Moving Day Mayhem: 7 Techniques and Strategies to Reduce the Stress of Moving House
Moving Day can be incredibly stressful. The good news is that there are lots of ways to help reduce the stress of moving day (and the chaotic time before and after too). Whether you’re a seasoned mover or a first-time relocator, these strategies should help ease the process:
1. Utilize Helpful Services
Where your budget allows, utilize all the services that will make your house move easier. In the early stages, you can use a removalist quote comparison service to find a good deal from a reputable moving company. From there, look into self-storage, get quotes from cleaners to deep clean your old and new property, and if relevant, enlist the help of dog sitters and qualified childminders. There are endless professional services that will strip away your stress very quickly, so do utilize them if you can.
2. Declutter first
Clutter is known to have a negative impact on the mind and body. Thankfully, moving house is the perfect time to bite the bullet and get your Marie Kondo on. A good declutter will make packing and unpacking less stressful. It leaves you with less stuff to move and makes your new house less cluttered and stressful. As a bonus, selling your unwanted stuff could make you a dollar or two to help with moving costs. In other words, it’s a no-brainer!
3. Be Kind to Yourself
Almost one in five couples split up when moving house – a statistic that underscores just how challenging this event can be. Beyond relationship strains, moving often leads to burnout, impacting mental and physical well-being. The disruption to work and family life can be ongoing, and the road to recovery can be lengthy.
Is moving inherently stressful? For sure. But, with a little self-care and a healthy dose of self-compassion, you can navigate this time with a bit more ease and emerge from it in a better place.
4. Call in Favors
Does your best friend owe you a favor? Is your neighbor waiting to give you a helping hand after you helped them last month? Call in those favors for help with packing, cleaning, decluttering, and pretty much anything that has to be done. Many hands make light work, and in this situation, many hands also soothe some of the stress.
5. Start Early
Around 48% of people consider packing to be the most stressful aspect of moving, but getting started early can help minimize that. If you have ever packed up a house last minute – stuffing clothes in trash bags, chucking any random wires in a box, wrapping entire drawers with their contents all moving about loose inside – you already know that rushing is not the ideal packing plan.
Starting early means you can calmly and mindfully declutter, and every day you can pack a drawer or cupboard at a time. Your future self will appreciate your early-bird approach to packing.
6. Be More Organized Than You Have Ever Been
Moving house can feel unbearably stressful if you are organizing many people, items, and companies. Utilize apps, lists, labels, and inventories both digitally and physically so that you can stay one step ahead at all times. Being organized removes at least some of that stressful chaos.
7. Budget for the Move
Approximately 35% of movers wish they had budgeted better for moving expenses. Budgeting in advance helps you feel assured that you have enough to cover all the relevant expenses, removing the stress of unexpected last-minute costs.
With the tips above, you can get the job of moving done without the overwhelming stress. All that’s left to do is dive into this exciting new chapter of your life.
