We have a special trip organised going to Adelaide from Brisbane and Sydney.

The truck will be leaving Adelaide on the 21st July heading back to Melbourne and Sydney, and then to Brisbane.

For a great rate on any move around these dates please complete an online quote.

Removal Quote

When I started Uni, my girlfriend Vicki and I decided it was the perfect time for us to get a place together. I had to move anyway (my new school was almost 100 km away from my apartment in Sydney), and besides that, I had worried constantly over the past year how I would maintain a long-distance relationship while working and finishing school. Moving in together just seemed like the natural progression.

After only a few tries, we found an apartment we both loved on the ‘right’ side of town that was very reasonable in price. As soon as my previous lease expired, (the following month) we were ready to move in. Now, you would think—hey, two kids, both in school, have never owned a home before. Heck, my girlfriend was moving straight out of her former dorm. We shouldn’t have that much stuff, should we?

Oh, but we did. Things started popping up out of thin air. For example, a week before we moved, an old classmate of mine dropped by with an entertainment set that my Grandmother had given me. I had loaned it to him almost hoping he wouldn’t return it. I wasn’t very fond of it, and it was enormous in size and awkward. But, as luck would have it, Vicki was there when he brought it by and she thought it was just wonderful, so we had an ‘instant’ entertainment center. Horray.

So, when it finally came time to move, we had somehow amassed this huge (and somewhat junky) collection of furniture. Needless to say, I was not thrilled at the prospect of moving it all. Especially with the prospect of moving interstate—from one side of the state to the other. Vicki insisted that we hire a moving house service to come in and take care of packing and moving everything. Thank God. I must say, I was under enough pressure at the time with school and work and an internship that I definitely did not need any added stress.

Well, the removalists came and went; all in all it was a good experience. The removalists took care of everything. They loaded and unloaded all of our stuff. We weren’t at each other’s throats by the time the unloading was complete (which I’m sure we would have been if we had done it ourselves). We were moved into our new apartment and completely unpacked within a week’s time. Within several months of moving home, we got rid of most of the junky furniture and replaced it with some nicer pieces that we had picked out ‘together’. Come to think of it, getting rid of the old furniture was actually more of a hassle then moving in was.

Which brings us to my point. For any newbies, first time homebuyers, or college kids taking the plunge, a word for the wise: it might be a good idea to go ahead and take the plunge and buy some mediocre, semi-tasteful furniture if you are moving away from home and can afford it. While Aunt Pam’s and Grandma Norma’s stuff is free, it probably won’t last for long if you really don’t like it.

After the arrival of our second bundle of joy, my husband and I soon began to recognize that our cozy little startup home was beginning to turn from comfy and cozy to cramped and uncomfortable. After almost a year, we were finally able to find the perfect solution to our problem: an ideal-sized house that would easily accommodate our growing family.

The previous owners of our new home seemed kind enough, and to our delight, they seemed really anxious to strike up a deal for the house. Before we closed the deal, we both agreed (my hubby and I) to make the transition into our new home as smooth as possible. Rather then attempting to move everything ourselves: we decided to hire a professional removalist to do everything for us. We were not moving a great distance, but we knew that the location of our new home would mean moving interstate roads and we weren’t up for that. After all, we had our hands full enough just moving the children. So, we made the choice to leave moving furniture to the professionals and leave moving home to ourselves.

Finding and selecting the moving service was easy enough. I flipped though our local Yellow Pages, and after a few calls, everything was set up. We had scheduled the removalists to come that following Saturday, and we had high hopes of being settled into our new home by the following Monday.

Everything went as planned, I tried very hard while packing everything to pack it in the best order possible (to avoid chaos when we arrived and began unpacking). Then, catastrophe struck. It seemed as if the previous owners have moved as quickly as they had signed the contract. The house was a mess. Completely trashed. I have never been so disappointed.

When you buy a house, you see its potential, all of the wonderful things you would like to do to improve it. The imperfections seem small. Unfortunately, thanks to the thoughtlessness of the previous owners, it seemed as if the imperfections had grown as quickly as Jack’s beanstalk.

So there we sat, with the moving company on the way with an entire truckload of furniture and a house unfit to move into. Fortunately, my husband saved the day, and after a few quick calls on his cell, he had a professional cleaning service on the way—and his secret weapon—his mother.

I had no idea a house could be cleaned that quickly! I was amazed. Heck, even one of the removalists helped us finish up the vacuuming. So, needless to say, all is well that ends well. With the help of the cleaning service and a really great furniture removal company, we were able to get everything cleaned up and moved in that same weekend. Unfortunately, unpacking did not come along quite as easy!!!

When I made the move from my apartment just off campus into a larger, nicer apartment on the more northern side of of Canberra I decided to take the easy route.

I had just graduated from Canberra University and the easy route was the way I was looking to take when it came to everything. After all, I had just finished busting my butt for four years. I deserved a little rest, right?

I hired a freshman (who obviously really needed the cash) to come into my old apartment and clean it after I moved. I also hired a maid service to come in and do the same thing at my new apartment.

I even had the carpets cleaned. And to top it off, I hired a really great removalist. When I had first moved into the older apartment, I had not been nearly as smart. I was young, didn’t have much money, and decided to do everything myself. Including the moving.

It was a disaster. So, a slightly older (and educated) me made a great decision and opted for the moving service. They came, they moved. What more could I possibly have asked for. They did a great job.
No horror story here, all my furniture arrived in my new apartment exactly as it had departed.

I expressed my gratitude to one of the guys moving everything. He struck up a conversation, and before I knew it, we had become friends.
He was attending the very same University that I had graduated from and was due to graduate the following year. He had been working on and off for the moving company to make ends meet between semesters.

We kept in touch, and even started hanging out. It turned out we had a lot of the same interests (girls, mostly). The following year, when he graduated, he actually ended up becoming my roommate.

We hired a removalist to come and set him up in my apartment and we roomed together until last year, when I got married. In fact, he ended up keeping the apartment after I left. Isn’t that cool? It goes to show you…you never know.

Finally, the last stages of maintaining your organisation… and you thought this section would never come!

Maintaining the Laundry

I recommend doing laundry daily, depending on the size of your family. If you have at least 3 kids, do some every day. For example: baby laundry is handled differently than adult laundry. You shouldn’t use fabric softener for baby laundry, but it’s fine to use with adults’ clothes. So choose a day to do only baby laundry. Choose a different day to do adult laundry. Do your oldest child’s laundry on a given day (maintain that day on a weekly basis), your next child’s laundry the following day, etc. If you keep up on it, it won’t become a Mt. Vesuvius and overwhelm your home again.

If you find laundry tedious, sort and pre-treat while you’re watching TV, for example. It takes moment to pluck a piece of clothing out and check it for stains, squirt it with pre-treater, and then put it in the dirty basket, ready for the wash. Folding can be done the same way. Once it’s folded, I recommend putting it on the recipient’s bed (not in the basket). This way, it must be put away before retiring for the night and you won’t live from a laundry basket full of clean clothes.

If you have things that need ironing, do it when the laundry is clean and hang it up. Be done with the task and make sure that clean, ready-to-wear shirts or blouses are smiling at you when you walk in the closet in the morning.

Maintaining Your Sanity

This is easier said than done, I understand. But what I’ve discovered is that if you put your home on a schedule, things won’t overwhelm you. You’ll know that vacuuming will be done on one day and that laundry will be done on another. You’ll not resent walking in to the bathroom, because it will make you smile to see a shiny sink when you turn on the light. And you’ll know that YOU are special enough to have a clean bathroom, not just the company that comes to visit.

You’ll have peace of mind knowing that if a package comes to your door, you won’t kill yourself getting to it and won’t be ashamed to throw the door open for the UPS guy or mail carrier.

Most of all, you’ll have the appreciation of your family, and you’ll know that you’re setting up good habits for your children to observe and repeat in their own homes.
No matter what the Mastercard ads say, THAT is priceless.

Let’s keep going….before you realize it, you’ll be giving Martha Stewart a run for her money.

Maintaining the Bathrooms

Take some window cleaner and a rag and squirt the mirror just where it’s gotten toothpaste spray. Don’t do the whole thing—that’s a waste of time and cleaner. Just hit where it’s dirty.

Use a quick swipe of a rag with cleaner to wipe out your sink and faucet from the toothpaste and shaving cream residue. This gunks up a clean bathroom quicker than anything else. I use one-half of a disposable (flushable) bathroom wipe—one half is enough for the counter, sink, and one other area of my choice. I typically choose a part of the toilet, and that way the whole toilet is cleaned by the week’s end.

Swish out the toilet bowl with a quick flick of the brush. No cleaner is necessary. We’re just doing some easy maintenance here.

When you shower every day, take your pouf or wash cloth and use some of the leftover suds from your cleanser to wipe down the sides of the shower or tub. It takes a minute to do, but it will prevent having to bend over the tub and scrub it out periodically.

Once a week, sweep your bathroom floors and catch the hair that collects there.

That’s easy enough, right?

Maintaining the Study

Don’t put papers on your desktop to just collect. When a bill comes in, put it in the bill-organiser on your desktop or pay it immediately and put it in the mail. The same with other mail and paperwork. I open the mail right over the trash can—that way, whatever is garbage doesn’t collect on my desk, but hits the circular file immediately and it’s out of my hair. Consider having a cross-cut shredder in your study for shredding pre-approved credit-card offers. Most identity theft takes place when information is gathered from credit card applications that were stolen from the trash. A shredder is a worthwhile investment.

Dust your bookshelves once a week. Run your duster over the area between the ends of the books and the edge of the shelf.

Wipe down your monitor weekly with window cleaner and a rag.

That’s it. Print this info out and hang it on your fridge if you like. You’ll find it easier to remember the little tasks that need doing, and you’ll be reminded that it’s just going to take a few minutes each day to maintain your organised household!

Now…as much of a challenge as it was to do all of that pitching, organizing, and cleaning, how do you maintain it and not let your stuff overwhelm you again?

There are some easy steps to take—and they just take moments a day. Please don’t email me and tell me you’re too busy to do this because of your special situation—everyone can find the time to take 15 minutes a day and maintain their home in stages. If you can’t, then I’m going to brashly suggest that you re-evaluate your schedule and determine what IS more important than maintaining your home for your family.

Maintaining the Kitchen

Daily, put dirty dishes in your dishwasher or dishpan under the sink. When either is full, do the dishes. If you run your dishwasher while you’re asleep at night, you’ll pay lower utility rates and the dishes will be cool and clean in the morning—ready to be put away.

Run a rag with the cleaner of your choice over the countertops and tabletop once a day. This will take you just moments, yet will help keep your kitchen organised and neat. You don’t have to scrub or take everything off the counters, just wipe where you’ve cooked or eaten.

Clean your sink daily. Scrub it with a soap pad or use some window cleaner and a rag—if your sink is clean, you’re less likely to let dirty dishes pile up in it.

Sweep your floors once a week. Just take a broom across it and get the big crumbs. Then run a damp mop over it to get the week’s dirt washed off—you don’t have to shine it, just a damp mop (the type is your choice).

Maintaining the Living Room Areas

Pick up the papers that land on your Flat Surfaces and either throw them away or file them appropriately in the study every evening. If you are diligent about keeping the papers picked up, your room will appear much more organised and clean, even if you haven’t done any deep cleaning.

Dust once a week—run your duster over the flat surfaces. It’s a 5 minute job that will make a large dent in your room(s).

Vacuum once a week. Don’t move furniture or pull out the crevice tools, just do the middles where you walk. 15 minutes, max.

Take your glass cleaner and go over the TV screen and any other glass that collects fingerprints once a week. 3 minutes, tops.

Just doing quick and easy tasks gives you the push to get started. That’s the key when it comes to staying organised. Once you get going, things get done!

An organised dining room adds extra comfort to a home. If you’re like me, sometimes it’s the only organised room in the house! Let’s take a quick look around. Do you eat in here often or is it only for guests? If you don’t use it often, you may just have some simple organising and dusting to do.

1. Are there papers on your table? Is this table a collection spot for things you want out of your way and then forget about? If so, take the bite out of the Law of Flat Surfaces! Use the “laundry basket” method we talked about in the family room here: if there are things that don’t belong in this room, put them in baskets and take those baskets to the appropriate rooms.

2. Do you have a china cabinet or other means of storing fine dishes? If so, how does the cabinet look? If it’s stuffed to the gills, start by taking a hard look at what you have, how many place settings you have, and how many you need. If you want a guideline, take one from the line in “Sleepless in Seattle”: “12 is too many, 8 is too few. 10 is just right.” How many creamers, sugar bowls, and teacups do you have? Are they collecting dust and never getting used? Pare down and give them a quick dusting with your duster. When you open the doors to your cabinet, do you grit your teeth and wonder what’s going to jump out and kill itself at your feet? Consider giving your surplus to a newly-married couple that can use it, or donate it to a women’s shelter or other worthy charity. Dust down (or use furniture polish—whatever is applicable here) the front of your cabinet.

3. What about your lighting source? Dusty? Grab your duster—hit the table, the chairs (rungs and bottom of the table, too!), and the lighting source. You don’t have to take it down and scrub it clean—just dust it, and if necessary, shake the dead bugs from it.

4. As the final step, run the vacuum in here—not the edges, just the “middles” where you walk. Move the chairs but not the table—don’t even think about pulling out the china cabinet! If there are things behind there, they’re small and no one else is going to see them.

Congratulations—your dining room is done! Happily, it’s often one of the easiest rooms to keep looking nice and neat!

Moving Your Own Furniture

About six months ago, my lovely wife and I happened upon the house we had always dreamed of. Ours was a rather untraditional dream home. Rather than a nice, orthodox brick home with a picture-perfect picket fence out front, our idea of the perfect home was a charming, slightly aged log cabin. Coming upon it completely by chance, we were out visiting an old friend when we noticed a worn for sale sign in front of what appeared to be a large field leading toward a wooded area and up a distant-seeming hillside.

We casually commented on it, and refocused on our drive. A few minutes later, upon arrival at our friend’s home, my wife suggested that the lot would be ideal for someone looking to build a home in the country, and get away from the constant upheaval of the city.

To our surprise, our friend was the actual owner of the lot—well, at least what we thought was a lot. Our curiosity aroused, he kindly offered to give us a quick tour, it was, after all, right down the road. To make a long story short, when we saw the cabin, we instantly fell in love with it. Although my wife was at first opposed to attempting to purchase the home from a friend (and at that time, business associate), I eventually wore her down and we arranged a great deal.

Once the deal had closed and we had finalized the contract and all that fun stuff, it was soon time to move into our little country retreat. Moving was going to be a cinch. Who needs a moving home company, anyway? After all, how hard could it be to move furniture, kitchen supplies, and a few boxes of clothes? You see, we decided that it was probably a good idea to hang onto our apartment in the city. I was still working at that time, and my wife was just convinced that moving completely out of the city would reduce us to Neanderthals in the New York social scene.

Anyway, we had both agreed to furnish the new house with furniture from my wife’s mother’s estate. She had recently passed away—leaving the majority of her things to my wife. Unfortunately, our Manhattan apartment did not boast quite enough space to accommodate it all so we were currently paying a small fortune for storage. It just made sense to go ahead and move it into our new house. I did not actually ever mention this to my wife, but I had sort of hoped that moving the furniture into our new home would give my wife a sense of closeness to her mother, and perhaps give her some closure.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. Being the old school, semi-egotistical man that my wife insists daily that I am, I came up with the wonderful idea of moving everything ourselves. After all, I had boasted, we were moving to a log cabin now, and we definitely weren’t in Manhattan anymore—so why not do it ourselves and rough it a little? How hard could moving be?

And so that was that. I called in a few favors from friends here and there. Two from the office, and an old buddy I golf with, and within a few short hours—I had myself a team of highly motivated movers. Fortunately, one of those highly motivated removalists also happened to have in his possession a long, flatbed trailer that was, in my opinion, ideal for the job.

Loading the furniture and things onto the trailer was a cinch. In fact, we were on our way and ahead of schedule in no time. In fact, we were rolling. And then it happened. You see, I had politely avoided mentioning that that strap ‘co-worker number one’ had so tediously wrapped and tied around the load looked a bit on the skimpy side. In fact, one could even say that the day’s entire misfortune might even be considered his fault. But what appreciative, considerate guy would say something like that? Not me, of course.

I do not think I will ever forget the sounds we heard next. First, came the boom then the rackety-tatt-tatt, then, finally, a series of angry, shaken drivers behind us—screeching tires and honking their horns. As I quickly put on the blinker and pulled to the side, somehow I just knew that my wife would never understand—this couldn’t have possibly been my fault, after all, I didn’t tie the rope.

I’m not sure exactly how to describe what came next. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to remove pieces of broken, shattered furniture from a busy highway? Probably not. I do. And so did my slightly annoyed, yet loyal buddies. An hour later, exhausted from heat and still harboring a sick feeling in my stomach, I surveyed the damage.

We were definitely going to have enough firewood to try out that lovely wood burning stove in the new house. As a matter of fact, we could likely have made it through a cold New York winter—just using the bedroom suite. I was on the verge of tears. My buddy (the one who tied the strap) in an attempt to cheer me up said something to the effect of ‘look man, at least it’s not your real furniture, right?’. Right.

In case you’re wondering, my wife is speaking to me again. Finally. Although I don’t think she ever really got the whole ‘it wasn’t my fault’ thing. For some crazy reason, she insists that due to the fact that it was my idea to ‘rough it’ and try moving furniture myself, it must have been my fault. I know, it’s crazy.

And there you have it. The reason for this post. Fellas, don’t be dumb and macho and all that other stuff we can be sometimes. Hire a moving service. Let the removalists deal with the hassle of getting everything there and take over from there. Believe me, I am. We’re finally getting rid of that apartment in the city. I have retired, and my wife is feeling less socially obligated. Yes, we are moving into the cabin as our fulltime residence. We have had a year or two to make some minor changes and improvements and could not be happier with our new home. But guess what? We’re both retired now. No reason to ‘rough it’. In fact, I’ve already chosen the moving service we will be using. So, if you’re moving heed my advice—don’t try to be a hero. Call the furniture removal experts—call the movers.

Some homes have a “great room” and no living room, others have a “family room” and a living room. No matter what you call it or how many of these rooms you have, organization is necessary to make it a welcoming haven for your family.

Walk in to this room as a visitor would. Notice the small details that you’ve overlooked in daily living. Do you see clutter? Your guests do, too. To make this room inviting, we’re going to reduce the number of *things* in this room and make it more homey.

1. What did you see in terms of clutter? Magazines and newspapers all over? Toys? Shoes lying around? Start with several laundry baskets (empty, please!) and put things that don’t belong in this room in the baskets. The idea is to send things to different areas of the house in these baskets and make your de-cluttering that much easier. Throw away the newspapers and old magazines. If you’re just not going to have time to read them, get rid of them. Why have them hanging around making you feel guilty? Put toys in the basket that will get them to their owners’ rooms. Shoes should be kept in the room where their wearer lives. Now that you’ve done that (and delivered the baskets to the appropriate locations), go back and look at this room as a visitor sees it. Better? If not, keep going in small stages and steps.

2. If you look at your furniture, do you see fingerprints and dust deep enough to write a ransom note in? Do you even see the top of your furniture? If you can’t answer the latter question, don’t worry about the former one. Take care of the flat surfaces first—we call this The Law of Flat Surfaces. This Law is defined by the idea that flat surfaces collect papers, no matter what the surface is: tabletops, armoires, desks, or floors. If you start with clean flat surfaces, you’ll be more likely to keep them clear—a little every day. Once your flat surfaces are clear, give them a once-over with a furniture polish (if appropriate) or glass cleaner (if appropriate). Run the vacuum—don’t worry about getting the edges and moving furniture—just vacuum the places you can get easily. Chances are if you can’t reach the areas easily, no one has been able to deposit large amounts of dirt or tracks back there, either.

3. Can you see your TV through the dust and fingerprints? If not, give it a once-over with the rag and some glass cleaner. Same with your stereo cabinet.

4. Now look up. Do you see cobwebs in the corners? Not a huge deal—grab a feather duster and knock ‘em down. That’s that!

You’ve tackled your family room and/or living room—congratulations! Keep moving along, taking baby steps every day. Soon, your home will exude the warmth and hospitality you want.