If you’re feeling stressed out about your move, you’re not alone. According to surveys, 64% of people who’ve moved within the last three years claim their recent move was the most stressful event they’ve ever experienced. 43% of respondents who moved without professional help said their relocation was so stressful, they’d never do it again.
Six out of 10 people who’ve relocated on their own — without the assistance of professional movers and packers — say moving is so stressful, it’s worse than going through a divorce or planning a wedding! Yikes.
Is there anything you can do to manage all that stress? To keep your mental health in check while you transfer your entire life to a new place? Fortunately, the answer is yes. There are several anxiety-busting tactics you can apply to your move to keep it as low stress as possible.
The professional movers and packers at Ed’s Moving & Storage share their top tips below.
Give Yourself Plenty of Time
Lack of time is one of the greatest sources of stress for most people who find moving extremely stressful. And it’s no wonder — if you’re moving an entire house full of stuff, you can’t do it in a weekend or even in a week. There’s just too much to move and too little time to sort through everything properly.
That’s why you need to start early. How early? Ideally, you should give yourself at least eight weeks to tackle everything, but if you need to move suddenly you might not have that kind of time. As soon as you know you’ll be moving, start making a plan for sorting and organizing your things. Even if you only have a couple of weeks, the sooner you start, the less frantic the process will feel.
Check out our tips for creating a move timeline to keep your relocation on track!
Hire Professional Movers and Packers
If you have the budget for it, nothing helps take moving stress off your shoulders like hiring a professional moving company. Opting for full moving and packing services is even better.
With full moving and packing services, your professional movers do far more than load, transport, and unload your belongings — they actually pack everything in your house for you. Since they’re properly trained in packing best practices, you can rest assured even your most fragile items will be properly packed and well protected. Plus, many moving companies offer custom crating, which can be incredibly helpful for transporting large, fragile items, such as artwork and decor pieces, safely.
Downsize Before You Go
When you have a ton of stuff you rarely use, moving it to your new place doesn’t really make sense. If you’re not using it, why stress yourself out about moving it? Downsize.
Even if you’re not moving to a smaller space, downsizing before your move can be hugely liberating. You’ll purge of all the unnecessary stuff that’s clogging up your space and get a fresh, clean, well-organized start in your new home. Your movers and packers will appreciate your efforts, too, as the packing process will take far less time without so much clutter.
Plus, you can sell the items you decide to get rid of and make some extra cash to offset the cost of your move. Or, if you choose to donate your belongings, you’ll be helping someone who needs them far more than you do.
Not sure how to downsize efficiently? Check out our top tips for downsizing before a move.
Start With the Small Stuff
When you’re getting an early start on your move, or if you’re feeling like you don’t know where to start, just start small. That might mean going through your desk or a spare closet or even going through your book collection to get rid of the ones you don’t read.
Any progress is progress, even it doesn’t feel like much. Ultimately, you’ll notice all the small tasks you completed add up to a big dent in the total amount of work you need to do. And, when you start with the small stuff first, it’ll help you stay more organized as you move on to the larger items you need to sort through.
Stay Organized
When it comes to moving, organization is paramount for keeping stress levels in check. If you’re not the super-organized type and are confused about how to even start, try these tips:
● Organize the house you currently live in. Use bins, totes, and modular products to organize kitchen and bathroom items so they’re super easy to handle when you arrive at your new place.
● Sort through your belongings room by room. Start with the rooms you use the least and sort through your things to determine what you’ll keep and get rid of. As you get closer to your move date, start sorting through rooms that see more traffic.
● Create a label system. If you have tons of small items, like crafting gear or kids’ toys, organizing those things into clear storage boxes and labeling them clearly can make the packing and unpacking process much easier.
● Set a time goal. Give yourself a realistic time goal for sorting through your things and organizing them before your move. That way, you have a concrete goal to focus on, which will help you stay on track. Maybe you want to do one room per day or if you’re feeling ambitious plan for more. Putting a time limit on your process helps you stay accountable and reduces your likelihood of dealing with an all-out, frantic scramble right before your move.
Check out our handy moving checklist for more ideas to help you organize your move!
Create a Move Budget
Relocation expenses can pile up in a hurry if you don’t plan them out beforehand. And if you’re like most people, finances can stress you out. Mitigate that stress by creating a move budget, and you’ll deal with far fewer unexpected costs throughout your move.
Looking for Professional Moving Services in Tacoma? Contact Ed’s Moving & Storage
If you’re looking to hire professional movers in the Tacoma or Seattle area, get in touch with our team at Ed’s Moving & Storage so we can help you shoulder the work! Since 1965, our family-owned company has proudly provided a wide variety of moving services, including full packing services, crating, storage solutions, and much more.
To get started or learn more about how we can help you, feel free to request a fast moving quote or give us a call at 253-581-2446. You can also send us a message for more information.