You’ve finally found your new home, all documents have been signed, you’re now daydreaming about cooking breakfast in your new kitchen, and then you remember… you need to start packing your whole life up!
The moving process is one of those things that nearly everyone finds unpleasant, but don’t worry, we’ve selected five moving tips to make your whole process much smoother.
Get organized and start early.
There’s really no secret here: the more organized you are and the more time you have, the less stressed you’ll be! Over-prepare and under-spend by booking things early in advance, setting a packing schedule, creating a budget, and labeling everything.
Decide whether you want to hire movers or do it yourself.
If you’re not sure whether you should hire movers, consider these three things:
What’s your moving budget?
How much help do you have?
How big is the move?
If you have the extra cash, not many people are available to help, or your move is really large, hiring a moving company might be the way to go! Having someone to do the hard work for you will make your life much easier. Just remember to do your research and get quotes.
Otherwise, book yourself a UHAUL, assemble a moving lineup with all your friends and family, and repay them with some pizza!
Break it down into rooms.
Tackle one room at a time, starting with the ones you don’t use as actively to minimize any disruptions to your day-to-day activities. Label all boxes according to their room & contents and try to place them together in the moving truck. Doing so will help your movers know where every box belongs and will make unpacking much easier!
Extra tip: Don’t put off the kitchen to end. All the breakables require special care and take the longest to pack.
Clean as you go.
You’ve finally packed everything in the room, but there’s more to moving out than just packing. Make sure you clean all the newfound dust, swipe and mop the floors, take out any garbage you might have created, and remember to leave the place how you found it. Paint the walls back to their original colours, clean the carpets and patch any holes you made. Aside from being good etiquette, this guarantees you get your full security deposit back!
Transfer utilities and update your address.
Don’t wait until you’ve already moved to transfer your utilities! You know you’ll need water, heat, electricity, and - let’s be honest - Wi-Fi, so get all of that done in advance to make the transition as seamless as possible. While you’re at it, go ahead and update your mailing address too. You don’t want any of your packages going to your old place.