Moving is an unavoidable part of life. We accumulate a lot of things over months and years and transporting all of them—particularly over long distances—can be a real headache. Although it can be nerve-wracking, the prospects of a new life in a different location can be exciting as well. These tips can help you to prepare for your move and stay positive and in control.

Inform Your Service Providers

Inform your utility providers as soon as you have a moving date. You do not want to risk incurring late fees on unpaid bills or paying for services that you are no longer using. Make a list of all the people and organizations that you need to inform about your change of address. For instance, you may need to disconnect your internet service and activate it at your new location. Taking care of this in advance will ensure that the internet service will be ready to use the day you move in instead of having to wait for several days.

Declutter Before Your Move

Nothing is worse than packing a whole host of things only to get to your new home and realize that you have no place to put them or no use for them at all. Ideally, decluttering should occur before your move and not after. Start to take stock of your belongings a month or two before the move. Channel your inner Marie Kondo or just place a donations box in each room and drop unwanted items in as you come across them.

If you have not worn or used an item in a year, it is probably safe to get rid of it. When deciding if you truly need to own a certain item, consider if you would spend money on it right now. If not, then it is possibly unnecessary. You may want to keep some rarely-used items like winter sports equipment or large family heirlooms. In this case, consider moving them out into a short-term storage facility prior to packing for your move.

Start Small and Keep It Simple

Start packing early by placing smaller boxes in each room. Instead of buying huge moving boxes, try using bankers boxes or free groceries boxes. A month before moving, make it a point to pack a minimum of one box a day. Smaller boxes are less daunting to pack and unpack, and much easier to carry. You can also nest smaller boxes in larger boxes to maintain a clearer form of organization within your moving boxes.

Instead of taking out all the clothes from your dressers and packing them in boxes, why not leave them where they are? That way, you do not even need to unpack when you arrive. You can tape up the drawers and move everything as a whole. It may be worth checking furniture shipping prices as well, since professional furniture movers can wrap your furniture properly and keep everything in its place.

If you have clothes on hangers, do not bother removing the hangers and folding the the clothes. Just make a hole in a large trash bag and drape it over several pieces of clothing at once. Pull the hooks of the hangers out of the hole, and tie the bottom of the trash bag up. Now you have an effective low-cost garment bag. In your new home, simply hang it up and rip off the trash bag.

It can also help to categorize your items and boxes. For example, kitchen items in one box and home office items in another. You can even place stickers or use a marker to color-code your packed boxes to each room. When you get to your destination, you or your movers will be able to quickly put the boxes in their respective rooms, saving you time and effort.

Call the Professionals

Hiring a mover can make your life so much easier. Professional packing and shipping companies will not only help you move your stuff but also ensure that every item is properly packed and protected. They usually even provide the packing materials. If you are planning to move a significant distance or a large number of items, you will most likely need to hire a moving truck anyway. So, why not let someone else take care of the entire affair?

Ideally, you would relocate your children and pets to the new place before moving day. However, this may not always be possible with big moves. The noise and activity of moving can be stressful and children can easily get hurt in the hustle and bustle. In these cases, it can be extremely helpful to have someone else take care of the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively.

By packing up your items in bite-sized portions and delegating responsibility where possible, you can make the moving process smoother and less hectic. Once you get to your destination, try to unpack as soon as you can. You can quickly lose the motivation to unpack when you get too comfortable, so go ahead and make your new house a home.

Have you been injured in a car accident, workplace mishap, or another catastrophe? Then, you might need to seriously consider filing a personal injury lawsuit.

An estimated 40 million lawsuits get filed in the United States every year. Personal injury cases are some of the most common. Between 300,000 and 500,000 personal injury lawsuits are filed for various reasons resulting from negligence or malice.

It is difficult to predict the outcomes of a personal injury lawsuit without knowing the case’s specifics. However, the facts alone don’t determine the outcome. Your level of preparation, the quality of your representation, and other decisions will play a huge role.

“Facts help win cases, but only when plaintiffs have the right strategy and attorney on their side,” says Jonathan Goidel of Goidel and Siegel New York attorneys.

You need to be organized and strategic when pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Here are some guidelines to help.

Always get the best possible representation.

The most important decision you’ll make is choosing your legal representation. Some attorneys are more qualified to handle personal injury cases than others.

You must do your due diligence when selecting an attorney. It is best to choose an attorney specializing in personal injury cases rather than one that handles a broader range of cases. You might find this difficult if you are located in a rural community since fewer attorneys specialize. Instead, you should consider reaching out to a more prominent urban law firm that will have qualified specialized attorneys to represent you.

Pay close attention to reviews from previous customers and track records on all the cases. However, you might need to be careful about paying too much attention to the percentage of winning cases. Some of the best attorneys have lower wind rates because they take on more complex cases than their less qualified peers.

Be very transparent with your attorney.

Your attorney is going to be your best friend during a lawsuit. But, unfortunately, they can only help you effectively if you are clear and honest with them.

Never be afraid to tell the truth to your attorney. They will have a much easier time providing good representation if they know all of the facts. In addition, if there is an embarrassing or concerning issue about your case, they will be able to get out ahead of it if they are made aware.

Don’t be shy about taking a settlement.

Some people are adamant about having their day in court. They might think that they have an ironclad case and will get a lot more money if they find it. They might also want to take a scorched earth approach and drag it out in court to make the other parties suffer. Some people might even want to go to court just to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame.

Whatever your reasoning, you should be hesitant to fight your lawsuit in court if you have other options. An estimated 92% of all personal injury lawsuits are settled outside court. This is a much safer and more cost-effective alternative.

One of the most significant benefits of a good lawyer is that they can help you get the best possible settlement. You should take advantage of this rather than insist on rolling the dice by going to court.

Avoid discussing critical details about the case with anyone other than your lawyer.

You might be tempted to vent with your friends and family about the state of your lawsuit. You might want to boast about a perceived advantage that you think you have in court.

There are many things that you might want to say about your injury case. However, it is best to keep them to yourself.

You never know what kind of blowback you might experience from speaking about your case. You might give the other party an opportunity to get ahead of a detail that would have helped you win in court. On the other hand, you might unknowingly reveal something that compromises your case.

When pursuing a personal injury case, you should always live by the motto “loose lips sink ships “when pursuing a personal injury case. Certain details simply need to be kept to yourself.

Be reasonably picky when accepting a settlement offer.

If you have a great case, the other party will likely offer you a settlement. Therefore, you might want to take the first reasonable offer. However, it is a good idea to be a little picky and negotiate. On the other hand, you don’t want to be so picky that you lose a good offer and go to trial and lose.

This is where your lawyer will come in. They will help make sure you get an offer that you deserve.