Moving house is often ranked as one of the most stressful things that you will go through in your whole life. It is up there with relationship breakdowns and divorce. But moving to a new home should be a positive experience. You get to enjoy the feeling of newness and put your stamp on a new place. It can be exciting to explore a new neighborhood. If only you could move without all of the stress.
Of course, there is no way of completely removing the stress and anxiety from the move. There are, however, ways that you can reduce the level of stress that you experience. The better you plan, and the more support you can get to help with your move, the smoother the process will be.
At the moment of the year, I am moving to my very own flat and would like to take you on the journey with me. From moving, and decorating the flat to other admin pieces that came along the way.
Plan Ahead
It might go without saying that you need to plan before you move. But making lists is the best way of keeping yourself on track with everything that needs to be done. As soon as you know that you are going to be moving, start to use bullet journals to create lists for every relevant area of the move. Make a list of companies and people that need to inform you that you are moving out of your old home to change the address. You may have utility accounts or council tax payments linked to the property and it is important that you remember to get in touch with the right people. Lots of other companies will need your new address too. Think about all utilities that you want to carry over or change, think of electricity, internet, or gas providers. Most often you need them to inform you at least 2 weeks prior.
Create lists of the order in which you are going to pack up your possessions in. Work out what you might need on the run-up to the move, and what can get boxed up and ready to go.
If you are moving in stages, for example, if you are not able to move directly into your new home, you may want to start researching options for self-storage.
Start Packing Early
The sooner you start packing, the less of a rush it will be closer to the actual move. Start boxing up anything that you do not need anytime soon. Make sure that you keep similar items together, and label up your boxes. It might also be helpful if you mark up the box with the room that you want it to go into when it gets to your new home. That way, it will make things easier when it comes to unpacking.
In addition, it is a good time to go through your old items and throw or give away to charities things you are not wearing or using anymore.
Get Help
Many hands make light work. If you can afford to, hiring a professional removal company is a great way of taking a lot of the hassle out of your move. However, if you can’t for whatever reason do this, rope in friends and family to help you move. Offer to take them for a meal or a few drinks to say thanks, or invite them round for a meal once your new home is ready for guests. The more help you can get, the quicker everything will get done and you will feel less rushed.