3 Tips for Moving

Are you planning on moving? Here are three tips to make the process smoother and less stressful.

Pack, Toss, Donate  If you don’t know where to start, try this tip. Make three piles: 1) pack 2) toss 3) donate. This will help keep you organized and allow you to take inventory of all your belongings. Decide which items you want to keep and take with you, and place those in the ‘pack’ pile. If you have items you no longer need, and if they are in good condition, consider donating them. Take them to your local shelter or gift them to friends and family. For things that are broken or no longer of use to you, toss or recycle them. No sense in taking anything with you if you are just going to tuck them away and take up storage space. The goal with dividing your things into piles is to expedite the packing process, help you de-clutter your stuff, and allow you to do some good (donating and/or recycling) while you’re at it. At the end of this, you will have all the items you want ready to be packed, and all the ones you don’t ready to be disposed of.

One Room at a Time  Packing an entire house, apartment or condo can seem like a daunting task. But, if you approach it one room at a time, you’ll find it to be much more doable. Pick a room in your home and implement the three-pile system mentioned above. Once you are done packing up the items in that room, move on to the next one, then the next, and so on. Start with whichever room you feel most comfortable packing first, whether that’s the bedroom, kitchen, garage, etc. I’ve found it most helpful to pack your bedroom last, since most of the items there (clothes, bedding) you would need access to right up until moving day. You could pack the kitchen first, so that you have a reason not to cook. :) By tackling one room at a time, you can pack without feeling overwhelmed, and feel good about the progress you are making after each room is done.

Hire Professionals  The most helpful tip I can provide is to hire professional movers to help with your move. Of course, you can absolutely do it yourself, by renting a large truck or van, or even making several trips in your own vehicle. However, movers will expedite this process by moving all of your furniture and boxes in one trip. And in some cases, they will even help pack your items for you. Moving yourself might take a day or two, but hiring professional movers will shorten that time to a few hours. They will also unload your furniture and other boxes into the rooms you designate, which means no heavy lugging for you and less time trying to figure out which box belongs in which room. Having your respective items already in their respective spaces will also help you unpack faster. The goal is to get settled in as quickly as possible and professional movers will be helpful in achieving that goal.

Happy moving!