Step-by-Step Guide to Moving with Minimum Stress
Congratulations! You must be so excited about your new place! You know you have cool neighbors, there are awesome community amenities, and the school system for your kids is top notch! Right? Oooorrrr… All you can think about is how much you are dreading the packing, moving, and unpacking. I get it. This is a tough part of life, and it can be overwhelming. The longer you’ve been in a home, the more challenging it can be to deal with the moving process. And, if you’re like me, and you’re a collector, you are possibly even considering backing out of the deal and staying put just so you don’t have to face any of this.
This blog will be your step-by-step guide to moving in an orderly, manageable fashion, with the least amount of stress possible. Oh, there will be stress! But let’s keep it to a minimum.
Preparing for The Move
You’ll want to start this process as early as possible. There’s nothing worse than fooling yourself into thinking you can pack your entire house in a day or two. Give yourself at least a couple weeks, if possible.
#1 Declutter
First, declutter what you have. You can do this before you start to pack, or as you go. I think it’s easier to do this as you pack your belongings, so you don’t have to sift through everything twice. Bottom line is, you don’t want to move stuff to your next home, only to declutter it there. Moving provides a great opportunity to assess what you have, and determine its value for you, going forward. Expert tip: sell as much as you can on NextDoor.
#2 Get Supplies
- Moving boxes of all sizes. You can collect boxes from friends, restaurants, liquor stores, etc., or buy new from Amazon and get them delivered. Buy more than you think you will need and return the ones you don’t use. TV moving boxes and dish pack (Home Depot), bankers boxes (for books)
- Packing Tape (Costco – they have the best tape and its clear, you need clear for my system)
- Frame Corners and Art Boxes (Amazon)
- Kraft jumbo roll paper (Amazon – to avoid packing foam)
- Stretch wrap 5″ & 20″ (Amazon)
- Newsprint for packing (Self Storage usually has the best price).
- Movers should provide garment boxes and blankets for furniture but check with them. You may want to purchase some blankets anyhow (U-Haul) to pack clunky things like tools. Those will need heavyweight boxes. Everything needs to be in a box.
- You will need an apron, half will do, with pockets, for your supplies. Super annoying when you can’t find them easily.
- For your handy supplies:
- Sharpies
- bright 4×4 Post Its
- box cuter
- screwdriver multi-tool with flat and Phillips heads screwdrivers
- tape gun (I like the 3M H-729 Pistol Grip if you can find it).
- For your handy supplies:
- You might want some drafting tape, don’t use masking tape as it’s hard to get off after a while. Keep a box for your supplies that no one can mess with.
- Clear trash bags for donations
- Black trash for garbage
Remember to keep all your receipts for moving supplies — they could be a tax write off!
#3 Packing
Now on to packing. Every box gets labeled with three lines:
- Top line – the room the box will go into
- Middle line – the box’s number (1-4)
Here is how the numbers on the middle line work:- #1 are items that are needed the day of the move. Bathroom items would be toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc… Bedroom would be everything needed to make the bed and phone charging cables, as well as your pajamas for that night and a change of clothes. Kitchen would be coffee supplies, sponge & dish soap, paper towels, simple set of dishes and glassware for first day (maybe paper).
- #2 items are needed the first week.
- #3 items are needed the first month.
- #4 are decorations or items that stay in storage.
- Bottom line – Brief description of the contents.
This packing system lets you pack in reverse order of what you need at home. So, pack #4, first. #1 gets packed the last day.
When you get to the new house, put a sign on the door of each room labeling what it is to match the boxes so the movers know where to put stuff. Ideally, a map at their point of entry.
Also, have an emergency bag of things that you will need – water, protein bars, lip balm, medicine, tissue – during the move. Install toilet paper, paper towels, and trash cans in the bathrooms first thing when you get to the house. Moving without toilet paper is unpleasant, and you don’t want dirty hands all over your new house.
Set up a staging area in your home. Once a box is packed, move it to the staging area. It shouldn’t leave that area until it is loaded onto the moving truck. Try to group like-items together in the staging area, or group boxes by room in the new home. If you prefer micro-organizing your move, use Elephant Trax system, or just keep a notebook or excel sheet and number the boxes.
#4 Other Tasks
- Order any new furniture and have it scheduled for delivery after your move in date. Or, if you have access to the home prior to your move, you may want to have your new furniture delivered and set up prior to moving all the items from your previous home. A head start is always nice! Speaking of furniture, do a furniture layout ahead of time and post the layout of each room. Your movers will be able to put your couch and tables where they belong! (When I work with clients on a move, I offer this service)
- Order food ahead of time and have it ready when you arrive at your new place. Feed your movers! Make sure you have disposable plates, cups, cutlery, and napkins!
- Include everyday medicine and standard painkillers in your easy-access stuff (like your “Day 1” box)
- Make sure you have enough cold storage to transport all your frozen and refrigerated food. Dry Ice can be purchased at many grocery stores, and one block is usually enough to keep a whole cooler chilled for 24 hours.
- Make arrangements for your pets and kids on moving day. You don’t want anyone running out the door, causing distractions, or becoming a tripping hazard.
- If you have young kids, but you opted not to send them somewhere for the day, have a way to keep them busy during the move. Easy crafts to do while the grown-ups are loading and unloading.
- Your home might not have hard-wired lighting in every room, so make sure you have lamps (or at the very least a flashlight) ready to unpack first. As the sun sets on day one you’ll need a way to see in those rooms.
- Update all accounts. Make sure you set up all your utilities including electricity/gas, TV, phone, internet. Don’t forget to cancel any accounts at your previous home. You don’t want to pay the electric bill for the new homeowners at your old place.
- Change your mailing address on everything! (Don’t forget to set your new default address on Amazon!) You may also need to update your home and car insurance, driver’s license, credit card and other bills that come in the mail, etc. If you own a business that is linked to your home address, be sure to make the update with the State Department of Assessment & Taxation.
- Notify loved ones of your new address (tell them what date it goes into effect.)
- Have your new home deep cleaned – prior to move-in, if possible
Moving Day
You made it to the big day! All your organization and hard work is going to pay off big time for you today. In the morning, eat a good breakfast and stay hydrated throughout the day. You are going to need your energy.
So you have it in one spot, here is a list over everything you will need on day one:
- Shower curtain (if you don’t have glass doors)
- Bath towels
- Medications
- Pet food
- Phone chargers
- Soaps and detergents
- Basic cleaning supplies like rags and all-purpose cleaners in case you need to wipe surfaces as you unpack
- Change of clothes for the day
- Pajamas and clothes for day 2
- Food for the day
- Plates, cutlery, cups, napkins
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Lamps and/or flashlights
- Bedding (including pillows, sheets, blankets, etc.)
- Toiletries (your full evening routine)
- Things to keep the kiddos occupied
- Layout of the house with rooms labeled
- Layout of furniture in each room
When you arrive at the new home, set up your bed FIRST. That way, when you’re exhausted at the end of the day, you have a place to crash. The kitchen is my next favorite place to unpack after the bed is made. Just follow your plan and you will be fine!
After the Move
After you are out of moved out, clean your old home. Pay a professional to deep clean it if you have the means.
Unpack each box FULLY as you go. Don’t unpack half a box and leave the rest somewhere to be shuffled around for days or weeks. Unpack the entire box, break down the box, and set it aside for recycling.
Avoid unpacking burn-out and do a manageable amount each day. If you can commit to unpacking a few boxes a day, or even just 20 minutes of unpacking a day, you’ll be making good progress that is sustainable. Unpacking can be just as exhausting as packing, so go easy on yourself.
Now, you can relax and enjoy your new home!
