Princess plans the perfect flit

Jun 15 2008 Reymond Hainey

New Homes Celeb Life Coach Elika Gibbs Takes Pain Out Of Moving

A new home means a fresh start and the chance to tidy up your life, according to a lifestyle guru to the stars.

Elika Gibbs, who runs the Practical Princess consultancy, has advised socialite and Jimmy Choo shoes boss Tamara Mellon and model Tara Palmer-Tompkinson on how to organise their lives.

She said: "Moving home is a great opportunity to de-clutter your home and ultimately your life.

"The more organised you are, the easier your life becomes and there's no better time to start than when moving home.

"By planning ahead and getting rid of the excess, you can lighten the load on move day and start life in your new home as you mean to go on - organised and in control.

"Where there's been chaos, you will have clarity - and unpacking in your new home will be a pleasure."

Elika has teamed up with housebuilder George Wimpey to offer top tips to help new owners have a stress-free move.

The firm is also offering the chance to enter a prize draw to win a personal consultation with Elika - who usually charges more than £500 a day for her services - as well as her "Wardrobe Essentials" package, worth hundreds more.

Elika said a happy move needs forward planning so people should use the weeks running up to it to list of all their belongings.

She said: "It's no good just shoving things into random boxes on the premise that your shiny new house will be a festival of organisation.

"For example, if there's a toy in the kitchen, make sure you put it in the playroom or bedroom where it belongs and will move to. Put all your safety pins in the sewing box and sort through junk drawers - that way all your boxes will make sense and unpacking will be less stressful."

A move is the ideal time for a wardrobe cull. Elika said: "If you haven't had something out for 18 months, you're never going to wear it again. Throw it away."

Among Elika's other top tips are dumping never-used toiletries and packing bathroom products by type in different boxes. Every document should also be sorted and useless items shredded.

Car insurance and birth certificates should be put in clearly marked files and put in an earmarked place in the new home.

Ziplock bags are useful for storing electrical items such as phone chargers, iPods and extension leads.

The chance to win a consultation with the Practical Princess is on offer to anyone who reserves a George Wimpey home before June 30.

Visit www.georgewimpey.co.uk