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.
