You’ve spent months looking for that perfect place, and you’ve finally found it. All the paperwork is signed, and you even have a copy of the key. You’re probably pretty excited, and looking forward to getting into your new home, but then it hits you. You have got an enormous amount of work ahead of you before you get there. Suddenly, you don’t feel quite so hopeful about things.
Sure, it’s true that if you don’t organize it properly, moving house can make you tear your hair out. However, if you approach it methodically, it’s surprising how well your move can go. As long as you come up with a plan that includes all of the things that you need to get done, and then tick them off one by one as you do them, there is hope for you yet.
The first obvious thing is packing. If you’re going to do this yourself, go around your home and make an estimate of how many boxes you will need, including things like wardrobe boxes and book boxes. Then, take this estimate, add 20% and go out and buy all of your boxes in one shot, along with all the tape, labels and so on that you will need. Not only will this save you money, it will save you aggravation as well. There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of packing with a couple of days to go, and then finding out that you have run out of packing materials.
Next, make sure you hire a reputable mover. Either ask your friends or work colleagues for recommendations, or look online on a good review site such as Angie’s List. Hiring a bad mover because they are cheap just isn’t worth it – your stuff will just end up getting damaged and your blood pressure will go through the roof.
When you are packing, make sure you put a label on everything that says where they should go. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to move things around as you unpack them, and will spend weeks opening up boxes trying to find things. Also, if you have things that you want to keep but don’t use very often, you may want to consider putting these in storage. Take a look at what storage units San Diego, Houston or Boston, or wherever you live – you’ll be surprised how economical it can be.
Finally, remember that moving is not just about packing. For example, you will want to let the utility companies know where you are moving to and when. Similarly, you may not want to take all of that food with you, so start running down your supplies well in advance. Make sure you put a change of address in at the post office, and remember to change your address on other things like your driving license. Finally, if you have young children or animals, you may want to make arrangements to leave them with friends or family for the day.
