Moving house is undeniably one of life’s most stressful events. It’s not just the big things—furniture, appliances, and all those boxes—it’s the little bits that sneak up on you. Should you recycle those books or hold on to them? What about the pile of cables you haven’t touched in years? Then there are the teenagers, whose wardrobes seem to be stuffed with clothes they haven’t worn since secondary school!
To help ease the stress, here are some handy tips to streamline your move:
Sort Through Your Stuff
Start as early as you can and rather than working room by room, target categories, starting with the easier items such as books and leave photographs and personal things until last.
Then make decisions: Sell, donate, recycle, throw away or keep. Take a leaf out of Marie Kondo`s book which is to ask yourself “does this item spark joy?” If the answer is no, then treat the item with respect and send it on its way to a new life.
Handy Tip
Use book buying sites such as We Buy Books – just scan the bar code on the book and pop in a box and post. You probably won`t get as much as if you used E Bay but the time saved in uploading each book individually is invaluable.
Get the family involved
Make sure that you involve children in going through their things – my 23rd old still reminds me that I threw out his old copies of the Beano when we moved! Use the same decision process – donate, recycle, throw away or keep. Pop each item in a labelled box – ask younger children to personalise their own packing box. The key here is involving children in the moving process which will help focus their minds on the positive aspect of the move.
Handy Tip
Take a photo of your child`s new bedroom and ask them to plan where their things are going to go
Use Self Storage
If you have items you’re unsure about or that simply won`t fit into your new home consider using self storage. This buys you some breathing room to sort through what you really need without cluttering up your new home right away. It will also give you chance to decide if your grandmother`s oak dresser is really the right fit for your brand new kitchen!
Handy Tip
Use a self storage company which has lots of different sizes of units – you will only pay for the space you need and self storage staff are great at estimating the best size for you.
Get Packing
Packing a little at a time can reduce last-minute stress but the key here is to label your boxes top and sides – some people even colour coordinate their boxes. I found it really useful to take a photo of the items in the box and then kept an album on my phone of each box. If you are using self storage, make a note of the numbers or names of the boxes in the store and pop it on the inside of the door. This will help especially if you are using storage for a while and may need to know where the tent is for the summer or the Christmas decorations in winter.
Handy Tip
Banana boxes from the supermarket are great for heavier items such as books. Most self storage companies have a range of packing materials though and can advise you on the best way to protect your things during the move.
Moving can feel overwhelming but breaking it down into manageable steps will make the process smoother allowing you to embrace your new beginnings. As Paulo Coehlo wrote:
“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.”
