Are you moving house soon? Often you will hear people say that moving house is up there as one of the most stressful things they have ever done and, from our experience, this is often the case. But with these great tips you can avoid the worst of the stress.
So, no matter if your upcoming move is because you just got the keys to your forever home or you landed that rental in the coolest part of town, here are some things we learned that you can do to make the move as easy as possible.
Start With A Checklist
A checklist will be your new best friend. There will be so many things for you to organize and keep track of that your checklist will become your most valuable weapon in the struggle to minimize the stress of your move. Long before your moving day, spend some time visualizing the move and, in your head, picture the whole moving process from beginning to end. As you do this, write down any thoughts or ideas that come into your head (you can always take them off later if you decide they don’t apply) and sort them in the order in which they will need to be addressed.
It’s probably wise to begin at the end of the process and work forward to today so that you can get an idea of the timeframes involved. Be aware that some elements of your move are out of your control and may rely on contractors etc. For instance, is an Internet connection available in your new home? That might need to be dealt with long before the move happens. A checklist will help prevent nasty surprises from coming at you down the track.
DIY or Professional Movers?
Maybe you like the challenge of filling your car and making 72 trips between your current home and the new one but if that doesn’t sound like fun, luckily professional help is only a google search away.
While moving your stuff yourself is a low-cost option, there are benefits to hiring a good local moving company and if you do need help with your house moving, you should start with this company. Yes, it will cost more than doing it yourself but moving companies will do for you what you can do yourself but quicker and while minimizing the damage to your stuff and making sure you don’t spend the first week in your new home dealing with a sore back.
If you’re a family that has picked up the trappings of life or maybe you just have big stuff then whether to do it yourself or utilize a mover can be a tricky decision. To help you decide which suits you best, here’s a good article to help you on your way.
Travel Light
Now is the time to declutter. If you don’t do it now, when will you ever? Perhaps a garage sale is the answer for you? On one hand, you make some money to fund the move while on the other hand, you cut the costs of the actual move. Win-win! The biggest reasons to declutter are;
- Moving costs – less stuff to move is less space required in your van /truck or fewer trips in your car. If you are handling the move yourself, a smaller van or trailer is significantly cheaper to hire.
- If you’re using a moving company, they could well bill you less seeing as they will need fewer people to carry out the move.
- You need to purchase fewer packing materials.
- Less boxing and unboxing, quicker move overall.
Don’t Panic
Sure as night gives way to day, it’s an absolute given that something will not go according to plan. But don’t let bumps in the road ruin the experience. There’s nothing that can’t be overcome with time (and maybe money). Normally the problems are minor in nature and are just frustrating but should the worse happen and you run into a major issue, don’t panic.
The very worst problem movers may run into is a delay with your new place after you have committed to leaving your old home. While this is unlikely, it can happen when there is a delay in the closing of a sale for instance. Should you need to buy yourself some time, storage units are a relatively cheap and effective way to do so. Available in most cities, storage facilities allow you to store your belongings in a secure environment until you need them again. For more on storage units, have a read here.
Don’t Lose The Toilet Paper
As a final tip. Label all your boxes. You laugh now, but there is absolutely nothing worse than finding yourself in your new place surrounded by boxes and not knowing what’s inside them. Trust us, you don’t want to be tearing apart boxes searching for something that has suddenly become a very urgent issue!
Enjoy your new home!
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