Moving Tips for a Less Stressful Move
If you’ve ever moved, you know how it goes. The initial stages are full of excitement as you gather all of your belongings into boxes, and you feel ready and motivated for the work ahead! Once the more tedious work starts, you realize all of it will take a lot longer than you imagined.
Once the moving day finally arrives, the long and drawn-out day of heavy lifting and sore muscles comes to an end, and you are left with a new home full of boxes! Life doesn’t stop either. You still have family, kids, pets, jobs, and whatever else is on your daily schedule.
It’s an undeniable fact, that with moving comes stress, and we want to share some tips with you to hopefully make the process less stressful!
Carve Out Time
Time is one of the most significant factors of moving stress. More specifically, there isn't enough of it! You can’t avoid it altogether, but you can definitely make it a lot easier on yourself if you make sure to allot yourself enough time to get everything done.
Try and estimate how many days it could take you to pack up your home, and be sure to give yourself ample time to select and schedule a moving truck, set up utilities for the new home, and do a clean-up in your current home before leaving for good.
Starting early is a smart way to go because it can be easy to procrastinate and find yourself scrambling to pack with just a few days left!
Prioritize Organization
In order to not feel overwhelmed, try and pack up one room at a time. When sorting and labeling boxes, do it in a way that makes them easier to locate and unpack. Keep any important documents you may need in the near future in a safe and secure place, staying organized from the beginning will be a huge factor.
When labeling boxes, write clearly and even consider writing on the box the room they need to be placed in. The goal is to not have a truck full of identical boxes, which is sure to cause confusion and waste your time!
Pack an Overnight Bag
Once everything has been packed up and ready to move to your new home, it can be daunting to find what you need right away on that first day/night.
In order to avoid feeling rushed to unpack every last box on the first day, save yourself the stress and pack a bag with whatever you need to function normally for the first night or two. This could be outfits, toiletries, phone chargers, or even snacks. This will ensure you can unpack your belongings comfortably and not frantically!
Get Moving!
Above all else, when it comes to moving, you need a game plan if you want to minimize stress. Start early, one room at a time, clearly labeling each box! Keep some essentials in an overnight bag so you don’t find yourself frantically searching for those things on your first day. Also, contact utility companies to change or cancel services, and update billing addresses.
Preparation and organization result in less stress and more time to celebrate!
Checklist: Moving Into Your New Home
You’ve woken up from the first night at your new home. You step into your kitchen and gleefully soak in the view of your beautiful backyard from the kitchen sink window. You turn around to approach the coffee pot. You are looking forward to this first cup of coffee so much, only to realize you haven’t even unpacked your coffee maker! Then you also realize there is no hot water to wash your dishes or take that well-deserved shower!
You must ensure that when moving into a new home, the necessities are taken care of promptly! It takes planning and discipline, but if you put it all off then those first few days in your new home will be a nightmare!
We’re going to run through 3 key points that are crucial for your comfort and safety. Let’s jump right in!
Do a Walkthrough
If you are able, walk through your new home while it's empty before moving in. This can be helpful because it allows you to envision and plan your belongings in the space and how they will fit. Make you bring a tape measure too, so you have an even more accurate idea of where your furniture will go.
When you are walking through, be sure to check on any agreed-upon repairs, appliances, or belongings that were supposed to be left or removed, and the working order of outlets and lights. If you come across any problems, you should raise them as soon as possible to the appropriate party.
Transfer Utilities
When you move out of your home, you’ll have the gas, electric, and water shut off to prevent any mishaps or accidents while the home is vacant. But before you close escrow, be sure to transfer all of these utilities to your new home so there is ample time for them to be up and running.
If utilities aren’t already set to be turned on, it could very well take companies a few weeks to come out. Make sure to call utility companies before moving day so you know you will have all utilities up and running before you move into your new home. Here’s some perspective: think about how miserable it would be in the heat moving in and out without the air conditioning running!
Change Over Locks
You never know for sure if the keys you are handed over to you by the seller are the only set of keys they own. If you want the utmost security and peace of mind, make it a priority on day one to install new locks on each exterior door.
Home security can mean different things to different people, but some other further steps you could take besides changing the locks are installing motion detectors or cameras, a smart doorbell, or a full home security system.
The Bottom Line
Make a checklist for yourself when moving to avoid excess stress and potential chaos! These were just 3 essential actions to take, but of course, there are many more, such as updating your mailing address, setting up garbage pickup, setting up autopay for new mortgage payments and the list can go on.
The new checklist can make you feel like you’ll never relax and be able to enjoy your new space, but in no time all of your duties will be checked off! Now it's time to make your new house feel like home!