It doesn’t matter if you are moving 5 miles or 500 miles, moving is a big deal. You have to pack up your stuff, haul your furniture, and get yourself and your belongings from home A to home B. Having moved a few times recently, I picked up some great tips about packing and moving that can make your move an easy move. Follow these tips to ensure your easy move is as low stress as possible.
Easy Move: Declutter and throw stuff away
Before you even think about packing, reduce the amount of stuff you’re going to pack. Why pack up a bunch of stuff you’re probably going to throw away anwyay? Get rid of it now. Get rid of the clothes you don’t want, the junk in your drawers and cabinets, the toys your children outgrew or no longer want, you get the idea. Throw it all away or donate it. While you’re at it, organize your cabinets so everything is in it’s proper place. When it comes time to pack, because you organized first, everything will be easier to sort.
Easy Move: Start packing early
The key to an easy move is taking the stress out of packing. Most packing stress comes from doing everything at the last minute, so avoid doing everything at the last minute to avoid the pressure of getting everything done under the gun.
Odds are you have a lot of stuff you have not used in a while, and if you have not used it in a while you can live without it until you are moved. To decide what doesn’t get packed, pack your clothes like you are going on a trip until the move date. Pull aside the essentials only in the kitchen. If you absolutely need it, pull it aside. Everything else should get packed. Boxes, suitcases, crates, bins, and anything else you have to pack away your belongings works just fine.
Easy Move: Use staging areas
As you start filling up boxes, you’ll notice that space becomes limited. Unless you have a garage and can stick all of the boxes out there until the truck arrives, you may easily find yourself living in a sea of boxes as you pack. Create staging areas to help alleviate the growing maze of boxes.
If you can empty a closet, closets are great staging areas for boxes because they are out of the way. On move day they can be quickly unloaded onto the truck for maximum efficiency. If you don’t have a spare closet or can’t empty a closet by packing it all up, the corner of a room works as well, or pick a wall that it out of the way and stack your boxes up along that wall.
The ultimate goal of staging areas is to get the boxes out of the way and stacked up in a way that they can be quickly loaded onto a dolly or carried out. If you can find a place to do that, you’re on the right track.
Easy Move: Communication and preparation
Most people can’t handle moving alone. Into my 20s I was happy to recruit a few buddies and pay them in pizza and beer to help me move. But when I started living with my wife and our combined possessions grew, it became worthwhile for us to hire movers to do it all for us. Depending on where you are moving and how much stuff you have to move, you might be able to hire movers for as little as around $500, but long interstate moves can go beyond $10,000.
However you move, communication and planning are both very important. If you have friends helping you out and need to rent a truck, get that all setup and reserved and on the calendar ahead of time. If you are working with a professional moving company, call them in advance to get a quote and put your move on the schedule.
Easy Move: Planning is key
Procrastination is the enemy of an easy move and planning is the lynchpin. Knowing where things are going, how they are getting there, and when it is going to happen takes the guesswork and worst difficulties out of moving. Plus, if you have a good plan it is easy to call an audible when something goes wrong. With no plan, problems are inevitable.
Plan every detail of the move from packing to unloading the truck. If you can efficiently get everything packed up, loaded, moved, and unloaded, your unpacking experience will be pleasant, exciting, and maybe even fun as you settle into your new home.
It all starts with the right agent
If you want to move, there is a big world of homes to rent and buy. Navigating through listings, open houses, viewings, paperwork, and everything else it takes to find a new home is tough, but a high quality real estate agent makes it much easier.
If you don’t know where to start the search for a new home, start with a search for the perfect agent for your needs. If you don’t know where to find an agent, you’ve come to the right place. AgentHarvest offers listings of vetted, trustworthy agents around the country. Getting the perfect home requires a great agent. For a great agent, AgentHarvest has you covered.
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