Here’s a handy run down of dos and don’ts for your moving day:
● Your chosen removal firm will give you a short time window for their arrival (often 9 am to 9.30 am),  so make sure you are there to let them in.  Don’t swan off down the shops or pop out anywhere else.  They have a busy and time critical schedule, so be there.

● If you have a genuine reason to be absent or off site, make sure someone is there.  You could ask a friend or relative to supervise for you.  Be sure to give them authority to act on your behalf – and don’t forget to let the removal firm know they will standing in for you.

● Check all contracts, paperwork, documentation, etc, and ensure you agree with any notes made by the removal team.  If a dispute arises over the condition of an item then try to resolve them straight away.

● Ensure the removal team know your mobile phone number, so they can content you during the journey to the new place if they necessary.  If you are not reachable, give them the number of a friend or relative.

● Ensure the removal driver knows the directions to your  new home before they set off.

● Before you leave your old home, do a final quick check of the place to ensure nothing has been left behind.
After the move:

● Provide a list of alarm codes and related information (e.g. alarm company phone number) for the new owner of your old property or the estate agent.

● Clean the old house out thoroughly when it is empty.

● Ensure utilities have been disconnected in your old home and connected up the new place.

● Give all keys, entrance key cards, etc to the new owner or estate agent.

Further reading:

Buying a house at an auction
House buying tips
How not to sell your house
Packing tips – China in their hands

You will also have additional issues to consider, but on the plus side, there are some you might not have to worry about at all.

If you spend enough time researching and planning  in advance front, you might even find the process less intimidating than first feared.

Begin by finding the right removal company for the task ,i.e. one with a good track record of handling international moves.  A good and reputable firm will be able and willing to help with any documentation you need for your chosen country.

The move itself might take several weeks or even months to finish, so you take the time to find a firm with good options and procedures for packing, loading, storage, transit, unloading and unpacking. If your move is not to be permanent then you could put some property into UK storage until you return.

Take just what you need is the best advice, especially for clothing. If you’re travelling to a place untroubled by dark clouds of rain and chill winds then the fleeces and  cardigans might not be needed.  You could save yourself further time and cost by buying what need when you arrive in the new country.

Electrical appliances need special considered as different nations have different mains voltages, usually 240V or 110V.  Conversion plugs can be used for some items, and some will run on either voltage, but in an age of security fears and more stringent airport or port regulations, transporting electrical or electronic devices in your luggage or storage boxes might cause you more problems.

A move overseas is also a a great opportunity to haves good clear out at your old home and bid farewell old junk.  Don’t forget old paperwork and bills.  Fire up the shredder!

When you pack think about how your belongings will be handled and transported, which depending on where your heading, could be either be sea or air.  The lengthier
 the trip, the more chance there is of your property being mishandled or worse.  Pack in haste, regret at leisure.

Some  removal firms provide packing services, which  can cost extra, but will, on balance, be worth paying out for.  There are also insurance options to think about.  Be warned if you do choose to to do your own packing, some removal firms will only provide cover for the overseas shipping part of the move, and not the transport of your property to and from ports or airports, and some firms will not handle jewellery and other valuables.

Customs officers might choose to open and inspect your packaging, which further increases the risk loss or damage to your property.

It best not to pack away anything you might need quickly after arriving, so keep anything you might need ina hurry with you.

Your chosen moving company will need to be informed of what they will be shipping in order to calculate a quote. An important factor will be weight and volume, so let them, with their experience and expertise, do the required weighing and measuring.

The moving firm will also compile an inventory of your property, listing any additional costs, i.e. custom charges, taxes, and airport or port charges.

Further reading:

Moving to New Zealand
Relocating to Spain
Relocating to the USA

Plastic storage boxes, come in various sizes, and some have lids or hinged flap tops.  Whatever type is chosen, it will be perfect to hold spare thing until needed, or pack them away ready to be moved.  They are ideal for books, newspapers, magazines, DVDs, CDs, etc.

All you have to do then, is close up the lid (and tape it up if needed) and clearly label it with a permanent marker for easy identification.

Plastic storage boxes are perfect for those with a large collection of DVDs or CDs, who have limited shelf space.  Keeping some DVDs and CDs in plastic boxes also offers a way to circulate or rearrange the those on display on the main shelves.  If you want to change them around, just open up a box and swap them around.

Plastic boxes are strong, can be easily stacked and stored away.  They keep items free from dust or moisture or other accidents in waiting.  They can put tidily in closets, cupboards, under the stairs, behind settees or in sheds and garages.

They are long lasting, won’t cave in under weight of boxes, and can be reached or rearranged without trouble.
When not in use, plastic boxes can fit inside each other for even easier storage.

On the downside, some lids are prone to crack, be careful not to stack too many boxes on top of each other.  Keep them balanced with no more than four average sized boxes in height.

Other than that, go on, box clever with plastic – it’s fantastic!

Forget the stereotypical image of the solid box with the twisty dial on the front, lurking in a dark basement  and targeted by those who think stripe wear is the in thing this season.  The modern safe is a sophisticated storage item and can come in a variety of different forms.

Information and data gathered over many years, at great cost in terms of finance and hard work, can be lost within mere seconds without adequate protection.  An up to date, secure and reliable safe is vital for ensuring the secure protection of files, memory storage, hard drives, tapes, disks.

There several main types of safe:

● Fireproof: The cost of losses from fire damage can run to a frightening figure of millions each day, and in some cases the true cost can be the final closure of the business or organisation affected.  With this danger in mind, many will take strong measures to ensure their vital information and data can survive a blaze.  Magnetic storage media, rather than paper (which is actually an insulator) is most at risk when a fire breaks out.  The effects of heat from a blaze can render them useless within seconds.  Humidity is another data damager with levels of 85% resulting in irrecoverable loss.

● Data safes: Theft or copying of confidential data or information is a constant risk.  It can happen at any time and valuable data could be in the hands of a rival with damaging results.  Data safes save loss and stress.

● Burglary: related to the above, burglary protection safes, complete with time delays and money collection facilities provide high levels of security and are available in both electronic and mechanically locking types.

Further Reading:

Office Storage
Office Clearance
Home Storage

Businesses and organisations – of all sizes – will be held back and not operate at their best potential if the storage options are a mere afterthought.

Further storage solutions include:

● Library shelving is a custom designed system using a cantilevers to form a storage unit.  Shelves can be constructed from various materials, e.g. wood, metal or a mixture of both.  Various colours can be used to suit just about any office décor.  Size and space of shelves can be altered depending on what is to be stored, i.e. books, files, folders, boxes, optical or magnetic storage media.

● Rotary Storage Units are ideal for limited spaces.  They offer far more storage space than more traditional filing systems.  It is very much a typical design that is both simple and ingenious.  Formed from a rotating unit with two sides, it enables people to reach both sides of the system filing from a single place. Operating by just a foot pedal, it offers full control and is safe to use.  The system can house the contents of a number of filing cabinets in around a quarter of the space.  Bespoke design options offer the chance for units to be built to suit  a variety of different items.  With security in mind, each  part of the system can be separately locked.

● Lockers.  Simple, reliable and effective, the humble locker is the mainstay of offices, schools, hospitals, leisure centres, sports clubs, etc.  Lockers are used to store clothing, personal property and various sundry items.  A variety of different sizes and colours are available enabling them to blend in to just about any location.

Technology is ever changing and developing, and was new today and can obsolete or outgrown quickly.  But when shiny new kit is unpacked, what happens to the old, grubbed, run down and worn out?

It can’t just be thrown in a bin or in a skip.  Since January 2007 Organisations have been bound by the The Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment Directive (WEEE), which decrees anything using a flowing electric current to function (e.g. all computers and IT related equipment) must be recycled with organisations having a legal duty of care to ensure such recycling is carried out in accordance with the standards laid out by the WEE Directive.

Personal/confidential data needs to be safeguarded along with that of commercial value to business rivals or connected with national security.  All such data has to be erased to standards set out by the UK Government, MOD and The CSEG (The National Technical Authority for Information Assurance), which cover software wiping, degaussing and shredding.

There are a number of companies offering IT and Data Recycling services.  Some can buy used items to both resell them and ensure security issues are dealt with and the items themselves can be traced if needed.

Items will be picked up by uniformed staff who will take care of items from loading and transit through to final delivery, creating a complete audit trail in the process.

The most crucial item of hardware are hard drives of all types desktop, laptop, SCSI, SATA, IDE, etc.
Next are magnetic tapes and disks for offline storage, which can include various formats including: Dat, DLT, video and CCTV and Video tapes.  Also covered are floppy disks, Zip disks, CDs, DVDs, HD disks and Blue Ray.

Many firms also shred old mobile phones, PDA’s, Blackberrys etc.

Regardless of economic conditions, in this consumer age, we have more, gather more and store more.  We need more space to keep things, books, CDs, DVDs, files, photograph albums and other archive items.

On a personal level, we have more paperwork and things to deal with than ever before.  For those of us who work from home and have a room dedicated as office or study, storage and filing is an especially important issue.

How to deal the ever mounting pile of things that fill our table tops, shelves and mantelpieces?

Rule one, ask yourself: do I really need it?  Yes, it can be hard, but the path to effective and efficient home storage is to expunge the clutter.  Recycle, sell, donate or trash those unwanted items.  Do you really need those Go West cassettes that have been gathering dust in the back bedroom cupboard.  Come to think of it does anybody want them?

Also there will inevitably be a collection of odd bits and pieces (usually plastic or metal) which you can’t quite remember why you have.  They may will be the remains of long gone items or probably still there “just in case” you need them.

There’s only one solution: Get rid!
Once you’ve waved goodbye to the junk, how best to organise what’s left?  Start by categorising by room, e.g. putting kitchen items together, or sorting out what could go in the bedroom, dining room, etc.  A utility room or out-house is useful for keeping tools, garden equipment, etc.

Plastic storage boxes, available from many high street stores, are great for storing items, free from dust and moisture, and can be stacked neatly up and labelled.