AD Collaborative Post // Moving house repeatedly ranks top of “The Most Stressful Life Events” polls. And it’s not surprising. There is so much to arrange and organise, whether you’re flying solo or with a young family—not to mention anxiety about the sale falling through last-minute.
Photo by Minh Pham on Unsplash
So how can you stay organized and make your move as low-stress as possible?
1. Start Planning Early
When moving house, lists are your friends. And the sooner you start planning; the easier moving day will be. Remember that some services will need booking weeks in advance. For example, removal companies often book up during peak moving seasons.
With traditional, on-market house sales currently taking up to a month longer than usual due to a backlog of transactions accumulated during the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, you’ll have plenty of time to prepare.
Lists you might want to start making include people and organizations to update your address with, items to pack or store, documents required to buy or sell and service providers you have booked or plan to book (removals companies, house cleaners, insurers etc.).
2. Declutter Your House
Every house has collections of never-used items that take up space and look untidy. Don’t take your clutter with you to the new home. Moving is the perfect time to declutter and start afresh.
Use the time leading up to the move to sort through clothes and donate what you never wear to charity. Venture into the loft or the “junk room” and get rid of anything that has been gathering dust for years. It can be difficult to part with belongings. Make the process fun and potentially boost the moving house coffers by holding a garage sale or inviting friends over to take any items they can make use of.
Waiting for the next stage in buying or selling a house can be frustrating, and it often feels like nothing is happening. Use the time available to do something productive and organise your current home before moving to the new one.
3. Label Everything!
Packing your belongings with care will make it much easier to find what you need and get organized in your new home.
How you choose to label boxes is a personal choice but adding a room and a brief description of the items is a good start. Unpacking for many people is a gradual process that takes place over several days or weeks. At least if you know where to put each box, there will be some semblance of organization until everything is neatly put away.
It’s also a good idea to have one or two boxes labelled as “moving day essentials”. This will make it easy for you to find items like the kettle and radio when you first arrive in your new home — unpacking is much more fun with a cuppa and some music!
4. Enlist Professional Help
Why kill yourself managing it all when there are countless services available that will make moving house a lot easier?
Buying and selling property is an expensive business, and for many of us, the biggest financial commitment we’ll ever make. The cost of a few luxury services that will keep your stress levels in check will be a drop in the ocean, yet could make you feel much more organized and in control of the move.
Consider upgrading your removals service to include packing and unpacking at either end. Some companies will even help you create a packing plan. If you have children or pets, treat them to a day or two with a professional minder when the big tasks need to be completed, such as dismantling furniture and last-minute packing.
5. Take Control of the House Sale
If you’re selling a house, remove the uncertainty of a traditional on-market sale with an estate agent by selling privately, preferably to a cash buyer.
Cash house buyers offer a number of benefits. There is a lower risk of delays or a failed sale because the buyer is not part of a property chain that could collapse and there is no risk of them pulling out of the transaction because they are refused a mortgage. This makes the sale more secure, making it easier to plan and organise your move. You might be able to find a private buyer, alternatively, consider using a cash house buying company.
Finding a buyer on the open market can take months and there is no guarantee that an offer will progress to completion. This makes it incredibly difficult to effectively organise a move.
6. Focus on the Positives
If it all becomes too much — too many lists, too many bills to pay, too many uncertainties — take a break and allow yourself to feel the excitement of your new adventure. Any stresses and challenges involved in moving will be temporary, and soon you will have a beautiful new home to enjoy!
Keeping calm and re-focusing on the positives when stress levels rise will make it easier for you to stay organized.
Moving house does not need to be a stressful, chaotic experience. Start planning early and indulge in a few “luxury” services to smooth the way for a seamless, beautifully organized move.
[…] first thing that you’re going to need to do is makes sure that you’re organized throughout the entire process. If you can, create a list of what needs to be completed and then tick it off as […]
Good and useful tips.
These are all amazing tips! We’re hoping to move soon and it’s such a stressful time at the moment. I’ve been having a big de-clutter and making lots of lists! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Ahh these are great tips! I have never moved but I will be within the next couple of years!
https://www.emilyclareskinner.com
I left it so late to pack up and declutter when I moved out to uni and that was just one room, so I can’t even imagine the stress of moving a whole house with every room involved! I agree with you that planning early is essential to eliminating stress xx
Some great tips here, I’ve moved house a few times and its such a faff. Ruth ruthwrites.blog
Such an interesting read ! Thanks for sharing informative tips. I came across your blog while browsing and I’m glad I did. Your blog has tons of information.
I’ve learnt this the hard way recently with moving, I was not organised at all! Infact you could argue I was the complete opposite. I didn’t bother to label anything so it was a pure nightmare unpacking x
These are all great tips! Getting organized and labelling everything and with as much detail it can help so much when you need to unbox all your stuff as well as decluttering right before! Also planning earlier makes so much easier. Thank you for sharing, will surely make use of them whenever we are going to move x
These are great tips for not going crazy in a move. Getting rid of the clutter is huge. We used to move about once a year. We have been in our current house for 10 years and I notice that I have WAY MORE CLUTTER. I need to pretend I’m moving and go through everything. lol
I wish I had read this post before we moved last year lol! We ended up decluttering as we went and it was a big mess.
Moving can be stressful, however, you’ve included some fab tips! It’s so important to declutter and label everything possible xx
Love these tips Jenny! I know before I move out a massive declutter will 100% be needed!!”
I can’t lie, I HATED moving house. The mess, the disorder, the finding a home for something but it not being quite right. We only moved a few streets down but my God, it was stressful. If I were to do it again, I would have to be far more organised from the start and all the way through!
Great tips!
Rosie
Labelling everything is something I forgot on my big move from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. I’ve always regretted it. Each box I opened was in the wrong room and I couldn’t find the stuff I needed for a while when we first moved in.
Ah I love this!! I’m at the point where I’m starting to look/set things in motion so I feel like this is definitely one I’ll be returning to a little further down the line when I’m at this point. My professional help comes in the form of my parents though, aha. I particularly love the last point of just stepping back and remembering the fun and excitement in it. Thanks for sharing!