Experts tell us that one of the most stressful things to do is preparing to move out. The chaos starts in a few weeks before the move. It’s not easy to formulate a plan for moving house. Usually, it’s an overwhelming and cumbersome procedure that we prefer not to undergo. But sometimes moving becomes necessary, whether due to a new job, or because your parents are getting old and you want to live close by. There are several tips that can help you make the process smooth when getting ready to move.
9 Essential Tips on How to Plan a Move
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Organize a moving agenda
Maintain a moving agenda in writing. Use your phone, laptop, memo book, and start with a list of everything that needs to get done – from buying boxes, labels, and tape, etc. to when to start packing what.
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Get the most boxes
Get enough boxes and tape - you'll need more than you can imagine. You can buy folding boxes in DIY stores or purchase them from supermarkets or other stores. If you ask when your local supermarket gets its deliveries, you can even get some boxes for free. If you’ve hired a moving company, you can ask them if they sell boxes. Store 10 to 15 empty boxes for last-minute items – like bed linen from the night before the move, food from the fridge, cleaning supplies, etc.
Take out all the bags, suitcases, backpacks, that are in your house and fill them with personal items such as seasonal clothes, toiletries, children's stuffed animals, bedding, and things that you’ll need for Day One in your new home.
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Organize the boxes visually
Use color coordination to make it easier for moving company workers to know where to place each box in the new house. Put stickers of different colors on boxes for each room. When you reach your new home, put stickers of the same color on the door of the room where that color group of boxes will go.
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Start as soon as possible
Begin packing items in boxes as soon as possible. If it’s winter, store summer clothes and accessories weeks before the move. You can even pack up books, toys, CDs, etc. well before the move. Remember, you’ll have to clean the house after emptying it, so try to move early enough to have time to clean up. Once your house is empty, you’ll want to dedicate time to your new home. Clean the interiors of cabinets and drawers the day before the move. Have someone start cleaning up a room soon after the moving company’s workers take the boxes for that room in the moving van or truck.
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Think twice of valuable items
Pay special attention to valuable objects and try to make room in the car so these items can travel with you. This includes not only jewelry but essential papers, passports, receipts, personal agendas, phone lists, etc.
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Moving and children
A plan for moving house can be especially complicated if you have children because preparing to move from one home to another can be traumatic for them, especially if their new home is in another city in-state or out-of-state. Try to involve your children in the moving process, buy colorful boxes for them so they can pack their personal belongings themselves. Tell them to choose what they want to take out the first day in their new home (from a book or special toy to their favorite sheet, records, and laptops) and put these items in a separate box. The more you involve your kids in getting ready to move, the sooner they’ll be willing to accept it.
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Leave the junk behind
Before moving, try not to take boxes full of things you have no clue of what to do. This is the perfect time to get rid of them, and anything else you don’t want. The fewer boxes you take, the less the back pain, the faster you’ll get to your new home, and the better you’ll find yourself in it. And the better you’ll feel about having the opportunity to start over again.
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Clean your new house
Hire the help if you can’t do it yourself. You'll appreciate it when you arrive with all the cargo. Cleaning it won’t ever be so easy again.