Each year an estimated 43 million Americans relocate to a new home or apartment. Moving can be overwhelming. Whether you are moving to a new community for a job or business opportunity or moving to a house to support a growing family, here are some tips that should help ease your transition between homes.
1. Hire a Long Distance Moving Company
Because moving can be such a monumental task on your own, if you are bringing the majority of your possessions including furniture and appliances, hiring a long distance moving company can end up saving you lots of time, energy and money as your things are more likely to stay safe and damage-free. Hiring a long distance moving company several weeks in advance of your move will let you rest assured that your things will get transported to your new home without having to trade hands. You will be able to have everything set up at your old house for longer, and be able to unpack it faster in the new location, making access to the things you need day-to-day much more convenient.
2. Recruit a Team
While the moving company will help you transport boxes and furniture, very rarely will they help with the actual packing process. For help with packing, recruit a team of friends or relatives who you trust. If you have things you are looking to sell or give away, give people who help you help with packing or moving first dibs. This kills two birds with one stone because you are getting rid of unwanted things while repaying your helpers for the favor.
3. Look into Self Storage Units
If you are moving and can’t bring all your furniture, appliances or other possessions to the new home right off the bat, looking into a storage unit can be very helpful by allowing you to hold onto things until you can decide if you want it in the new location or want to sell or donate it. Storage companies often have options that will keep your things from getting ruined through options like climate-controlled storage. You won’t be forced to make rushed decisions about what to toss and what to keep and you’ll be able to make a more informed decision later on.
4. Make Notification Calls
All too often, when thinking about a move people think about packing and moving, but may forget about some of the important notification calls they could make in advance to ease the transition. For example, a few weeks before your move, visit the post office and fill out a change of address form. Also call utility companies and schedule them to turn off utilities at your old house on the day of your move, and turn them on at the new house on the day you move in.
From researching storage and moving companies, packing, and dealing with all the miscellaneous things that are bound to come up, moving to a new place may cause you to feel like you are being dragged in several locations at once. To combat the stress, try to stay organized by creating a timeline of events and have as many things taken care of gradually over several weeks so it is not all left to the last minute.
