Did you know that 13% of Americans think that moving is more stressful than spending a week in jail? Another 27% say it's more stressful than a job interview and 23% think it's more stressful than planning a wedding.
There's no doubt that packing up and moving to a new place can be not only exciting, but extremely stressful. This is especially true if it's your first time doing so!
Even if you've moved a bunch of times, a headache is almost unavoidable when you relocate. To help you out, here are some of the best moving tips and tricks you should follow!
Start as Early as You Can
Out of all the moving tips you can read, if you need to remember just one, it should be this one: start ASAP! There's no such thing as starting too early, considering that life happens.
When preparing for a move, if you think you need 1 month to pack, start before that. You never know if your baby will get sick, your car gets a flat tire, or you're just too emotionally exhausted one day to tackle moving tasks.
When you give yourself a good buffer, you won't end up feeling rushed and even more stressed out right before you move to your new place. It'll allow you to feel excited and positive about your relocation!
Get Utilities Running Before You Move
On that note, don't wait until you've moved into your house to set up utilities. You might find yourself quite literally in the dark!
A few weeks before your move-in date, call around to get your electricity, gas, water, and internet set up. You should also call your current providers as soon as you can to cancel services so you avoid paying for utilities after you've moved.
Downsize, Downsize, Downsize
Around 25% of Americans have a clutter problem and the average house has 300,000 items. When you take a second to think about it, do you actually need every single one? Probably not.
One of the best moving tips to follow is to downsize as much as possible. Sort out everything into piles to keep, donate/sell, or trash. You can enlist the help of family and friends so they either take your stuff or help you sell or donate it.
Once you've downsized, packing will be so much easier and quicker. Not to mention, you might make some extra cash too!
Have a Moving Schedule or Timeline
You might think moving's easy enough. Just pack up everything, put all the boxes in the truck, and just go, right?
But it's way more complicated than that. If you don't plan everything out, you can end up tearing out your hair and also falling behind.
For most people, moving can be a monumental task. But if you break it down into smaller chunks, it can be much more manageable.
So sit down and take a look at what you need to do. Then, assign small tasks for every day. It can help to tackle your house room by room, giving each one a few days to a week, depending on how big they are.
When you have these small milestones, it can feel much more rewarding and motivating when you check off each day!
Get Estimates for Movers and More
One part of getting started early with your move is to get estimates for movers. You probably have a limited budget, plus you'll have to buy things like boxes, packing tape, etc.
So you don't want to be left with any financial surprises. You already have enough to worry about!
You'll want to call movers (including auto shippers) to get some rough estimates. You can even use a moving calculator if you prefer to do things online.
Or if you want to DIY your move, you should research truck rental services. Once you decide on a company (such as U-Haul), do a deep dive on their services, as well as terms and conditions.
From there, you'll be able to allocate a decent amount of your budget to the above services. Booking early wouldn't hurt either, since you never know if the date and time you desire are highly sought after by others too.
Once you tick this off your moving checklist, it can be a huge load off your shoulders!
Put All Documents Together in a Safe Place
You probably have a folder somewhere in your closet that contains your important documents, such as your birth certificate, passport, insurance, tax returns, etc.
For your move, you'll want to gather these documents and put them in a safe place where they can't get damaged. We suggest using a plastic bin since you can clearly see where your documents are and they'll be protected from water damage or accidental folding.
Having all these documents in one bin also makes it much easier for you to access them after you've moved.
Label Everything
When it comes to important moving tips, you need to follow this one!
It might be tempting to just throw everything into boxes and call it a day, but it's worth it to take some extra time to label these boxes. Write down what room it is and assign each box a number.
Then, get a sheet of paper and put down all the items in each box. To save some time, you can do this digitally on something like Google Docs. You can also save a little time by writing down the category of contents instead of each item if you're short on time.
Group all your boxes by room so when you unpack, you're not running from room to room. It can help to color code the boxes so you know instantly where to put each box when you get to your new place.
Play Tetris With Your Belongings
Every little inch of space counts, so make sure you use it all! Otherwise, you might be taking more trips than needed.
Get creative and play Tetris with your stuff.
Bringing your luggage? Stuff it with some heavier items so you can drag the suitcases around.
Got a bunch of socks and undies? Stuff them into fragile items like vases and cups to help cushion them. You can also stuff them into your shoes to make use of that empty space.
Wondering where to put all your small containers of spices? Pop them in a pot and put the lid on!
While all the above might sound simple, this is one of the moving tricks many people don't use!
Prepare Your Appliances
If you're bringing your appliances along with you, you'll need to prep them before the big day. For example, you should empty your fridge and defrost it. You should also give all your appliances a good clean.
Once they're prepped, use plastic wrap or heavy-duty tape to secure any moving parts, like doors. This reduces the chances of your appliances breaking while in transit.
Take Pictures Before You Unplug Things
You might think you know exactly where each wire goes right now. But with so many electronics, are you sure about that?
Don't take that risk by just unplugging everything in one go. You might find yourself frustrated and wasting a bunch of time in your new home!
Before you start unplugging, snap a picture of the wire configurations. Once you're moved in, you can then refer to the pictures and quickly get everything set up and working again.
This is one of the moving tricks you'll be glad you picked up!
Pack Electronics in Their Original Boxes
Your spouse might've laughed at you for being a packrat. But if you've saved all the original boxes for your appliances, then you're having the last laugh now!
These boxes are almost guaranteed to keep your electronics safe when you move. After all, they were shipped to different locations in these boxes, so that means the boxes and padding inside were designed specifically to protect these things!
If you can't find these original boxes, make sure you stock up on things like bubble wrap and moving blankets. These will help cushion fragile items during the move.
Use These Moving Tips and Tricks for Your Next Relocation
Now you have some fantastic moving tips and tricks to use the next time you move.
The most important things you can do are to start early, downsize as much as you can, have a plan of attack, and get help with moving and shipping your car so you have less stress on your plate. By using these moving tricks, you make it much easier on yourself when you open that new chapter in your life!
Are you ready to get started with one of the moving tips? Then use our auto shipping calculator now!
