10 ways to prepare yourself for moving

From a logistics perspective alone, moving house and home is a busy time, full of tasks and demands on your attention. But it can also be an unexpectedly emotional time, so it’s really important that you look after your health and wellbeing along the way too.

If it’s been a while since you moved house, our rundown of the ten things you can do to prepare yourself may help, so that you can get to moving day and the first day in your new home without feeling burnt out.

1. Manage your own expectations

If you prepare yourself beforehand that moving is potentially going to be a demanding time, with some challenging decisions along the way, you will be in a lot better place to handle the whole process, and any sense of disappointment if things go wrong.

You may need to have closure too on coming to terms with leaving your home, especially if you have a lot of history there. Expect to feel a little sad if that’s the case, and know that this is perfectly normal. Consider having a little party to say goodbye to your home, and start to embrace thoughts of your new home and the prospect of change.

Most of all, give yourself time to emotionally accept the change and expect the colourful journey of ups and downs ahead. You can do this!

2. Make packing up as easy as you can

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was packing up a whole home full of possessions. If your mind is blown by packing up every room in the house and all its contents then approach it a bit at a time. Start with the areas of your home you find easiest to tackle, that are perhaps the most accessible and already organised.

If the thought of going through the attic or garage is just too much, leave it until last. You’ll feel a lot more confident to tackle the less appealing areas, perhaps full of dusty old boxes, when you’ve conquered the majority of your house packing.

3. Organise your packing

If you think you are going to remember what’s in each box when you get to unpacking in your new home, we can guarantee you won’t. So don’t rush it. Take the extra time when packing, to make a simple record of what’s in each box.

You don’t need to list every single item, but perhaps a broad description such as ‘photographs and plant pots’, or the room they’ve come from or going to for example ‘living room nick-nacks’ or ‘main bedroom cushions’.

Either write on the box itself or set yourself up a system, either numbers or coloured stickers on the boxes and keep a list in a separate journal, notebook, or folder on your phone, or even photograph what’s in the box once you’ve packed it.

4. Sort as you pack

If you approach your packing with the mindset that this is a good opportunity to clear things out, your unpacking in your new home will be a lot quicker and satisfying. Plus, you won’t be paying to have things moved you no longer want or need.

With every item you come to pack, make the decision whether its to move, sell, recycle or donate, and put it in the corresponding pile.

We know this makes packing a longer process, but if you give yourself time to sort you will feel a lot more in control, organised and on top of things.

5. Find support

Take all the help that’s available to you. That pile of stuff you have to donate, there will be plenty of charities and organisations in your local area who will make good use of the things you no longer need, and if it’s large items, such as furniture, will even come and collect it for you.

If you have stuff you want to sell, do you have a friend or family member who’s a keen Ebayer or car-booter? Offer them a commission to sell your things for you. They may be happy to help and it’s one less task for you to worry about.

6. Give yourself time

Particularly with your packing, but it’s a good mantra to have for every aspect of the moving process, don’t rush things. From mistakes in paperwork to broken belongings from rushed packing.

If you want your crystal wine glasses in one piece at the other end, give yourself the time to pack them up properly. The last thing you want is a box of broken glass.

When you give yourself time to do things, you are more engaged with what’s going on, and the whole process is less stressful.

7. Don’t be hard on yourself

You are very likely to have days when you feel things are progressing really well and days when it feels like an uphill struggle. This is completely natural.

If you’re experiencing a bad day, either take a well-earned rest or revisit step two and do something small and easy. At least then you’ll feel confident that you’re in control and if you can accomplish one small thing, you’ll feel progress on even the toughest of days.

8. Work together

You don’t have to do everything yourself and if you’re lucky enough to have a support network of friends and family, draw on their help. Don’t be afraid to ask for favours, whether it’s a friend with a van, or parent offering to make the dinner one night.

Give others in the household responsibilities too. Perhaps asking each child to sort, organise and pack the contents of their wardrobe or toy cupboard, or asking your partner to sort out the shed and give the garden a last tidy up.

9. Stay focused

Taking a trip down memory lane as you sort through your worldly belongings can be tempting but takes up your valuable time.  It’s easy to become distracted, stopping you from tackling those areas of your home you find more challenging.

Try to stay focused and get others playing their part, so that you feel the urge to procrastinate and linger less. Keep your eyes on that moving date!

10. Celebrate your successes!

Setting yourself and others in the household a reward for when a difficult task is completed is a great way to stay on track with your move. Whether it’s treating the family to a pizza in return for you completing the raft of solicitor’s paperwork or a trip out to the park once the children’s playrooms are sorted.

Building in celebrations for passing key milestones of effort in your moving journey will make it so much easier and progressive for everyone.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?! But we promise you, following these tips can really help you in your moving journey. It’s mostly about remembering to take time, and stay positive and focused, so that you feel calm, in control and really celebratory, not exhausted, once you get those keys to your new home in your hand!