13 Tips that will Make Moving a Whole Lot Easier
Even when you are very excited to be starting over in a new residence, moving can be a very stressful undertaking. If you are moving for less than optimal reasons, it can feel even more arduous than usual. If your move is planned, and you know in advance that you will be moving, take advantage! Plan and prepare for the big move when everything is still calm.
- Put all the small things that are essential to your day-to-day living in a duffel bag or backpack that is kept separate from your moving boxes. People are usually pretty tired after moving and short on time, so saving yourself from having to look through sealed boxes to find tooth paste or soap will really feel like a life saver! An added benefit to this is that it is a more secure way to pack small valuables like jewelry and even laptops; this will give you more peace of mind.
- Take every other item you will need immediately into boxes labeled in a way that you can quickly find them. These boxes will contain the things you need to help you prepare dinner and use the internet (cookware, eating utensils, modem, router), help you use the bathroom and bedroom (toilet paper, hand soap, bed sheets), or help you assemble furniture (screw driver, hammer, wrench, etc.)
- Make it easy on yourself and label your boxes for the room they need to go into and what is contained within them. Put those labels on the side of the box and not the top since you may stack them on top of each other. Clearly mark the boxes with handling instructions as well (fragile, upright, etc.)
- Make sure you pack your dinner plates vertically and not horizontally; they are less likely to be broken in this position.
- You may want to invest in some stretch wrap so you can keep several large boxes packed together, making moving them around much less cumbersome.
- If you are not comfortable with electronics but own lots of complicated home theater and computer items, take photos of how they are arranged and installed, then reproduce that at your new home.
- Take pictures of your old place if you are renting. This way you won’t be paying for any cleaning or repair that was not your fault. You also should take pictures of any flaws in the new place to protect you.
- Start changing addresses for any mail and packages you expect to receive in advance. Two weeks is early enough.
- Take a very honest appraisal of the things you really want and need. You can make moving so much easier by getting rid of the things you have accumulated during your time in your old residence. Selling on ebay and craigslist at least a month in advance, or giving things away to friends is a great way to accomplish that. You can even get charity organizations to come and pick up some of your stuff. De-clutter your life!
- Stop grocery shopping a week or two before the big move. Eat up as much of your food as possible. If you can move without bringing a bunch of groceries, you are doing something right!
- You should seriously consider having a sitter keep your small children and pets during the move if it is in the same city. This is another great opportunity to remove stress from the situation.
- With professional movers, it can be good to label the bedrooms so they know where to leave the boxes in a large home. They may not immediately know the difference between all of your children’s rooms and any guest rooms.
- Twist all spray bottle to the “off” position, and you may even want to use saran wrap over bottles that are prone to leak when tilted or upside down.
