Moving season is upon us. ‘For Sale’ signs are up, open houses are in full swing, and my local UHaul is busier than ever. According to many sources, moving is one of the most stressful life events we will experience. These five tips, however, will help alleviate much of the stress.
- Declutter at least 6-12 months in advance. Whether you have a one bedroom apartment or a five bedroom single family home, decluttering takes much longer than you think. According to The Daily Mail, the average home contains 300,000 items. That’s a lot of decisions that must be made. Create a timeline to keep you on track and methodically go through each room to determine what moves with you and what needs to be donated, sold, or recycled.
- Pack in advance. Packing is physically exhausting! If you no longer need certain items before the move, consider packing as much as possible in advance. If your home is going on the market, locate a place to store pre-packed boxes. Consider temporarily renting a storage unit or Pod if you don’t have space in your current home.
- Use good quality moving supplies. Perhaps you’re saving all the shipping boxes that you receive. Many boxes, however, are too flimsy for fragile items. Purchase double-wall or heavy duty boxes. These boxes have two corrugated cardboard layers instead of one. Same goes for tape. Nothing drives our team more crazy than poor quality tape! We only use Scotch shipping or Scotch moving tape on our projects.
- Learn how to pack a box. It’s not rocket science, but it’s amazing how many poorly packed boxes we open if we are only hired for the unpack portion of a move. No offense to movers but writing ‘FRAGILE’ on top of a box will not protect your breakable items. Save every bit of bubble and air pillows you receive. Pad boxes with towels, blankets, and pillows. We are proud recyclers at The Organizing Professionals and have an entire storage unit filled with recycled boxes and packing paper.
- Pace Yourself! Remember when I said packing is physically exhausting? Take a tour of each room in your home, estimate how long you think it will take to pack…then double it. Most of us are notoriously poor at estimating how long a project will take. Packing always takes longer than you think. Increase your estimates and plan on completing your packing at least one to two days before your move. The last few items always take the longest.
If you live in the greater Philadelphia area, hire us for your move. We provide complete move management services which will help you avoid the five most common mistakes before you move. Click the link for more information.
https://theorganizingprofessionals.com/services/moving-services/