Anyone who’s moved house once or twice knows that it’s no small or easy task. The number of things that need to be planned, organized, coordinated, and executed can be overwhelming, to say the least, and finding the time to do it all while still keeping up with your regular life sometimes seems like mission impossible.
However, there are ways to get through a big move and keep your sanity in check. We’ve rounded up a few helpful tips to get you through the ordeal and come out the other side unscathed.
Get Help
Especially when you’re moving to a new city (or even country), you need to make peace with the fact that you probably can’t do it all on your own. Calling in reinforcements in one form or another is going to help you make sure you get everything done efficiently and save you a d whole lot of stress in the long run.
You could ask for help from family and friends (bribing them with a pizza will usually do the trick), or if you’re moving long-distance and need things coordinated really well, you could hire cross country movers to get you through the process. This might feel like an expense you don’t want to dish out, but assistance with packing, unpacking, moving, and organizing your whole moving process will definitely be worth the dollars.
Plan Ahead
Sometimes opportunities arise out of the blue and there’s nothing much we can do besides roll with the punches. Whether you know about your move months or only a few weeks in advance, you should try to start planning for it as early as you possibly can. The earlier you start getting your ducks in a row, the better you’ll feel in the weeks and days leading up to the big event. Your planning might involve house-hunting for a new place, scoping out your new area, taking measurements on furniture and making sure you have everything you’ll need (and that it will all fit), making any necessary purchases, calling moving companies and arranging for home inspections if that applies to you.
Keep a List
Trying to micromanage a move within the confines of your brain is going to set you into overdrive, especially while you’re still trying to balance work and family obligations. As soon as the decision to move is finalized, start compiling a list of everything that needs to be done (and by when). Having it all out on paper or digitally on your phone will help you to feel calmer in the fact that you know what needs to be done and you won’t forget anything.
This is a tactic that will help prevent mishaps like arriving at your new home and realizing that you haven’t organized a new internet connection for your work-from-home job – yikes!
Take Time Off
If you’re moving across the country, there’s a big chance you will have resigned from your current workplace and it might feel out of order to ask for time off when you’re already leaving at the end of the month. However, most people are understanding of the fact that this is a big life change that requires loads of work and coordination. Ask your boss for some time off if you need to make a trip to your new city to organize some things.
It’s also crucial that you have a few full days off before the move, as well as after the move. This time will allow you to really get stuck into your packing process beforehand, and give you time to unpack and organize your new life once you’ve arrived in the new house. Dedicating a few days to unpacking and setting yourself up can help eliminate those weird couple of weeks where you seem to be living out of boxes.
Take Care of Yourself
When things are busy and chaotic and your whole week seems to be ruled by packing boxes, moving companies, and making phone calls to various entities, it can be difficult to even find the time to take care of yourself.
You have to remember a few key things when you’re moving: you’re going to be short on time as well as resources. With plates and cutlery packed away in the back of a moving van, sometimes getting takeout is the simplest and easiest route to take. This is totally okay for a day or two, but living on takeout for days on end while you’re packing, traveling and unpacking can lead to tiredness, gut issues, and an overall decline in the way you feel.
Try to plan ahead for this. Keep a few key kitchen items out of the boxes to allow yourself to scrape together a few home-cooked meals, or consider pre-making and freezing some easy healthy dishes. Try to schedule your days efficiently so you get good quality sleep too.
Make Peace
When you’re moving, you need to come to terms with two things: it’s going to be stressful and something will probably go wrong. This is a difficult time and things don’t always go according to plan, but being prepared for that can help you to accept and move past any issues that arise much quicker.
Instead of dwelling on the stress and chaos, try to focus on the benefits and positive aspects of your move. You’re starting a new chapter of your life with exciting new opportunities around the corner! The moving process is only the very beginning, and once you have overcome that fear of the unknown and made it through the hard work, you’ll be reaping the benefits of your labor.
Final Thoughts
The best tips for overcoming stress in a big move all come down to organizing ahead of time and planning efficiently. If you have everything in order long before it needs to be, this will eliminate last-minute panic sessions and things going wrong. Plan as much as you can and start getting organized much earlier than you think you need to, and then just enjoy the journey.
