Moving is an exhausting process, and there are more than a hundred ways to make it challenging and time-consuming for yourself. If you’re not preparing in advance, like packing everything on time or hiring a moving service or rental truck, you may be setting yourself up for a chaotic move. From the day you get a call from your landlord that your lease is up or when you sign the lease for your new place, begin preparing for the move. All you need is a little organization, panning, and focus on making moving a stress-free process. Here are eight ways to ensure you have a trouble-free move.
1. Plan Ahead
To begin your moving process, we suggest creating a plan for moving. Your plan should include your overall budget for moving trucks, storage units, and packing supplies, among other essentials. Before packing and moving into your new space, tour your new home and see what items you need to pack along. Take measurements, pictures, and whatever you can to ensure that your current furniture and belongings fit the size and aesthetic of the new space. If something doesn’t seem right, you can discard it before moving, saving you time and space. You can also create a moving checklist that helps organize and plan the moving process. Make a list of all the subscriptions and utilities you may have to cancel in the current home.
2. Figure Out Your Storage and Moving Options
Before you begin packing and after you have made a moving plan, look out for storage and logistics options. If you live in Houston, look up “storage houston,” and you’ll come across plenty of self-storage, rental truck, and moving companies. These companies help pack, move and store your belongings while you focus on other tasks. Though you may not feel the need, with a full-time job and looking after your family, it might be better to hire helpers that can pack your belongings and move them safely. If your new home doesn’t have enough storage or if you still haven’t found a new place, you can rent self-storage units to keep your items safe and secure. We recommend getting quotes from multiple suppliers and service providers before hiring one so that nothing goes out of your budget.
3. Get your Packing Supplies
Moving can be expensive if you don’t pack your items properly, which can get damaged during transit. Whether you have to move on short notice or have a couple of weeks before the actual transit, stock up on packing supplies. Get everything from cardboard boxes, scissors, and packing tape to bubble wrap, markers, and plastic bags. Check with your moving company; they might provide you with some packing supplies. You can also ask liquor stores and retail shops for old cardboard boxes if you’re trying to save money on packing materials. Load up bubble wrap for packing fragile items like crockery and glassware. You can also create a packing station in your home where you gather all your items and supplies for packing. Make sure this area is close to the main door, so you can quickly load up everything in the moving truck.
4. Put your essentials in a separate bag.
Pack all your essentials in a separate bag to ensure your move is less chaotic and trouble-free. Essentials include anything you cannot afford to lose amidst the chaos of moving. It can be medication, important documents, electronics, and chargers. You can also put aside a few changes of clothes and toiletries so that you have essentials on-hand until you properly settle in the new home. It can get exhausting to look for your toothbrush or medication in the middle of moving and when dozens of boxes surround you. Prepare your essentials bag before you start packing everything else.
5. Organize and categorize as you pack.
The key to trouble-free packing and moving is to organize and categorize everything so your unpacking process is much easier. You can color-code your boxes or label them by pasting different colored sticky notes. Labeling helps identify which box contains what category of items. You can also label every box with the room it belongs to. This way, movers can place every box in the room it belongs to. You don’t have to hunt for the boxes that contain bedroom items or books when you can easily spot the label or mark. Also, identify which boxes contain fragile items, especially if you’re hiring movers or asking friends or family for help. A helpful packing tip is to make use of what you already have. For example, if you have thick and fuzzy socks, use them for packing fragile glassware. Similarly, to avoid losing your earrings or necklaces, place them in latex gloves or plastic bags.
6. Declutter before you move
An essential moving tip is to get rid of all the unnecessary and outdated items in your home before you move. This includes worn-out clothes, broken décor pieces, and large-sized furniture that might not fit the new house. While you may have sentimental value attached to some of your belongings, know that the new home allows you to make new memories. It’s also important to discard anything that might not fit the style and aesthetic of your new home. You can either donate old items, discard them or resell them. Look out for shelters within your area where you can donate old towels, linens, and clothes. Maybe donate the piles of unread books in your home to the local library where they would be read.
7. Leave some tasks to the movers
If you’re hiring a moving company or helpers, leave some tasks for them to handle. Since they’re experienced in packing and moving, they can help speed up the process. For instance, if you have bulky items like a chest of drawers or a piano to move, let the movers handle it. Even if you think you can handle some of the tasks, let the movers take care of the rest. For example, let your movers handle it instead of taking everything out of the closet and packing it in boxes. Maybe they can find a way to secure your drawers without emptying them and putting them in the truck.
8. Don’t hesitate to ask for help
It is okay to ask your friends and family for help if you don’t think you can handle the packing and move alone. However, if you have a full-time job or kids and pets to look after, it might be better to let your friends and family take over some tasks. You can make it easy for them by walking them through your moving plan and guiding them on what goes where. Sometimes it is easier to delegate a task than tackle it alone.
Conclusion
Moving your life and belongings into a new home shouldn’t be a scary process. Instead, it should be exciting because it’s the beginning of a new chapter. To make it easier and stress-free, hire movers or ask for help. Also, check out packing and moving hacks to make your job less chaotic and easy.
