No matter the size or distance between your current home and new home, moving is a big job. The process takes planning, organization, money, and resources. It’s a lot of work, but you can make the experience easier for yourself. If you’re about to embark on a move, follow this ultimate guide of ten things to make the process more rewarding!
Budget
Beyond the costs of purchasing and renting, moving can get really pricey. Before you get too far into planning, create a budget and include necessities such as movers, packing materials, new furniture and appliances, gas, meals, and incidentals in your expenses. You should discontinue services and put down utility deposits. If you live in or are moving to a condo building, remember that there are often costs for booking elevators and security. Even if these are deposits, they are required to be paid upfront. In addition, if your friends will help you for the big day, remember to provide a budget for pizza and beer!
Organise Early and Slow
By starting the moving process earlier you can take things much slower and this will mean things flow easier, are more organised and it should take a lot of the time pressures off the moving process as it gets closer to that moving date.
Booking Movers
If you’re looking at booking movers, it should be one of the first things you do as many people move around the same time of the month and the movers’ schedules will fill quickly.
Finding a reliable moving company is necessary as the process is stressful enough without dealing with loss or damages to your property.
Look at reviews, check to license, and get quotes to ensure you’ll get the best service on the day of your move. You are about to begin your life in a new place and you want to ensure that the company you hire is qualified to handle your belongings and has provided positive experiences to others in your community.
Make a Checklist
How many boxes do you think you’ll need? How much time will it take you to pack up your belongings? A lot goes into the process and with important paperwork aside, there’s the packing of boxes, the tossing of the old and procuring of the new, and the decision to call upon friends or hire movers. Yet, before you start pulling your books off the shelves, you should prepare a great moving checklist to help you prepare for your relocation, and thankfully, this is something you can easily find a reference for with complete details. This may seem irrelevant for some but a detailed list will help you to come up with a timeline for getting things done that will minimize any impediments to your regular routine.
Packing Up
Packing is a huge job that requires more than arranging things into boxes. Moving is the perfect time and place to start to dispose of things you no longer need or use, as well as to update furniture and appliances. Having a system for packing including labelling will help you to keep track of your stuff and minimize the inevitable “I know I packed it in one of these boxes!” Remember, it’s also courteous to clean your home as you move out so that the new residents are not left with your mess. Cleaning might be extremely necessary if you’re selling your home.
Have at Least One Essentials Box/Bag
When packing all your things it can be easy to pack something that you might need on the day like a kettle, a child’s favourite toy or even basic toiletries. By having one box for all those little things you can be sure you are not left hunting around for things you need in one of the many unopened boxes.
Colour or Stickers To Make Things Easier
You can use different colour boxes, or simply different colour stickers to mark each bag or box and make life a lot easier. You can then have a different colour for each room in the target house which will make your movers life a lot easier as well as your own.
Preparing Your New Home
Even if the former residents paid you the same courtesy of cleaning the space before leaving, you probably want to give your home a nice clean before you start unpacking. Ensure you have cleaning supplies handy and that they’re packed for easy access in the mover’s truck. If you have access to your new home before moving day or have an overlap in time between your last and first days of occupancy, you can then use the extra time to clean your new home. Furthermore, if you’re big on home decor, use graph paper to draw out a plan for furniture layouts, and think about how your pieces will fit into your new home.
Moving Your Family and Pets
It’s the actual day of moving, and you suddenly realize you forgot to allocate space for your dog! Or, you forgot that the kids will need something to keep them entertained while you coordinate with the movers. In all of the moving parts of relocation (pun intended), it’s easier to forget the most obvious things. So, create a plan beforehand and ensure you have access to the things you use daily like dog treats and the leash, Ipads, and chargers, and lots of snacks. Putting together a binder or digital folder with all of the important paperwork that relates to the move is helpful as well.
Be Kind to Your Movers
It doesn’t matter what company you use, you should understand that moving furniture and your more delicate items can be a lot of hard work and on the day they will work very hard, so offer them cups of tea, or cold cans of drink, especially on a hot day. Yes, they will bring all that themselves, but it is polite to offer them anyway.
Moving is an exciting time, but it can also be tiresome. Following this guide will enable you to make the process simpler for yourself, and turn the experience and your new beginning into a more enjoyable one!
