Moving to a new home opens a new chapter of a person’s life. It signals a fresh start and a different perspective into your usually mundane activities. Although you might feel a bit of loneliness for leaving what is familiar, you should remember that this is a milestone. Acknowledging and accepting changes in your life will allow bigger opportunities to knock on your door. No matter what your reasons are for moving, whether to live closer to work or to live in a more comfortable abode, you will certainly have to take some time to make the adjustments for this big change.
But the process of moving before this change can become stressful for those who are unprepared. Here are some helpful tips in organizing everything you need before the actual day of moving.
Decide on What You’ll Bring
Decide on what things you will bring with you to your new home. Only bringing the important and heavily sentimental things will help to make the move easier. This will also help you to leave the past behind for a new start in your new home.
Start Packing
While placing your stuff in containers, it is a good idea to put labels on the boxes, listing everything that they contain for easier access later on. Making an inventory of everything you will be taking with you will also help you keep track of all your possessions when you are done unpacking. Make sure that fragile goods are placed in secure containers to minimize the risk of getting them damaged. Don’t forget to label them as fragile!
Important documents should be secured in a single file organizer and always be with you during the move. Start packing weeks before the day you will be moving to avoid doing things at the last minute.
Sort the Things You’ll Leave
Sort the stuff you don’t want to bring to your next home into three categories: sell, donate, and recycle. Some of the things you no longer need may have several willing buyers around your neighborhood or in online reselling apps. You can sell these at fair prices depending on their value and present condition. Other stuff that you can’t sell but are still functional and can still be used by others should be donated or given away.
These can be given to family and friends as hand-me-downs or sent to charity shops, where they will find new owners that need these items more. But things that have seen better days but aren’t total trash should be sent to a recycling facility to reduce waste materials.
Move Things Yourself (or with Professional Movers)
Decide on whether you want to move all your things yourself or you’d hire a moving service to help you out. Time, budget, location, and other factors should be considered in making this decision. If you settled with doing it by yourself, try to schedule it on a fair day for easier loading and unloading. You can enlist the help of people you know to finish the job faster. But if you hired professional movers, communicate well with them to settle all the details.
If you have items that require special handling, such as large furniture, art pieces, or vaults, check if the service you hired can accommodate them. Contact them a few days before about the schedule of your move to ensure that everything is going according to plan.
Notify Important People
Contact people who will be affected by this move. Notify your friends and family who might need the information on your new home. Your bank, your employer, and other companies that need to know that you are moving and changing your address should be notified before the move so you can settle changes in your accounts immediately.
Clean Your Old Home
Whether you decided to move out of your parents’ home, leave your rental apartment, or sell your home to buyers, it is a must that you leave your old living space clean and in good condition. Make sure that after taking your belongings, the rooms of your old residence are ready for the next set of people who will be using them. If needed, also make sure that repairs are taken care of after your leave. This especially applies to apartments rentals where you might want your deposit back and properties to be sold and are yet to be put in the market.
After having prepared everything beforehand, your day of moving will definitely go smoother and become less stressful. Now, all you have to do is make sure that everything goes according to plan before you tackle unpacking for your new life.
