Having a baby literally changes everything. Your life becomes more meaningful, pleasant, and filled with love. But apart from the joy of being a part, you should also prepare for some stressful situations. While having a baby, many ordinary activities get much more complicated, more challenging, and sometimes much slower.
Take the removal, for example. Moving out when having a baby can become a considerable challenge. But don’t worry; it’s not a mission impossible, primarily if you rely on unique, practical pieces of advice. While your baby’s sleeping, spend some time reading them all below.
Prepare your very own move-out checklist
Rule number one when having a baby – have a stable organisation for any initiative you undertake. Start your moving-out process with a decent checklist. Right down everything. With no exceptions and all the details. Right now, you don’t sleep enough, feel exhausted 24/7, and forgetfulness is possible. When you have it written down, you will not, though. When we mention a moving checklist, note that you can have one for the entire procedure and another for your inventory.
Take all the help you can for the moving
When having a baby, many people learn how to ask for help. Even the most disciplined and self-confident parents find themselves hopeless, tired, and with no free time even to take a shower. A removal requires more time than washing your hair or going to the dentist. It’s a long-lasting, severe, and significant lifetime phase that you must go through hassle-freely and with no obstacles (mostly because you have a baby).
Bring into your home all the people you can trust and rely on. Don’t be ashamed of asking for any type of help. You will need extra hands at every moment, including holding the baby.
Take a day off from work
If you have already returned to work after giving birth, you might need at least a day off before the removal. Whether it’s going to be used for a final check before the end of the tenancy cleaning check by the landlord or to pack your essentials to have at hand during the trip, don’t hesitate to take this option. To avoid arguments at work, make sure to mention to your boss that you plan to move out as soon as possible.
Don’t forget to label everything
While packing your things, you will notice that most items are your baby’s. And, of course, they are the most important ones right now for you. Besides ensuring you will not damage your baby’s food preparation device, the infant scale, or the bottle steriliser, you should also consider how to provide fast access to all of them.
A day before the removal, during the trip, and when you arrive in your new home, you will need these things immediately. Make sure to place them in the same box and have it at hand. Labeling all the boxes, too, is a good idea, especially those with baby items.
Declutter before packing
De-cluttering before moving out while having a baby is a must. There are many reasons as to why you need to be prepared for that, including the following:
- De-cluttering makes packing quicker;
- You will make some savings from extra boxes by getting rid of things you don’t need anymore (especially now when having a baby and have a completely different lifestyle);
- You can find things you no longer need but don’t want to throw away. Here’s one good idea: use them for little gifts to make to all those people who come to give you some help.
- You will perform the end of tenancy cleaning more optimally and get your tenancy deposit back (is there anybody having a baby and a removal ahead who’ll refuse some extra cash?).
Clean room by room
Let’s go back to the cleaning part. Before removal, you should throw a deep purge of your current property. If this is your flat, you might want to give it on rent or sell it, which means it’s supposed to be in a presentable state.
However, the same goes for the property condition if it’s rented. If you used to live on rent up to now, you would not get away with your landlord’s final inventory check. Do your best by throwing a thorough end of tenancy cleaning room by room:
- Kitchen – De-grease, de-scale, remove stains and clean the floor and the countertop surfaces. Don’t forget to wash the kitchen appliances and to eliminate the bad odour.
- Bathroom – On mandatory, deal with all the soapy stains, mould, limescale, and everything dirty inside the premises, including the mirrors, toilet seat, drain, etc.
- Bedroom – Remove the cobwebs, dust, stains and any nasty smell. Check the mattress’s condition, and if necessary, hire a professional cleaning service to freshen it up. Don’t forget to air the premises before you invite the landlord for a check.
- All other rooms – Wipe all cabinets and drawers from the inside and the outside. Clean from top to bottom to save time and be attentive to delicate surfaces such as the hardwood floor, the marble, and the glass items.
Read the lease agreement before ending the tenancy
In this vast fuss, you can forget to read your tenancy agreement. We suggest you do so before de-cluttering. You will find specific clauses detailing what is the tenant’s or landlord’s responsibility. There might be details like mandatory eco-friendly cleaning or doing repairs of damages that you have done, and you name it. If you miss performing these obligations, you risk your own tenancy deposit.
Final thoughts
Having a baby and a removal planned for the upcoming month might be stressful and full of obstacles. If you succeed in finding suitable helpers, including professionals like cleaners and men with van technicians, you will go through this challenge safely and pleasantly. Here’s one quick, friendly reminder for you: do not hesitate to ask for assistance because right now, you deserve and need it a lot!
