Considering a Big Move Soon? Here Are 7 Tips to Ease the Stress

Moving can be very exciting… whether it’s to a more spacious apartment down the block, over to a new neighborhood, or to a brand new city you’ve never ever been, most people look forward to the great prospects that come with changing their locale. What isn’t usually advertised is the stress that comes with moving day for most people. So we made a few tips to help you make your next move more bearable:

1. Plan your move

Proper timing is key for any move, even if you have plans to pay for hired hands to do the loading and unloading. It’s essential to plan your move as much as possible to avoid last-minute or peak moving company rates but also to shave off the time typically spent sorting out hurriedly boxed items in your new place. Planning also means time to assess your finances, possibly set up a moving budget, one that will determine whether you’d be doing most of the work yourself- and if you need to start phoning some friends!

2. Decide on what’s not to go

You should get rid of things you do not need, as you go. It’s the only way to avoid all the clutter we all hate to deal with. Donate, sell, gift or throw out those items that you can’t remember why you still own or where they came from. You could totally rack in some extra cash to help with the moving expenses by selling those redundant kitchen appliances or undesired furniture. (The simple formula for this bit should be: If it’s not in use or soon-to-be, LOSE it!)

3. Protecting your floors and surfaces

Covering your floors with protective film or paperboard is a simple way to protect it from spills, stains, and dirt. Protective file is highly resistant to punctures or tears, making it great for carpeted stairs or high traffic areas during the move.They are available at nearly all home improvement stores or you can ask your moving company. Be sure to create a protected walkway where the bulk of the traffic will be during the move.

4. Collect lots of moving supplies early

This sounds like a no-brainer right? Until you’re on crunch time and have to make a shopping run for some labels or extra bubble wrap to secure the china. Doing this early could also save you some money since the large, sturdy boxes you’d need cost nothing at your local liquor and liquor stores. Looking out for packing boxes left out on curbs near you and storing them also won’t hurt. You could even rent your moving boxes, this would be a practical and eco-friendly way of getting your moving supplies.

5. Skip the grocery run

Everyone knows what it’s like to be moving out and have all that unused food in the fridge or a full pantry. If you can you want to avoid having to pack an extra box of food that might rot or leave it for the next tenant to throw out! Try to schedule the last grocery run at least 2-3 weeks before your move-out date, and take inventory of what you have so that you can use it up in time.

6. Pick a system and stick to it

Before you ask anyone to join in, decide on what you want to go where, you can pre-label your packing boxes and make a list of how many boxes you have so you can check items off your list when done packing them up. Keep some ZipLock bags nearby, they usually come in handy in making sure smaller items don’t get misplaced. For the tech-savvy, downloading a moving app could be all the help you need to organize your move; Moving Van is a recommended app available on iOS ($1.99), similar to Moving Planner ($0.99) for Android. Both these apps essentially act as checklists, cataloging what you have packed up with Moving Van having the additional capability of finding where exactly you packed what item and emailing you an inventory list as text or PDF at the end.

7. Pack some essentials in a bag

Prepare to give yourself some time to soak in your new home and slowly unpack. Put aside some clothes, towels, cosmetics, electronics – all what you’d need for a few days or even up to a week in a separate bag. This would help you buy some time and do the unboxing and sorting over a longer period, and under less pressure!