The last few weeks have been spent de-cluttering and packing, all in preparation for the onslaught of builders and painters at Clontarf.

We had, very kindly, been offered the use of a house in this rather rough looking suburb of Clifton Gardens (They don’t call it Mosman, they call it Clifton Gardens) so , it was time to move.

Being a professional removalist, I know the benefits of starting to pack early- weeks early in this case. Still, even then, there is always a last minute rush.

Any customer of ours having lived in a property for over twenty years, will have accumulated a lot of stuff. And I was no exception. We had crap everywhere- bags of kids’ cuddly toys, hundreds of books (many unread) and an endless array of ornaments and trinkets which have no practical use what so ever.

Thankfully I had the use of boxes from Man and His Van, boxes designed for household removals. The crystal boxes, ideal for both cut glass decanters and all our totally useless ornaments, they are also the perfect size for books and suspension files. The Man and His Van Tea Chest boxes, great for all larger ornaments, larger items of crystal and china and all that general “crap” we chose, for some inexplicable reason, not to chuck out.

Having packed thousands of households over my career, I still abide by a few fundamental packing rules:

1. Pack a box nice and tight. Nothing must move within the box, even if the box is shaken.
2. Use butchers paper, and lots of it. Line the box with crushed-up paper before adding any items.
3. Pack glasses upright with the drinking edge down. Pack plates in bundles, always on their sides
4. Always use a quality tape to seal the boxes. Man and His Van will only sell premium brand tape.
5. Write clearly (on the tape to save the boxes) the contents of each box.

With everything all nicely boxed up, a four man team from Man and His Van arrived to efficiently move our furniture and boxes into the Brookvale furniture storage facility . A few essential items were moved to Mosman as the new house was already furnished- which brings us on to Clifton Gardens.

Throw away any pre-conceived ideas about Mosman being built up and boring; this place is more dog friendly than anywhere on the Northern Beaches, it has some brilliant walks yet it retains that “trendy” feeling by being close to the City and having some great little bars and restaurants.

RawsonPark, with its vast expanse of land, not only has magnificent harbour views but is an off-leash area for dogs. And there are rabbits; the dogs love rabbits. The early morning run has become a different experience when tackling the gruelling hills around Clifton Gardens reserve. Great training, but I assume it will be harder for the hoards of early morning, lycra clad, Mosman cyclists, peddling up those hills as a precursor to a hard day dealing T Bonds or a day in the Chambers. I am told there is a Zoo at the top of the road, too.

When the painters finish we will be sad to leave Clifton Gardens, but as they say there is no place like home and let us face it, Clontarf isn’t too bad a place to live and it is a lot cheaper than Clifton Gardens.

The post This Clifton Gardens is Alright You Know appeared first on Man and His Van Removals.