Moving can be a really exciting thing for your family. It can open new opportunities, introduce new friendships, and inspire adventure. It can also be very stressful for everyone. There’s so much to do and plan and prepare for…especially with a house full of kids!
It’s understandable to experience burnout, but as they say – fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
There’s plenty you can do in the weeks running up to the move to make those few days of chaos easier. Read on to find 10 tips to help you prepare for a big move.
#1 – Plan in Advance
The first point on the list is more of a general one. If you want to make your life easier, start about 8 weeks in advance. Make a list, either on paper or on your phone, of absolutely everything you can think of that needs sorting out. If there are more than 20 things, try sorting them all into categories, and create a tier list of most important to least important; this will help you determine your priorities, and from there, you can start systematically working through everything you need to do.
#2 – Make a Note of Your Essentials
Before you begin packing, make a detailed list of all your essentials. Take these out of the way and put them somewhere accessible.
Things will likely get messy and hectic quickly, so you need to make sure that you have everything you need on hand. It’s common for toiletries and key electronics to get lost in the fray, and that’s stress you don’t need when you have so much else going on.
#3 – Cleaning
Next comes a thorough clean. You’ll no doubt have much more to clean than you think, and while you don’t need to be making things perfect for the new owners, you need a clear space to sort your stuff out. Get a few cardboard boxes and start room by room, boxing up any rubbish and shuttling it to the trash.
#4 – Decluttering
Before you even think about packing, it’s essential to do a proper declutter. When you’ve lived in the same building for a long time, it’s inevitable for things to pile up – stuff that you might not exactly want to throw away, but ultimately don’t really need.
When you move into a new house, it’s best to start with a fresh slate, and decluttering beforehand also means you won’t have half as much stuff to cart along with you. Systematically go through each room and determine what you want to donate or sell.
#5 – Arrange for Self Storage
If you have a lot of stuff to take with you – more stuff than can reasonably fit in your new place – you may need to utilize self storage. These services offer you a safe and convenient place to store your important personal belongings while you think about how to incorporate them into your new life. There are usually a number of flexible plans depending on what you need, and starting early means you can get that stuff out of the way in preparation for the big move.
#6 – Notify Your Professional Movers
You’ll also need to notify the moving company you’ve chosen as early as possible. This gives them time to secure the exact date you want to move, and it also gives you a focal point to work towards (it’s easy for things to feel like they’re not truly coming together until you have the date).
It’s also key that you do the self-storage step before doing this, as your movers will want a working estimate of how much stuff you have to move.
#7 – Remember to Label Your Boxes
This is a simple step that, unfortunately, many people neglect, especially as moving day draws closer and things get more hectic.
Labelling your boxes may be the single most impactful thing you can do throughout this whole moving process. Not only is it essential for seeing what’s what as you start to pack, but once you get to the other end, you’ll definitely appreciate the ability to easily unpack each box in the appropriate room.
#8 – Sort Out Your Utilities
It’s easy for smaller things to get lost in the noise of moving, but one thing you most certainly want to prioritize sorting out before you move is your utilities.
You’ll need to update each of them (gas, electric, water, and internet) before you move into the new place, so that everything is ready when you get there. There’s no worse feeling than having no hot water or internet when you finally have the chance to relax, so make sure you sort this out well in advance!
#9 – Take Pictures of How Your TV is Set Up
Most people have a pretty significant electronics setup surrounding their TVs. It’s not uncommon to have five HDMI ports plugged in at once via a number of different configurations, including those relating to game consoles, DVD players, and TV boxes, and if you have no reference, it’s a nightmare to set up once you get into the new house.
Do yourself a favor and take a few detailed pictures of how things are plugged in – it’ll save you a huge amount of time.
#10 – Make a Grocery List for Your First Week
It’s important to remember that you’re going to be hungry after all that work, so plan ahead and have your grocery list ready for the first week.
You can even schedule ahead and have your food delivered, so that it’s there waiting for you when you get there. Just make sure you prioritize setting the kitchen up first if this is the case, as you don’t want a fridge worth of food with nowhere to go.
What would you add to these 10 simple tips?
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
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