Moving is easily one of the most stressful events that the average person will experience. For many of us, our home is the center of our world. Thus, it is no small thing to consider moving that center. Thus, we have created this article in an attempt to make your life just a little bit easier. Instead of giving you a specific list of tasks, we will present you with a list of ideas and tips that we think will help you to make your next move an easier one.
1. Clean And Organize Your Home First
When you are about to start moving, the first thing to do is clean and organize your home. Some people might be scratching their heads here, wondering why on earth you should bother with cleaning a place before you move? The answer is simple: To make sure you don’t miss anything! Besides that, it also makes everything easier.
A cluttered home presents several problems in this situation. First of all, it will be much harder (if not impossible) for you to organize your belongings properly. This will lead to more delay as you unpack the boxes and try to make sense of a random pile.
When you move out, you probably won’t be able to come back. Anything left behind after the final moving date becomes the property of your former landlord. Thus, it is a good idea to get everything nice and sorted to make sure that all the essentials leave with you.
2. Use Secondhand Boxes
It is kind of expensive to go out and buy all your moving boxes. That’s why most people just choose to scavenge boxes from various businesses. Whether it’s a grocery store, a department store, or a restaurant, you can bet that they throw away a lot of boxes. So, all you have to do is walk into some of these places and ask them if they have any scrap boxes that you could have. In general, they are happy to get rid of these boxes, which are only garbage as far as they’re concerned.
3. Hire The Movers And Set A Date ASAP
Far too often, there is a temptation to wait until the last possible minute before making those crucial arrangements with the moving company. While this may seem to make sense at the time (“I’ll call them as soon as I finish packing!”), it’s not a good idea at all.
Some of the better moving companies might be booked up for weeks or even months in advance, so don’t play the “last minute” game. If so, you might be forced to hire a substandard company that won’t do the job as required. lower-quality moving companies are also more likely to break fragile items, and also more likely to rob you. Just remember this: You are trusting this company with everything you own.
4. Get The Utilities Turned On Right Away
Yes, you will save a little money if you wait until the last minute to switch your utilities. However, it isn’t particularly hard to take care of this issue beforehand. Why is this an important step? So that you can concentrate more of your time and energy on the move.
Ideally, you should switch your utilities the day before the move. Before you do this, go ahead and fill up a few jugs of water. Make sure to get enough for everyone in the house, including your pets. As for electricity, just charge your phone and put it into energy-saving mode. You won’t need much else, as the business of the move will likely keep you busy all day.
5. Keep Everything Sorted
Good organization is one of the best ways on earth to save time. You may not be thinking about the end of this process, but you should. After the last item is moved and the old home is locked up for the last time, the unpacking phase begins. In most cases, unpacking takes a lot longer than packing.
You can prevent this unnecessary delay by moving in an organized way. Pack your belongings one room at a time, and make sure you clearly label each box. Don’t mix items from different rooms, even if it seems like a good idea. You will only make more work for yourself in the end. This way, the unpacking phase can be much quicker and easier.
6. Don’t Neglect The Importance Of Good Sleep
Moving is a pretty stressful activity, and it’s also a very exciting event. In spite of all the work and hassle, it is hard not to be a little bit excited about the prospect of a whole new territory. However, you must curb that enthusiasm and make sure that you get a good night’s sleep before you begin.
Even if you are hiring professionals to do all the heavy lifting, you still need to maintain the mental focus and acuity that is needed to direct the work properly. You will probably spend most of the day telling people what to do and where to put things. As such, you need to make sure that your body and mind are fully alert and ready to go.
7. Plan The Layout Of Your New Home
This is something that very few people will do. However, it can be a serious time-saver if done properly. After you have closed the deal on your new home, draw a map of the interior. It doesn’t have to be a work of art, and it doesn’t need to include every tiny detail. It does, however, need to be based on exact measurements. Use a tape measure to get the dimensions of every wall and doorway.
Once you have these numbers, you can head back to your current home and start measuring all the furniture. Don’t bother too much with small items; just get the length, width, and height of everything that takes up floor space. This does add up to a lot of measuring, but it will save you quite a bit of work in the long run.
The next step is to draw a larger version of the map you made earlier. Using a pencil (so that you can erase your mistakes), start drawing in the various pieces of furniture. Make sure that each one will fit in the area you have assigned. In this way, you can prevent yourself from needing to move these items more than once. You can tell the movers exactly where to take something, and that is where it will stay.
8. Use Your Extra Containers
Just about everyone has a few extra containers laying around the house. These can be used to take the place of boxes and make things a little bit easier. For instance, a lot of people like to transport their clothing separately to make sure that it stays clean. If you are one of those people, you should absolutely put smaller items into the now-empty drawers. Now those drawers can double as extra boxes. You can do the same thing with an unused piece of luggage, a cooler, or even a microwave.
9. Everyone Should Pack An Overnight Bag
Once you pack up the contents of your home and bring them to a new location, you might have some trouble finding the things you need on a day-to-day basis. Although this problem will be greatly lessened for those who have followed tip #5, it will always be a problem to some extent.
Thus, every member of your household should pack an overnight bag with all of their most essential items. Obviously, this will include hygienic supplies like soap and toilet paper. It should also include any items that are needed for children or pets. By doing this, you can avoid those frustrating episodes where you get mad and start dumping boxes all over the floor because you’re late for work and can’t find your phone charger.
10. Take Inventory
As you pack up all your belongings in preparation for the move, use a notebook to record an inventory of all your belongings. This might seem like an extreme step, but it’s another way to save time in the end by spending a little more time in the beginning. Besides, it isn’t even a hard task. Once you get into the habit of writing things down as you pack them, it will become second nature and will not slow you down significantly.
There are several reasons to do this. The most obvious reason is so that you can do an inventory check upon arrival at your new home. This allows you to verify that all of your belongings were safely delivered. You also need to do this in case one of the movers decides to be a thief. While most professional movers are well-vetted by their respective companies, no one can truly avoid all the scumbags in the world at all times. However, an inventory ensures that you will know what is missing as soon as possible.
11. Use Linens And Clothing To Protect Your Breakables
One of the most serious concerns during the moving process relates to the transport of glass or ceramic items. No one wants to lose their fragile items, so you will need to wrap them up. This wrapping will act as a “cushion” that will absorb impact and keep the item from shattering.
Most people use old newspapers for this purpose. However, they are not very effective. While the newspaper does a good job of keeping glass items from clinking together and breaking, it isn’t thick enough to provide good shock absorption. Thus, the trouble of acquiring all that newspaper isn’t worth the reward. Instead, just use some of your clothing or linens.
Old sheets or shirts can be a great way to transport your most delicate items. Obviously, you were going to bring your clothes anyway, while the newspaper is essentially just trash.
12. Toss That Old Junk In The Trash
Everyone has old junk laying around the house that they don’t use. Unless this junk has some kind of sentimental or collecting value, there is simply no sense in bringing it along. You might as well throw it away or give it to someone.
The benefit for you is that every item thrown away or given away is an item that won’t have to be moved. Thus, it frees up truck space and time. Moving can be a great opportunity to trim away the excess possessions that you don’t really need. If you are giving away something that has value, we would recommend gifting it to your new neighbors so that you can establish good relations from the start.
Conclusion
Regardless of your reasons for doing it, moving is one of those activities that most of us are glad to finish and leave behind. By incorporating our advice into your moving plan, we hope that you are able to finish the job with maximum efficiency and get back to doing the things you love. If you have enjoyed this article, please fill out the contact form below for more helpful tips sent directly to your inbox. When you do this, you are helping us to help you…and hopefully a lot of other people too!
