When it comes to a big home move, there’s no denying that it can be a massive undertaking, even if you have a small home. It’s no surprise that moving to a new home is often one of the most stressful life events you’ll encounter. The fact that the average American moves every five years, means that you might face this massive stress inducer time and time again.
But does moving home have to be stressful? Not necessarily; there are many things you can do to help you reduce the stress of moving. If you set out with a plan in place, you can execute your move with the least amount of stress possible. Now, you know that every move will have it’s own unique surprises, but following are some tips that may help you avoid the worst hiccups you could encounter while planning and making your next home move.
Book you moving services well ahead of time
Van lines and other “help you move” type service companies book up months in advance. As soon as you know you will be moving; get the movers scheduled. Many times they can be flexible and book your move within a date range of a few days. If you wait until just a couple of weeks before your move, you my find yourself having to book a self-drive truck and you’ll be packing and loading your own stuff. While this is an option for many, it will not work for everyone. Most of the time renting your own truck will only work for short distance moves since you can’t rent a truck large enough to hold all of your belongings in one trip.
You also will likely need help with professionals to break down big furniture and may even need to hire special people like a playset assembly service to break down you children’s play equipment if it’s coming with you to the next house. Having professional movers who know how to pack and protect your furniture and other belongings is invaluable and can’t be discounted when moving to a new home. Don’t let booking this vital service fall through the cracks.
Start packing early
You may feel like you have loads of time before the closing date on the sale of your current home so there’s no need to be in a rush to start packing. Do not fall into this trap! You have infinitely more stuff than you can imagine. Once you start going through closets, the attic, drawers, and shelves, you’ll be amazed at all of the things you’ve accumulated since living in your current home. It will take more time than you can imagine to pack it all up.
Start with a good declutter. I can guarantee you, you do not need all of the things you have stashed around. Once you are down to packing only the things you truly need, use, and want, the task will be easier, but it will still take more time than you think.
The kitchen is a good place to start. Think of all of the dishes that you don’t use. We all have them. You likely have a cabinet filled with holiday dishes that only are brought on Thanksgiving and Christmas; that’s a great place to begin. Continue around and you’ll be surprised at how quickly the boxes fill.
Label your boxes
A massive mistake is not labeling your boxes as you pack them. You will regret this when the boxes are being unloaded at your new location. Having to open a box to determine what’s inside before putting it in the correct room is not feasible. This is especially true if you’ve hired movers. They will not wait for this. Your boxes will simply be unloaded into whichever room they choose. Then you will spend countless hours moving boxes to their correct location. This is a nightmare scenario.
Be specific when you label the boxes. Put you child’s name on their bedroom’s items. Label the doors at the new house with the child’s name so the movers will know which bedroom corresponds to which boxes.
Take care of canceling/transferring utilities
Do not forget talk to the utility companies about the dates of termination for the utilities at your current location. If you can use the same provider, you’ll need to set up the start date for your new location. If you cannot transfer to your new location you need to supply your forwarding address for your final bill. Not informing your suppliers of an address change will result in you potentially being charged for services not used or cut-off fees. You need to arrange those cut offs for the usual utilities like electric, water, and trash pick up, but also for your internet provider and your satellite or cable provider as well.
Any type of service that is tied to your address needs to be terminated. Schedule this a few weeks before your move out date.
Set up your change of address
It’s important that you inform people of your change of address. This is more than just going to the post office and filling out the official “change of address” form which will have them forward your mail. You need to go to your credit card companies and change your address on each of them. Call your doctors offices and update your files with each of them as well. Check with you vehicle insurance provider and update them and check if you need to change anything on your policy. New counties may require new coverages.
Moving is stressful. But stick to your plan and you can definitely make is less so.