How Not to Hate Moving

Moving can be a nightmare for most people. The boxes, the organization, the chaos, the disorder, the packing tape, the bubble wrap, the broken things, and the unpacking on the other end all add up to sleepless nights of worry and stress. When you were younger, you probably only had a few pieces of furniture, a few books, and your clothes. Now that you are married with children, you have an entire house full of stuff. And the longer you have lived in one place, the more likely you are to have accumulated more stuff. For some reason, it just multiplies in the attic and garage when you’re not looking. Then you go to pack it all up and move it across the state or across the country and are amazed that it can’t fit into a UHaul truck.

There are a few things you can do to make moving less of a nightmare. While the adventure is bound to have bumps along the road, you can smooth the path with preparation and hard work. Or you can just pay someone to do it for you. Unfortunately, most of us do not have bank accounts that give us the freedom to write checks for every chore that we find distasteful. So we are stuck packing our own boxes and loading that refrigerator into the truck with the help of a few friends that you can pay in cases of beer.

The first step in making moving hassle-free is to get the right boxes for the job and ensure they are organized properly. Put kitchen items with kitchen items and keep non-kitchen items out of the boxes labeled for the kitchen. It sounds simple enough, but really makes a difference when unpacking boxes on the other end. Your headaches will be minimized with a little foresight and organization. Plus, if you hire movers, labeling the boxes appropriately helps them deliver the right boxes to the right room.

The next step in decreasing the headaches associated with moving involves organizing the actual moving day. If you are only moving a short distance or have time to make several trips, you may be able to get away with a smaller vehicle. However, if you are moving across the country, you will likely need a truck that can haul everything at once. Also consider the time of year you will be traveling and make appropriate accommodations for the weather. For example, if you are moving in the northern part of the USA during the middle of winter, you will need to be prepared for snow or sleet and freezing temperatures. Likewise, moving in the middle of summer in the south can be fraught with dramatically high temperatures that may even be dangerous.

Keeping these few points in mind will go a long way to ensuring your moving day goes smoothly. Good luck with packing and getting everything to your new home in one piece.