Why do people insist on moving house during the summer? Do they really think that the numerous stresses involved with shifting years of accumulated tat from one address to another are going to be eased by the fact that it's thirty degrees outside?!

Fortunately a few services have sprung up recently to make it all a tiny bit less painful. Our favourite is MoveMe.com, a Web2.0-ish site that thinks of everything so you don't have to. Just tell it your move date and voila, an exhaustive checklist to remind you of everything from redirecting your post to turning the gas off. It even generates all the letters you'll need to send.

If you want more hands-on assistance then moveminder.com is a good bet. A family-run business, this lot can handle all the dirty jobs from sorting out the removal firm, to packing, to preparing your old place for sale.