How to help your friends move home

Before the move

Clean the old place

Offer to clean the person’s old house. If your friend was living in rental accommodation, they will need to hand back the house in perfect condition if they are to get their deposit back. This can be a huge burden on top of everything else that needs doing. If your friend has sold their home, they will still need to hand it over in a clean state - offering to clean their old property can be a huge help.

Find boxes and offer to help pack

Moving budgets vary dramatically. Not everyone can afford a packing service, and so they will elect to pack their belongings themselves. If you can locate some boxes for your friend, it will really help to make the process much easier for them.

You can also offer to help with packing, but only if your friend is comfortable with the idea. A lot of people find packing to be a highly personal and sentimental part of the moving process.

Manage unwanted items

When moving home, a lot of people need to downsize or simply get rid of stuff they don’t need anymore. If your friend is planning on selling any items or giving them to charity, you could offer to take care of this for them. You could even offer to take photographs of items for sale and list them online, handling the entire process for them. Whether you are creating online listings or hauling bags directly to charity organisations yourself, it will be a huge help for your friend. An app like Gone for Good can help you donate these items to charity.

During the move

Look after their children

Keeping the little ones out from underfoot is simply another added source of stress. It is no less stressful for kids to see all of their belongings being swallowed up by boxes. You can provide relief for everyone by simply looking at your friend’s kids for a couple of hours. They will be able to get much more done without having to worry about their children.

Bring food

By taking care of dinner for your friend, you’ll enable them to relax after a long day of moving home. You could either invite them round to dinner at your house or you could bring them something to eat, complete with disposable utensils, plates, and napkins.

Support them through the stress

There are often a lot of strong emotions that are associated with moving, especially if the person in question doesn’t particularly want to move home. If the move is associated with an unwanted or unhappy life change, such as a break-up, your friend is going to need your support more than ever. Make sure you are there along the way to smooth out the stress.

After the move

Celebrate

The type of celebration you throw depends on your friend and the circumstances behind their move. In some cases, a large party filled with their friends and new neighbours may be an ideal choice. In other cases, your friend may be happy with a bottle of wine and a takeaway. Remember, it is about what they want!

Give practical gifts

A lot of us enjoy sending housewarming gifts to our friends as a way to celebrate the new chapter in their life. While most gifts are greatly appreciated, it is advisable to choose something practical. This will be useful during the move and it will ensure that you aren’t simply adding clutter to your friend’s new home. A gift card is also a good choice -  you could choose a gift voucher for a home decorating store, which enables your friend to choose something they really like for their home and can spend when they are ready to start their home improvement. Alternatively, you could take the pressure off cooking until the kitchen is functional and unpacked by treating your friend to a meal at a restaurant.

Help clean their new home

Another way you can help your friend is by cleaning their new home in preparation for their move. Of course, the house shouldn’t be dirty, but you’ll want to give it a wipe over and spray a nice scent so that it feels homely once they get there. Also, if the property has been unoccupied for a while, there is bound to be a buildup of dust.