Everyone has their favorite places to visit. Have you ever considered making your favorite vacation spot something a little more permanent? When you decide to make your dream destination a permanent or secondary home, there are a lot of steps to consider.
No matter where your destination is, moving can be stressful and overwhelming. Complicated processes like car shipping and moving to a new climate or culture could make for more potential stress. Whether you’re moving across the country or the world, here are some universal moving tips to make your moving life that much easier.
1. Hire professionals
Tip number one is to hire as many professionals as you can afford. They do this kind of thing for a living, and you do not. Professional organizers can declutter your home, and packers and movers can pack your belongings, load your moving van, and haul the load. On the other end, professionals can unpack and organize your new home.
The more you can hand off the heavy lifting, the better. Planning, not to mention executing, a move is a full-time job. No one will blame you if you decide to delegate all or part of your big move.
Remember, though, that outsourcing the entire move will still leave you with professionals to coordinate and moving helpers to organize and instruct.
2. Start early
As soon as you have your destination confirmed, you can begin planning your move. Start by organizing your home and planning for efficient packing. This can be as simple as knowing which rooms you need to pack in what order. You could also make a start-to-finish blueprint for the perfect move down to a daily game plan. Whether you’re big on organizational hacks or need some pointers, the main thing is to plan your move as soon as you have the details in place.
Plan to order or purchase moving and packing supplies as soon as possible. Don’t worry about ordering too much; you can always return or give away what you don’t use. Remember, you want to color-code your boxes and furniture to make the packing and unpacking easier, so be sure to invest in colorful tape, stickers, and markers, etc.
Go ahead and book your movers and other professionals who will be helping with the move. You won’t gain points or save money by waiting until the last minute.
3. Stay organized
First things first: create a timetable. Do you have six months to move or three? What can be done in the first few weeks, and what must wait until the day of the move? The more of a plan you have, the easier your move will go. From the basic blueprint, you can schedule what to do and when to do it.
Keep a file or folder of what you need to know to move. Depending on how big your home is and how complicated your move will be, this file could be anything from a manila folder to a full three-ring binder. Start a section for every room in your house, including each bedroom and bathroom, the garage, and other storage spaces.
Don’t forget to add details like your cable and internet accounts and other utilities that need to be switched, mail forwarding, and paperwork, like driver’s licenses that must be updated.
Plan what you can pack first, what needs to wait until the last minute, and what needs to stay or get thrown out. When you know what you have, you can begin sorting and boxing those items as you go. Keep each room’s boxes separate and color-coded to prevent confusion in the move and your new home.
Lastly, keep a necessities box or a bag with some common items you don’t want to be stuck searching for, like toilet paper and chargers. You can carry this box or bag with you from location to location.
4. Do your research
Are you moving to a new part of the country or to another continent entirely? Be sure to do your research on that area’s cultural norms and practices. The last thing you want is to upset your new neighbors with your ignorance of social customs.
If you’re moving to a different neighborhood in your same town, consider checking in with other school parents, PTAs, garden clubs, and HMOs to see where you can most easily fit in and get involved in your new community.
Moving to another state or country can be a bit trickier since cultural norms vary vastly in different parts of the world. Within the same country, you will most likely only suffer some mild embarrassment from making a mistake.
However, committing a cultural faux pas in another country or cultural situation can be a bit direr. Make sure you know the dos and don’ts of your new neighborhood before you get there.
5. Don’t stress
Moving to a new home is natural, and it happens to most people at some point in their lives. There’s no reason moving should be any more stressful than it must be. Relocating is going to take some adjustment but focusing on what you’re gaining rather than losing is key to a healthy moving mindset.
Much more than just hauling your stuff from one location to another, moving represents rebirth and new beginnings. Take these things into account and focus on what you’re moving into rather than what you’re leaving behind.
To minimize stress during your move, try the following tips:
Plan activities for kids and pets so they don’t stay underfoot. Arrange for them to stay elsewhere unless you want them to be part of the experience.
Be packed before moving day. That way, all you need to do is load your necessities box and roll out.
Expect to take the whole day (or more) to move. Don’t plan other activities for moving day or even moving week.
Do you know your destination, or are you still on the hunt? If you’re wondering where to go next, these articles have loads of information on a wide variety of destinations. Whether you’re looking for your next luxury vacation spot or savvy tips for staying on top of your business while you’re away, this travel directory has it all.
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