Moving house is one of the most stressful events in your life – rated up alongside divorce, losing a job, and experiencing the death of a loved one. That stress is compounded by the fact that until you have those keys in your hand, you are relying on everybody in the chain to complete all necessary paperwork and transactions in time.
Even the most chilled and relaxed of people can face a house move with increasing stress levels, so we have put together this essential guide to helping you approach your removal with as zen-like a composure as possible, with enough left in the tank to cope with any unforeseen challenges along the way.
An opportunity to declutter
Moving house is the ideal opportunity to declutter. If you have been in your current home for a while, you probably have drawers and cupboards full of forgotten items that have not seen the light of day for years. Even if you know that your actually moving day is some way off still, take this opportunity to start to go through all the drawers and cupboards in your home bit by bit. The earlier in advance you start, the better – you can choose to do one drawer every couple of days or a cupboard over the course of a weekend. This way, it is not too overwhelming, and you give yourself a bit of time to meander down memory lane before dumping it all in the garbage!
Create a countdown schedule
Once you have that moving date as firmly in your diary as you can possibly hope for, create a countdown schedule incorporating all the tasks (istrative and physical) that need to be done in advance.
Everything from ordering in cardboard boxes, to writing your change of address cards – ticking off these tasks one by one will give you an overall sense of calm and being in control, which will help to bring your stress to a manageable level.
Start packing strategically
The last thing you want to do is to leave all your packing to the last minute. Before you know it, you’ve 24 hours before you need to vacate the property, leaving it empty for the new owners, and you haven’t even started yet!
By being more strategic in the way you pack, you can still continue to function every day as you need to. If possible, isolate a room in which you can store packed boxes and start to pack away all your non-essential items. Don’t forget to label each box with its contents and the room in which it will be opened.
If you have room in your garage, you could hire some heavy duty plastic pallets to store some larger pieces of furniture wrapped in clingfilm ready for shipping. The more you can get done yourself in advance, the more you save both time and money nearer the time.
If budgets allow, you might want to hire the best moving company you can find. This is a company that not only picks up and transports your goods – they will come in and literally pack everything up on your behalf. They don’t come cheap – it is a highly specialized and labor-intensive job. However, the stress it will save you would be worth every penny! You can start the process by getting a few moving quotes.
Prepare for your arrival
The last box you pack will be the first one you open when you arrive at your new property. This is the box that will contain the kettle, tea, coffee and biscuits, light bulbs, scissors, sellotape, cleaning supplies, water, and any important documents. Basically, this box allows you to start establishing yourself in your new home without frantically scrabbling through every other box.
But most importantly – relax and enjoy the process. Yes, it is stressful, but it is also exciting, a new page in the book of your life. You need to relish it and celebrate – so make sure there is a bottle of champagne and some glasses in your ‘moving day’ box.