We have a guest post on the blog today, from interior designer Suzie Wilson. Suzie is an interior designer with more than 20 years of experience. What started as a hobby (and often, a favor to friends) turned into a passion for creating soothing spaces in homes of every size and style. Here are Suzie's tips to make moving day a less stressful experience.
Moving is a unique combination of exciting and stressful – there’s a lot to do, but at the end of it all, you’re in a new place to call your own. However, it’s easy to shift the balance toward more stress than necessary. Here are a few common moving day mistakes people make, and how to avoid them:
Still Packing Up
One of the biggest mistakes people moving can make is not having the house or apartment packed by the time moving day arrives. Yes, there will be a few items you deliberately don’t pack up until you’re ready to move, but these should be the exception, not the rule. The last thing you want is to spend the day rushing back and forth between managing moving and hastily throwing the remaining stuff into boxes.
Not only will this be enormously stressful on the moving out end, but it will also cause stress in your new home. Last-minute packing is rarely thoughtful packing – the odds are good you’ll have a lot more organization work to do when you unpack if you packed it in a rush.
Moving Items Randomly
Before you start piling boxes into cars and lugging furniture down staircases, come up with a game plan. The last thing you want is to get halfway through packing everything up and then realize you need to rearrange everything to get the rest to fit.
Generally speaking, it’s best to move furniture first. You can usually find ways to fit boxes on top of couches or beneath tables, but it would be pretty difficult to get it to work the other way around. After furniture, move the heaviest boxes so that you can stack lighter boxes on top and reduce the risk of unbalanced stacks and damaged stuff.
Not Prepping Your New Home
The last thing you want is to move all your stuff into your new house only to find it’s freezing cold and the lights won’t turn on. Make sure you’ve had utilities put in your name, and double-check that the start date on the utilities is before – or at the very latest, on – your move-in date.
If you have access to your new home before your move day, consider going in and doing some basic cleaning tasks before you move in boxes. Empty homes tend to accumulate a fair amount of dust and dirt. Taking time beforehand to sweep up floors and wipe down surfaces will help your house feel homey much faster and save you work on moving day.
Neglecting Your Moving Team
Whether you’ve hired movers or gathered friends and family together for a DIY effort, make sure you treat your team right. Have plenty of water bottles and snacks on hand to keep everyone hydrated and energized through the move. If you’re hiring pros, they’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness. If you’re working with volunteers, they won’t secretly resent you for starving them all day.
Once everything is done, be sure to thank the people who’ve helped you. You may not realize that it’s appropriate to tip professional movers who have done a good job protecting your items from point A to point B. If you’ve asked friends, buy everyone pizza and drinks to show them you’re grateful for all their help.
Adding Unnecessary Stress
Certain parts of moving day are inherently stressful, but there may be ways you can reduce your stress levels during your move. Try to identify sources of anxiety and see if there are any you can eliminate. For example, are you worried about navigating a moving truck around town? Consider a moving storage container instead. Basically, you call the moving company to have the container brought to you, then once it’s all packed up, your hired driver transports your stuff to the new home. All you’ll need to worry about is the loading and unloading (and even then, you can hire someone to help you).
These little gifts you give yourself will add up and make moving day substantially less stressful. By avoiding common mistakes, you put yourself in the best position to make your move as seamless as possible. This means you can confidently manage the moving process and enjoy your new home!
For more info about our guest blogger Suzie, please visit her website at Happier Home.