Moving In
Helping my sister move into her first rented flat
22 July 2026Ellie moved into a shared flat in Leeds this summer. What we copied from our own move, from meter photos to a box labelled 'first night'.
Maureen next door and 57 years of stories about our house
20 May 2026Our neighbour has lived on the street since 1968. What she's told us about our house, the people before us and the night the gutter came down.
A year in the house: keys, a kettle and 112 brews for tradespeople
31 January 2026One year since completion day. What has changed, what hasn't, and why we've counted every cup of tea made for someone working on the house.
The noises of an old terrace: pipes, floorboards and next door's telly
2 September 2025Seven months in, we know every sound the house makes. The boiler clunk, the creaky landing board and the party wall that lets the news through.
What the previous owner left behind: paint tins, manuals and a key that fits nothing
7 June 2025Dennis lived in our house for 45 years. The labelled paint tins, the boiler manual, the notes in the meter cupboard and the key we still can't place.
Two months in: what we've bought, broken and not needed yet
1 April 2025Two months in the house: the £8 tool we use every day, the £90 thing still in its box, and what we managed to break in week three.
Getting our rental deposit back while paying our first mortgage
11 March 2025A month of paying rent and a mortgage at the same time, a check-out inspection and £60 off for cleaning. How we ended the tenancy on our Crookes flat.
Our change-of-address list had 31 lines on it
4 March 2025Banks, pensions, the DVLA, the GP, the vet we didn't have yet. The list we made, the order we worked through it and the three we nearly forgot.
Council tax, water and the TV licence: setting up the dull accounts in one evening
22 February 2025One evening, one notebook and seven accounts. How we told the council, the water company and everyone else we'd moved in, and what each one asked.
Week one: no broadband, no curtains and a sofa that wouldn't turn the corner
15 February 2025Our first week in the house, mostly spent in coats. The sofa that came in through the back door, sheets pinned over windows and toast for tea.
Moving day: 58 boxes, one hill and a van that couldn't park
8 February 2025Our move took four hours, two friends, Matt's dad's trailer and a lot of tea. Everything that went right on the day and the two things that didn't.
Booking a man and a van for a one-mile move up a very steep hill
27 January 2025Five quotes from £290 to £520 for moving a one-bed flat a mile across Sheffield. What we asked, who we booked and why the hill mattered.