How To Make Your Next Move Less Stressful

While it’s often overshadowed by the excitement of moving to a nicer place, the stress of a big move can be a bit overbearing sometimes. This can lead to bouts of anxiety, lack of sleep, and maybe even turn a few of those hairs grey. Fortunately, there are certain steps you can take to make this better. That’s why I’ve taken the time to put together a guide on how to make your next move less stressful.

Start As Early as Possible

No matter how far away your move is, it’s never too early to start preparing. Even if it’s going to be next year, you can start packing up all the stuff you never use and either pack it all away in your home or put it in a storage locker to free up some space.

The key to avoiding the stress is to spread the moving process out. Most people get anxious because they don’t begin until they’re in the final month before moving day, which forces them to be on a tight schedule. Your stress levels will be significantly lower if half of your things are already packed a month before moving time.

Take It One Room at a Time

Another common mistake people make is trying to pack up the whole house at once. If you start early, as I suggested, and only pack the non-essentials, then you’ll have to pick and choose things from around the house to put away.

This tip becomes more relevant once you’re in the final stages. If you go room by room, you’ll have a physical counting system for how close you are to being done, lowering your stress as you go. Once you’re on your last room, it will truly feel like you’re in the final stretch instead of being unsure how much is left.

Get Your Children Out of the Way

Many guides on how to make your next move less stressful will suggest getting others to help you pack, and while I don’t disagree with that, I strongly recommend that you don’t go to your children for this. Kids are not great at packing up their things. They get easily distracted, and they usually don’t know how to strategically put their toys together in a way that saves space.

That leads to you checking on them constantly and redoing some (if not all) of their work, adding you your anxiety levels. That’s why it’s best to send them off to a friend’s or grandparent’s house. Sure, that’s one less person that will be able to come and help you pack, but at least the kids are taken care of, and you don’t have to worry about them anymore.

Hire Professional Movers

At the end of the day, nobody does it better than the pros. There are plenty of reasons to hire a moving company, but the number one perk is the fact that you can make the packing of your furniture and boxes someone else’s problem. Plus, as long as you hire a highly reviewed company, you’ll know that your stuff is in capable hands.