So I'm Moving Out...

[AngryPaul]

...and moving into a flat with my girlfriend.

Now this isn't a thread for me to sit and wait for "congratulations" posts. Its seeriuz.

What will I need? It is an unfurnished place as we have a few things like sofa and beds already, but what are the little things that are so important, like can openers?

Plus, what advice can people give about choosing utilities and broadband?

Tar'

[Smartie]

Use www.quidco.co.uk to see what offers/ cashback is available from everything from utilities to insurance (Tip: Get building and contents separately to maximise monies).

Then go to the actual sites and see how much the stuff is. Combine the ck discount and see which comes out best.
(EG Natwest and Lloyds both paying £120 for an insurance policy)

Try to avoid using sites like uswitch as (no matter what they say) they receive commission, and do not always show all the available tariffs (Trust me - I work for BG).
Most utilities charge around the same in the long run. Maximise your discounts by taking out gas and ele with the same supplier, and getting online/ paperless billing, and pay by direct debit (will save around 14% per year paying DD)

If you're renting and you're paying council tax, check your property is correctly banded here http://www.voa.gov.uk/cti/InitS.asp?lcn=0
You can appeal any banding within the first 6 months if you believe it's incorrect.

TV License!

Try and get the names of your current gas/elec/water suppliers before you move in. You won't be able to phone them until the day of the move as to protect yourself you MUST get meter reads when you move in to make sure the previous occupants don't try and swizz you.
You can't change your water supplier, but you can go on a meter if you think it'll save you money (and companies cannot refuse to install a meter if you request one).

There's probably more I'll think of.



Things you'll def need:
Kettle
Toaster
Sharp Knives
Bottle opener
Plates
Pans
Cuttlery
Washing up liquid!
Hoover
Dustpan and brush
Lightbulbs (rental places are notorious for having only about 1 working)

[Village Idiot]

Get yourself a bit of paper, and just go about a normal week where you are at the moment. It takes ages, but if you use something, try to remember to write it down. Then at the end of week, you should have a list of every little item you use but wouldn't normally think of.

Its a bit of a pain to do, but i did it before uni and as a result haven't yet discovered anything ive really missed. Apart from winter clothes, because some idiot decided because it was sunny at the time packing shorts and tshirts would last him till Christmas.

[argh]

Drying rack for dishes. That might just be because I personally hate it when people don't have them.

I also personally found getting a toaster oven was awesome because you can make a ton of stuff in them and not have to wait while a regular oven warms up.

[neo_man]

Moving Out is easier than moving in "imo", But having done both an equal amount of times I find it helps to unpack the things you used the night before i.e The book you read before you went to bed or the music you like to listen too otherwise your stuck with nothing to do ... Except unpack.

I dont know about broadband but Cups and bowls never seem to appear untill you've unpacked the last box :p

[razielskorp]

Toilet roll

[queenofself]

the absence of coathangers is always annoying.

[Spacemonkey]

Orange broadband has been pretty cool for us so far, working out quite cheap.

Check with your water-board about how to pay, cause when we moved it we could do this thing where we paid £50 each up front and got unlimited water for the next 6 months. Not sure if that's just a Wales thing though.

Kitchen wise, you will need:
Two saucepans - one big, one little
A frying pan
About 4 pairs of knives, forks and spoons etc.
3/4 mugs
3/4 glasses - 2 tumblers, 2 wine glasses
A sharp knife
A veggie peeler
4 big plates
4 small plates
4 bowles
a spatula/big stirring spoon
a collinder (sp?)
a baking tray
oven gloves
a tea towel
toaster
kettle
microwave
bin liners
washing up liquid
sponge/scourer
a bottle opener/cork screw
rubber gloves

a George Forman grill is also pretty handy, and you can get them for about £15-20 pounds these days.

That's all I can think of so far.

[woody_tng]

Food.

[Rook]

Something everyone seems to have missed so far is a potato peeler (any kind really, just something to peel spuds, carrots, etc.). I know I had one, but it seems to have been lost in translation, because now I can't find it.

Which is really annoying, because it's both something I use all the time, and something I [thought I] had remembered to pack.

Also
I don't know about broadband but Cups and bowls never seem to appear until you've unpacked the last box :p
This is so true it's unbelievable. My family and I moved house about 10 years ago, and sometime last year we found a bunch of boxes that hadn't been unpacked due to not having enough cupboard space. Guess what was in them?

Yep. Basically, a full set of Denby crockery (minus plates, which did get unpacked); bowls, teapot, eggcups, everything. Much hilarity ensued trying to find places for everything :p

[queenofself]

i would add a big dish to the kitchen necessities list. the type you can make all sorts of pie, lasagne & other assorted gubbins mushes in.

its funny looking at these lists & seeing what i still dont have. i only got a toaster the other week after 2 years of grilling & i still have no oven gloves only hardy tea towels.

[Destrukto]

Food.

Is it me, or are you some alter ego of mine? :D

[rachel ^_^]

you can never have too many socks or tissues!

[queenofself]

though seeing as youre moving in with your girlfriend you would hope not.

[rachel ^_^]

tissues are always useful though! for cleaning up mess and catching spiders and the like

[Monique]

baking tray and grater.

never realised how much i used them till i moved out.

[razielskorp]

Something I bought when i moved out which i found invaluable was a small fridge to sit beside my P.C.
Filled it with Pepsi and Vladivar.
result :D:D:D

[basstard]

the absence of coathangers is always annoying.

I am the opposite. Coathangers are the bane of my Scotland-based existence.

They keep popping up whenever I do not want them.

And I do not hang things up; anyway.

They just get in my way.

Seriously; I think all the biros that go missing in my room turn into coathangers and lurk; waiting to pounce out on me.

[The Visioneer]

TEA BAGS! I forgot mine when I came up to uni this semester, and I've regretted it since. (yes, I'm too lazy to go to a shop to get some)

[Tiggs]

A key to your parents house.

Important for when you run out off food/have giant stacks of washing to do/your TV broke and you need to find a new one.

[queenofself]

Seriously; I think all the biros that go missing in my room turn into coathangers and lurk; waiting to pounce out on me.

i found about 30 biros around my room this week which i have slowly amassed by taking them home from work in my huge hair. we clearly exist on opposing planes.

i am especially jealous if your lurking hangers are trouser grabby ones.

[happy-go-lucky]

Cleaning stuff.

[Dr S]

you should probally just not move ... it'll be for the best

[AngryPaul]

Thanks y'all. Some stuff I had easily forgotten there. :)

[Dr S]

like not moving ?

[Hydralisk]

Make sure the place is well ventilated, nowt worse than being stuck in a stuffy hot room. Although I'm sure you probably thought of this ahead.

[Dingbat]

like not moving ?
Wasn't funny the first time :eng101:

[basstard]

I hope you do not mind AP but I am pretty much using your large list here for my own personal gain (my moving on Thursday).

Except minus the toaster.

[jonffm]

Wasn't funny the first time :eng101:

Like your FACE.


...Yeah.

Anyways - my number one tip from my movage....T.V! I had to resort to watching DVD's on the PC for a week because I didn't sort it BEFORE I got there.

Everything else...just go to one of those massive Tescos and walk down every aisle. You'll see everything you'll need, so just look at every item and think "Do Mr and Mrs AP need this?". Thats what I did, and now I have a foot-high reminder of the word 'Enigmatic' above my bed.


...THAT BURN WAS UNNESSICERY and late.

[Lyricaus]

Batteries.
Medication?

[Ozzylator]

Go through every room in your current house, and go through it with a fine tooth comb, listing everything there.

[Thomp]

Bed sheets.

You'll know why.

[AngryPaul]

Go through every room in your current house, and go through it with a fine tooth comb, listing everything there.But thats not stuff I'll need to get. As its in my rooms and I therefore already have it, I don't need to make sure I get it!

[livewirekitty]

Here are some of my suggestions:
Cutting boards: I moved out and wasn't able to grab mine and I sorely felt it when I was cooking.
Spare blankets and pillows: You never know when a friend comes over and crashes or when you blankets get dirty and you can't get them cleaned right away. Oh and grab some curtains as well.

[Svelter]

Here's the best exercise for you possible in this case.

Write down everything you do on a notepad for about a week, then take everything action and process from that list and write down all the objects and services you needed to make that possible. Then pack them, basically, or at least make sure your flat already has them.

I've been offered lodging abroad by a friend and I seriously want to go there and study there but my major obstacle is whether my parents will let me.

[katt]

a strainer is something you would never really think of as a necessity off the top of your head

(but it actually is..sort of)

a good strategy is to go with enough to surive (plates, silverware and a few pans) and then gradually acquire things as you think of/need them. that way you don't get stuck with a ton of stuff you don't use

[Svelter]

Bed sheets.

You'll know why.
To cover beds, I'm presuming.

[argh]

Mini tool kit. YOu don't even realise how often it's useful to have a small hammer, orscrewdriver to fix doorhandles and such.

[Dr S]

Bed sheets.

You'll know why.

and plastic sheets

you know why

[Smartie]

If you have a gas fire, one of those little CO2 indicator test thingies you can buy cheaply.
Also check for a fire/smoke alarm. They're cheap too and will save your life. (some fire brigades fit them for free)