how long you’ve been in your old home, you will have no doubt accumulated some excess baggage, especially if you have children. A good way to lessen the overwhelm is to make a checklist and stick to it as much as possible.
Organize the task into bite sized chunks, which you can tick off one at a time, which if you are anything like me, you will find highly satisfying
First on the list: De-cluttering.
Take a day when you’re home alone, definitely when the kids are at school and go room by room and go through every cupboard and every drawer.
I then like to divide every item into one of three categories:
1. Toss,
Anything that is all beyond its use by date and of no use to anybody, toss.
2. Sell or give away,
The second category are things that are still okay but might not be serving you but might not be of any use to you. Those are for the category, sell or give. You can either give those to friends and family who may want them or put them on Gumtree or eBay for sale. You can also try Freecycle where you can post items to give away locally, thus limiting the things we put out for council clean up and end up as landfill.
3. Keep.
Declutter every area of your house including the kitchen, and old pots and pans that you no longer need. In your home office or study nook, clear out old files, and make sure you get under the house or into your storage area (everyone has a sneaky ‘too hard’ basket somewhere). Find out when your next council clean up is, and if there isn’t one, for a small fee, you can organize one for yourself. Become a decluttering machine. This is a job that can feel so huge, but once it’s done is so satisfying.
Next on the list: Assess your furniture needs.
Again, go around the house room by room and look at every room with fresh eyes and think about your new home. Will it fit? Does it suit the style of the home? Do I still need it? Do I still want it? Maybe you want an entirely fresh start and want all new furniture. Again, from there we divide all the items into our three categories; toss, sell / give, or keep.
Now, you have decluttered and curated, you are ready to move. It’s a good idea to decide before you move into your new home if there’s any work on the new home that needs to be done, such as painting or new floors. These are things which are much better done before you move in. Other things such as light fittings and window treatments can be done after you move in.
So, now you’re ready to move and the questions looms ‘how to decorate your new home?’. How to transform this exciting new space into a functional, visually beautiful abode that you look forward to coming home to everyday.
The two things we most need to think about are Style and Colour Palette and make carefully considered choices from there. Do you want to integrate your old furniture with some new furniture, or do you want to start from scratch? If you want to integrate old with new, get everything into place first and then have a really good think about the new pieces that will go. Both fitting in with the space and visually. The style of the new home may not suit the style of your old furniture, which is something I see often.
In either case, it can be a good idea to bring in a professional. Decorators can either work with your old furniture, or they can put together a whole new look for you. Whether using the services of a professional or doing the decorating yourself, take it slowly. Carefully consider the style, colour, and pieces that you’re after, and take time to curate the collection and make sure that all the pieces work together harmoniously.
Moving into a new home doesn’t need to be so stressful. Really, there are four main steps:
The first is declutter.
The second is assessing your old space versus your new space.
The third is completing all major works on the new house prior to moving in.
And the fourth is decorating your new home once you’ve moved in. Either with the help of a professional, or DIY.
Happy moving!
Amanda x
