This year my hub and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage. What’s crazier is that in 15 years of marriage we’ve moved 8 times………and we’re still happily mostly happily married. 😉 For those of you just joining the fun around here – we’ve lived in Southern California (where I’m from), Kentucky (where the hubs is from), Pennsylvania and Virginia. And as most of you now know we just recently moved to South Carolina.
We’ve done all kinds of different moves. We’ve moved with a U-haul and the help of friends and family, and we’ve experienced company-paid moves where professionals come in and basically pack every. single. item. for you! #myfavoritekindofmove #lapofluxury Each move is its own unique animal, and I’ve definitely learned a few things from each experience. #movingbattlescars So today I thought I’d share a few tips for a stress free move. Ha! Just kidding. There’s no such thing as a stress free move……….these are tips for making a move less stressful.
1. Be Choose-y About What You’re Moving
The absolute best thing about a move (in my opinion) is that it forces you to purge. Or at least that is what it does for me. This is not to be confused with spring cleaning. This, my friends, is a deep and very thorough WHOLE HOUSE purge! There is absolutely no sense whatsoever in packing and hauling items you no longer need or want. Do you really need 5 spatulas?! #notevenpauladeendoes So give yourself some time to thoroughly purge before you start packing everything. This will not only make packing easier as you’ll have less stuff to pack, but it will ultimately make unpacking easier as well. And purging isn’t just for closets and cabinets. Look around your home and start thinking of a game plan for your new space. Is every piece of furniture you own going to work in your new place? Are you planning to put things in storage? These are things to consider before you start packing. I even go so far as to think about my holiday decor and how it will work (or not work) in my new home. That might sound crazy but moving a bunch of Christmas decor totes only to find that half of your decorations won’t work in your new home is a major pain (believe me I’ve done it!). A 12 ft tree won’t fit in a 9 ft ceiling living room. 😉
2. Sell What You’re Not Moving
One of the major stressors of moving is the financial burden. Whether you’re renting a U-haul and packing and loading everything yourself or you’re hiring a professional moving company, the plain and simple truth is that moving is not a fun expense. This is why my first tip is to do a big purge because it just naturally leads to having a moving sale or Craig’s Listing items you no longer want or need. Advertising a garage sale with the words MOVING SALE brings out the people y’all, so take advantage of the opportunity to sell off those unwanted things in order to bring in a little extra cash to ease the cost of your move. You’d be surprised what will sell at a moving sale. I sold all of my scrap wood and bunches of half used bags of potting soil and grass seed……all kinds of stuff I couldn’t really take with me anyway that put some extra dollars in my pocket. Trust me, do yourself a favor and make some time to sell things before you move.
3. Make a Moving Checklist
This may seem silly or trivial, but inevitably if you don’t write it down you might forget to do it in the middle of the moving hustle and bustle. So, sit down (with your partner if you have one) and make a list of all the things you need to do to prepare for your move making sure to remember things you will need to do once you arrive at your new place – like calling the utility companies to establish service. If there are two people involved (i.e. you and your spouse) I would even make a note on the checklist regarding who is supposed to handle each item. Because it would be easy to assume your spouse handled something when they thought you handled it (ask me how I know). 😉
4. Manage Stress from the Inside Out
No matter how well you manage the details of your move, moving is a stressful time and it’s important to nourish your body well so that you can manage the stress in a healthy way. It’s easy, especially once your kitchen is all packed, to get into a rut of eating easy-to-grab-fast-and-unhealthy-food. But that old adage – you are what you eat – is really true. And if you eat nothing but greasy fast food french fries you will be a total hot mess (again ask me how I know). 😉 When you’re dealing with a stressful situation you’re body is more susceptible to illness, and there is nothing worse than getting sick while you’re in the middle of a state to state move. The same is true for your children. So, keep yourself and everyone in your family healthy by continuing to eat as much healthy, whole nutritious food as you can. And keep taking your vitamins. Obviously, you’re not going to be able to help eating out while you’re in between houses, but it’s just as easy to grab a banana as it is to grab a bag of chips. And your body and mind will be better equipped to deal with stress if you make mostly healthy choices.
5. Keep Important Papers with You
My last tip is one that a lot of moving companies will tell you as well. I highly recommend keeping all of your financial papers and important documents with you. You don’t want to lose track of those things and more often than not you will need them before you start unpacking at your new place. If you have kids you’ll need their birth certificates in order to get them registered for school, and you are not going to want to have to locate “that box” before you can get that done. If you’re buying a house you never know what last minute item your mortgage company might need in order for you to close on your new house and having everything from your tax returns to your marriage certificate within arms reach will just make things much simpler and a lot less stressful.
I hope these tips are helpful for anyone facing a move in the near future. If you’ve been a mover and a shaker I’d love for you to share your tips in the comments section below!
Carmel! I love this post. Such great tips. While we have been in the house longer than I thought, we have moved around quite a bit and moved a ton when little. Spot on with eating well and carrying the papers with you. We lost R's baby journal in our move and it was devastating.