Is the date for your big move fast approaching? The gruesome combination of limited time and a painstaking amount of work awaits you. Feeling skeptical? Don’t! With the right guidance and resources, you can take care of everything that entails a moving journey.
Thanks to years of experience, Moving Solutions has managed to find the best tips and tricks to moving in a hurry. We have compiled a list of popular and helpful resources to help make your move happen. Packing checklists to money management tools to resources for address change – we’ve got you covered!
Moving from one place to another is never easy, especially if you are moving interstate. Now, you can skim through this moving guide to simplify your journey. The guide contains links and resources to help you plan, pack, declutter, and finally move. Even better, you can score some stellar tips on packing and money management too.
Resources to Help You Plan Checklists & labels to save you time
The key to a successful move is great planning. The best tip to plan efficiently is to rely on checklists, signs, and labels. If you are clueless about how to make detailed checklists, labels, and signs that will stand out, we are here to help. Below is a list of some top-notch resources you might find helpful when planning for a move.
● The Art of Happy Moving
The Art of Happy Moving is a unique website that focuses on stress-free decluttering. But, that’s not all! The site also provides you with tons of other features that will make planning super easy. Scour through the content to find moving checklists, school comparisons, mortgage calculators, and even learn how to be happier in a new house.
● The 8-Week Move Planner
This ultimate moving checklist by Moving Solutions is all you will need. Both first-time and seasoned movers can easily forget things during a hectic move. This comprehensive checklist was compiled to help you tackle your moving tasks on a week-by-week basis. Whether you are moving interstate or locally, you can take advantage of this moving checklist.
● House For Six
Now that we have covered checklists, let’s look at how you can get some fabulous labels. Labels are great for organising your boxes and belongings. House For Six by independent blogger Deme is a great source for some excellent label templates. Each template has space to mention the box number, contents, floor, and room. What’s more, you can note down whether the content is heavy or fragile and even mark similar boxes with unique stickers.
● Canva
Canva is a great label-making tool for non-designers. You can use hundreds of great-looking templates to not only make labels but also for notices and signs.
Resources to Help Learn About School Holidays
It is ideal to find out about school holidays when moving interstate, even for families without kids. This will help you plan your move at a time outside of the holiday periods. By doing so you can take advantage of lower prices, address accessibility, and availability of resources. As a bonus, you will be able to avoid traffic. Below are some links to help you find holiday dates for schools in different States:
● Queensland – School holidays and term dates >>
● New South Wales – School holidays and term dates >>
● Victoria – School holidays and term dates >>
● Australian Capital Territory – School holidays and term dates >>
● Western Australia – School holidays and term dates >>
● Southern Australia – School holidays and term dates >>
● Northern Territory – School holidays and term dates >>
● Tasmania – School holiday and term dates >>
Resources to Explore School Options
If you have little children, it is recommended to select a school for them long before moving interstate. To find a school nearby or to get full details of the schools you are considering, you can check out the following links:
● Schools Directory by the Department of Education
You may rely on the schools’ directory to find the closest schools to your new residence. You can search the directory by region, type of school, or even name of your preferred school.
● How to Choose a School in Queensland
This site will be helpful for you if you are moving Interstate to Queensland and do not know where to begin your school search. The government site is an excellent resource for choosing the best school for your little ones.
Resources to Check Insurance Options
You will also have to figure out insurance options for both your new and old addresses. It is ideal to have the new house protected by insurance from at least a day before the handover. Alternatively, it is a good idea to have the old address covered until the final handover. Here are a few resources that can help you find a reliable insurer:
● Find an Insurer
A referral service by the Insurance Council of Australia, Find an Insurer is a great site to find insurance providers. You can choose from a broad range of categories and also use the search bar.
● Need a Broker
Need a Broker is a fantastic source if you are seeking NIBA-enlisted insurance brokers. You can find specialised insurance companies for your unique needs.
Resources to Help You Pack Productively
Having packing materials within reach can give your packing journey a boost. So, it is best to grab packing essentials such as cartons, bubble wraps, and tapes as soon as possible. Where to get packing materials from? You can get them from local shops or you can get removalists packing materials from the companies mentioned below:
● MB Box Outlet
MB Box delivers cheap storage and moving house boxes all over Australia.
● Austate Removals
Looking for commercial grade boxes and other packing items when moving interstate? You can order from Austate Removals and enjoy country-wide delivery.
Packing Tips to Ease Packing
While packing, try to keep an inventory of the content in each box. This way, you can easily identify missing items when unpacking. Because wiring setups are critical, take photos of the setup so you can mimic the photo while reassembling the wires. Moreover, backup important digital documents in an external hard drive so protect yourself against data loss. You may use ziplock bags to pack liquids to prevent spillage. For a more detailed guide to packing tactfully, you can follow this packing checklist.
Resources to Help Declutter Your Belongings
Decluttering is a great hack while moving interstate. It can not only help earn some extra cash but it can also make the move much easier. Sure, you can advertise a garage sale in the local newspaper. However, there are also plenty of ways to sell unused items online. Here are a few ways:
● eBay
eBay is a great site to auction your unused or rarely used items. You will definitely get a great response for valuable, unique, and highly sought-after items.
You can put ads for sails and boards on Seabreeze. The site is ideal for anyone who loves water sports and would like to get rid of outdated or excess accessories.
If you have an assortment of items you wish to sell, Facebook Marketplace is the place for you. You can sell anything and everything here, as long as it is legal.
How to Declutter? Some Realistic Tips
Do you hoard unnecessary items? Then, you need to rid this attitude long before moving interstate. Declutter anything you have not used within one year. When you are ready to sell, research various websites for second-hand goods. This will help gauge what prices to sell your belongings for.
Resources for Money Management
Moving interstate can be quite expensive. On top of the financial stress, you might find it difficult to keep track of bills and budgets. Thankfully, there are loads of apps to help keep you up-to-date. Download one of the below apps to control both money and stress.
● Billminder
Are you constantly missing deadlines for bill payment? Billminder is a great reminder app which can help avoid late fees and save money. Best of all, this can significantly improve your credit score. No wonder this app has rave reviews!
● True Bill
With True Bill, you can manage all your subscriptions. You can also overview your expenditures and manage your finances accordingly.
● Interstate Move Calculator
Interstate Move Calculator is a free calculator app which offers an overview of estimated costs for moving interstate. It will also help calculate the cost of adding a Goods in Transit insurance policy.
Resources You Need for Address-Change or Redirection
In addition to everything else on your to-do list, you have to contact various authorities to change your address. First of all, you are required to inform the local government, then you need to notify your address change to various other entities. We have compiled some links to help ease this process for you.
● Visit aec.gov.au to enrol in a new electorate
● You can change your postal address at austpost.com.au and redirect mail to the new address
● Find your transferable medical records at myhealthrecord.gov.au
● To change the address provided to Medicare, contact the official site
● You can change your address for car registration and driver’s license in different locations through the links below:
○ QLD – Notify a change of address >>
○ NSW – Notify a change of address >>
○ VIC – Notify a change of address >>
○ ACT – Notify a change of address >>
○ WA – Notify a change of address >>
○ SA – Notify a change of address >>
○ NT – Notify a change of address >>
○ TAS – Notify a change of address >>
● Don’t forget to change your pet’s chipset. You can visit a local vet to complete the formalities but do this as soon as possible. For pets often gets lost after relocation.
The Bottom Line
Now that you have a list of all the resources you need, start planning. These helpful links and resources will make moving interstate much easier, including processes like packing, decluttering and managing your money.