Moving Tips

How to Disconnect and Connect Your Utilities Easily!

If you know your moving date, it’s time to change over your gas, electricity, phone, internet, Foxtel or Austar, and any other services you have delivered to your home.

On The Move will connect your utilities for you, so you can focus on your interstate removal. The service is FREE and they can even negotiate a better rate on some services, we highly recommend their service.

Maximising Your Bond Return

Are you breaking a lease? You must notify your landlord of your moving date if you are breaking a lease. The State Government residential tenancies website has all of the forms you will need. Alternatively you can call the Tenancies Tribunal on 13 18 82 for advice.

If your lease is ending and you know your actual moving date, give us a call or fill out a quote. Once we have it, we will send your ‘Day Before You Move’ information in a timely manner. This email is packed with your vital last minute checks and preparations you need to have for a stress free interstate move.

Make a list of repairs. Obtain a copy of your Property Conditions Report from your land agent or landlord and check it against the current condition of the property. The types of repairs that will come out of your bond are scratches and dents on walls, damaged draws and cupboards, run down lawns and gardens, blown light globes, and stained or torn carpets.

Start arranging repairs. The Yellow Pages is a tried and true method to find the repairers you need. Alternatively, Google what you’re looking for.

Maximising the Sale Price of Your Home!

We don’t claim to be able to give you the sort of advice a reputable real estate agent could, so we recommend you make a few calls and see who gives you the best answers. One thing we do recommend to ask about is home staging or property presentation, if done correctly home staging can drastically increase the sale price of your home and how quickly you sell.  A property stylist will help you determine what in the house needs to stay and what can be packed now before the marketing campaign starts. This means when you do sell, there is less to sort and pack when there is increased pressure to get out of the house prior to settlement

Your Survival Kit for Moving Interstate

Don’t be alarmed, you’re not in danger. A Survival Kit is just the nick-name we give your ‘close me last, open me first box’.  You fill it with all the specific items you’re going to need while the rest of your house is packed up.

Your Survival Kit is a large tea chest box you should pack over the coming days and weeks and should include the following:

- Glass or paper cups
- Glass or plastic plates (enough for each family member)
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Steel of plastic cutlery
- Scissors or utility knife
- Household cleaning supplies
- Pen and paper or a notepad
- Kids and adult snacks
- Radio or iPod docking station
- Pet collar, bowls, treats, rug or rag (pets stress more than humans when moving)
- Flashlight/Batteries
- Bin Linings
- A saucepan or frypan
- A few light bulbs
- Coffee
- Sugar
- Bottle/Can Opener
- Pain Killers
- Medication
- Children’s books/toys (just a few), even a dolly but not an interstate removalists type
- Personal Grooming Kit – comb/brush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, razor
- 100 points of ID  – passport, birth, certificate card statement, bill, bank statement, Medicare card

Be sure to read the part 4 of the interstate moving checklist for a complete list of who to notify your moving interstate and what to collect.

If you missed part 2 , it contains great information on how and where to sell your unwanted goods before your move.

How and Where to Sell Your Unwanted Goods

Options, options.

Hold a garage sale or sell items online or in newspapers, many of which are free to you

Here’s some great advice on how to hold a successful garage sale:

- Date and time. 7am-8am Saturday mornings is the optimum time for a garage sale. Do it soon so you don’t run yourself out of time, 2-4 weeks is best, the more the better.
- Is there enough stuff? If not, ask your neighbours and friends to sell some of their goods too. The bigger the garage sale the more people will come and you can share the advertising costs.
- Advertise with a catchy slogan like ‘Moving Sale – Everything Must Go!’ Let people know there will be bargains to be had and provide proof why.  A seller’s desperation becomes a buyer’s motivation to investigate for bargains.
- Bait and wait. Use high value key items like whitegoods, collector’s items, power tools and IT equipment to lure people to your garage sale. Even if you don’t get the price you’re looking for, you can then sell them singularly later on Gumtree, Trading Post or eBay, eBay is particularly effective when moving from Melbourne.
- Be a good host. Supply water, coffee and tea for your shoppers. If they hang around for a drink they are far more likely to buy something. Keep some cheap rope on hand for buyers that forget to bring their own so they can’t use that as an excuse not to buy.
- Do your research. How much are others are selling similar items for? Be realistic because you want to sell, not waste time and get stuck with things you don’t want to move. Keep in mind that by selling items you are saving on your interstate moving costs as well which may help you modernise your furniture for next to nothing.
- Don’t rely on good weather. Have an undercover area to use as a backup.
- Make up flyers. Put them on the local shop pin-up board, next to ATMs, anywhere where people congregate. Try these online garage sale flyer templates.

Moving Interstate with less will save you money!

Advertising Platforms

Well-placed advertising is crucial to a successful sale. We’ve provided a summary of the best options. iMovers recommends you use all four of these advertising options – they are sure to significantly increase interest in your sales for minimal investment.

Spend enough time on your ads to make them appealing. Get good photos and write compelling words to create a buzz about your garage sale. And remember, if you are spending $70 on advertising, make sure you have at least $150 worth of goods to sell in case everything doesn’t go. You want to at least make your advertising budget back.

Gumtree (Free – $10). Gumtree has tens of thousands of visitors each week and provides terrific value. A basic ad includes unlimited text room and up to four image uploads, and doesn’t cost a thing. You can also promote your ad at various rates up to $10. Advertise your garage sale or items individually.

Trading Post (Free). You can advertise a garage sale on Trading Post with up to 9 photos and as much text as you like. Single items under $500 are also free to advertise.

The Big Newspapers (approximately $35). The newspaper classifieds cost a bit more, but tapping into the state’s highest circulating newspaper has its advantages. Costs are approximately $9 p/line on weekends and $7 p/line weekdays depending on which state you are in, these prices are based on Melbourne – approximately 23-27 characters fit on one line. So a small ad like ‘Garage Sale This weekend. Everything must sell!’ contains 47 characters and takes up two lines. You must include a suburb, address, time and some of the key items for sale. Predesign your ad using this online character counter. We don’t recommend using the online news classifieds, which is significantly more expensive.

The Local Papers (approximately $15 – $30). It makes sense to limit your advertisement to the local paper in your area. But if you’re really keen, you could try a neighbouring areas paper too.

Check out part 3 of our Interstate Moving Checklist on disconnecting/reconnecting your utilities, maximising your bond or sale price and  how to create a survival kit

You may like to read part 1 of our checklist on how to declutter and save for your interstate removal.

De-clutter Your Home and Save!

This is the first in a series of blog posts that make up our Ultimate Step-by-step Guide to Interstate Moving. In this guide you will learn:

- How to make money de-cluttering
- How to maximise your bond return or sale price of your home
- How to pack boxes like a professional interstate removalist
- Who to notify your moving and what to collect: A complete list
- Easy ways to avoid ALL of the common & costly mistakes of moving
- Much much more….

A lot of furniture removals expertise has created this guide,  so use it well!

Your Interstate Moving Budget

Consider your budget for your move. How much are you willing to spend, how much time and effort are you willing to put in yourself? If you’re taking time off work, that’s a cost too.

Look at the big picture. Have you considered every room in your house? Storage areas, shed, carport and what’s outside? Evaluate what’s really involved in your interstate move, remembering that every item needs to be relocated to your new home.

Create a moving budget template in Microsoft Word or Excel to help you visualise the costs.

Consider expenses like:

- Extra rent and bond at your new home or extra mortgage payments, stamp duty and other fee’s
- Truck hire, bond and fuel costs if you’re thinking of moving it yourself
- Outstanding bills (some may need to be paid before you can change address)
- Repairs or alterations to your new home or current home
- Packing materials
- Trolleys, ropes, pads and other moving materials
- Cleaning costs including yard and pool

How to decide if your furniture will hit in your new home

Consider the size and layout of your new home. Is it bigger or smaller? If it’s smaller, how will everything fit? Does it have built-in wardrobes and ample cupboard and storage space? If not, where will all of your nic nacs go?

An easy way to get an understanding of how much room you have is to get a plan/layout of your new home, cut out pieces of paper to represent your major furniture items, and rearrange them until you are happy with how it all fits. If it doesn’t all fit, you may need to get rid of some of it or we can help with any storage requirements you may need.

If you don’t need it, don’t pay to move it!

A well-timed and implemented de-cluttering and selling strategy will significantly reduce interstate moving costs and give you added cash to modernise your furniture in your new home.

Here are some ideas on what you can remove from your move:

- Old and dated. Some second-hand furniture will sell for more than new furniture. Collectors and second-hand shop owners are always scoping out garage sales.
- Tonnes of toys. Kids’ toys can add hours to your move. You can make your move fun for your kids too though, ask your little ones to sell their unwanted toys at a garage sale and let them keep the money to buy new toys once moved. It works!
- Your toys. How long since you’ve used that ab-cruncher? What about the old Play Station in the spare room, or your rusted Webber? We all have items we just don’t use.
- Pot plants are a huge space waster, the costs of moving plants interstate is exorbitant and there are quarantine issues to consider too. If they are sick or dead, empty the pots and stack smaller ones inside bigger ones to save space put them in a box if they fit!
- The shirt off your back. Even if you don’t wear that pink shirt, someone else might. How many other clothes do have in mothballs?
- The sound of money. Are you really going to listen to that old Jason Donovan CD? How many Greatest Pub Songs collections can you own?
- Sizzle and save. Interstate Removalists cannot move gas bottles unless they’re empty, so it’s a good excuse to have a few BBQ’s over the following weeks.
- Shed stuff. Clean out your shed and see what you actually use, shed gear always sells well in Garage Sales. Watch out for spiders. Let off a flea-bomb an hour before you do, they cost less than $10 and can save you from a “hairy” situation.
- Raid the pantry. Now is the perfect time to eat some of your frozen food and perishables like canned foods, pasta, wine, sauces, snacks, etc. One box can cost up to $20 to move interstate, so eat your way to savings!

Give it to a good cause.

If an item doesn’t sell, donate it to a good cause; you may even get a tax deduction.

Find your closest donation centres:

St Vincent De Paul

Salvation Army

If you like this you may like our recent post on how to pick your interstate removalists

Be sure to check out part 2 of our checklist on how and where to sell your unwanted goods for interstate removals