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How to Prepare for a Move

Moving house is a huge and almost unavoidable headache. At some point in your life, you will experience having to move. The trouble with moving house is the small things; the thousand little things you have to do to make sure your move happens smoothly. On their own, each small thing is a minor task, but when you put them together, they become a massively overwhelming chore.

This is why the mere thought of moving house worries people. What do people do when they are scared? They freeze or they flee. This is why you think about postponing getting ready for your move until the very last moment. But unless you can avoid the move altogether, Pillar Management warns, delaying to prepare for a house move only makes the work harder when you eventually begin.

There is a better way to tackle a house move than playing dead. What is the better way?

• Embrace the anxiety
First, you must understand that it is normal to feel stressed with any difficult task, that’s just how the human mind responds. But you should also know that your stress response is often exaggerated. The task is usually less difficult than how you imagined it.

• Plan the steps
Another reason you feel overwhelmed is your mind is not looking at the small steps but the entire effort you need to pack everything in your house. The moment you stop looking at the whole and focus instead on the baby steps, the task will start to look easier.

To help you do this, we have put together a simple guide to guide your house move. If you follow this plan, you will be able to enjoy rather than endure the process.

How to Prepare for the Move

1. Start early

The number one enemy you have to fight is time. It is not that you don’t have enough time, but you may underestimate how much time it actually takes to pack your home. It is better to overestimate the work and finish well ahead of your moving day, rather than be pressed for time and find yourself making mistakes. At the very least, start three weeks before moving day.

2. Schedule your time

You shouldn’t try to do large chunks of packing all at once, else you will burn out. Moreover, it is harder to find three hours of free time every other day than it is to find one hour every day. You just need to set aside one hour for focused work and do it consistently.

3. Create a roadmap

Even after you create a schedule, if you are not methodical when packing the house, you will face frustration and waste a lot of time. Before you begin, decide where you want to start and the order in which you will pack the home.

Are you going to pack the least-used items first? Are you going to go room by room? Are you going to pack items by category – books, décor, shoes, etc? Or are you going to combine these methods?

4. Take inventory

As you put items into their boxes, take inventory. Use a notebook, your Smartphone, or some device and record items before you put them away. Make sure the item is listed under the right heading. This step will make it easy to trace your belongings; you will be able to tell if things are missing. It will help you avoid looking for things when you need them.

5. Purge your home

You don’t want to transport chaos and clutter to your new home. Use this period of moving house to purge your home. The fact is you may not really know how much stuff you own and a lot of those things are no longer useful. As you pack, separate items that need to be trashed, sold, or given away into one pile. Do not take them with you to your new home.

6. Pack boxes safely

What’s the worst thing that could happen after you finished packing a box? It is for that box to burst and spill its content all over the house. Not only will you have to start packing again, but your items could also get damaged. Avoid that by not over packing boxes. Also, reinforce them –sides and under – with tape. Keep the heaviest items at the bottom to keep the load balanced.

7. Color code and label boxes

For every room in your home, choose a color and label the boxes from that room with those colors. If you want some boxes or items moved first or last, make sure you indicate this on the boxes. Label boxes with fragile or easily damaged items to remind the movers to handle them with care.

8. Rest, hydrate, and dress appropriately

Finally, rest and sleep well throughout the period. It is better to go to bed early and wake up earlier than to work late and not get enough sleep. Remember moving house is a potentially dangerous task. The risk of getting injured is greater when you are tired. Drink a lot of water, take breaks and wear the right kind of clothing.