The past month was a stressful time for me and my family as we had to move out of our pre-vious home. It is certainly not the first time – on the contrary, we have moved so many times we have become “veterans” of some sort.
Nonetheless, no matter how many times we have done it, moving is always a stressful experience. Aside from the physical exhaustion, there are a million and one things to think about. The work never seems to end.
Almost all of us at one time or another will experience a move. Whether a major or minor one, it pays to prepare well. Organization is the key. Through the years, I have learned and acquired so many tips on making the smoothest and most stress-free move. Here are some of them.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Just thinking about the monumental task of moving seems overwhelming and you can certainly be paralyzed into inaction because of it. That’s why calling on those who are willing to help you out can be invaluable. We had a lot of stuff we didn’t want to bring with us anymore and usually, we would have a garage sale to dispose of them. However, because we spent the entire summer in Ma-nila, I felt it was too late to hold a sale in September.
Our good friend, Beng Reyes, was the one who en-couraged us to go ahead with it and assured us that she would be at the forefront on the day of the sale. Beng is an expert when it comes to garage sales so having her around did a lot to ease my mind and make the day more pleasant.
Hire professionals
Don’t skimp on your mov-ing service. Choose an experi-enced moving firm with an es-tablished reputation for good service and reliability. Choosing someone that is unreliable or inexperienced will waste more time and money than you can imagine.
We requested at least three moving companies to make estimates and chose the one which, to our mind, was both reasonably-priced and seemed the most efficient.
Selling and purchasing a home here in Canada is also an emotionally taxing experience so we were fortunate to have a very patient and devoted real estate agent. Arcy Malvar (416-7278973) became not only our negotiator and conduit, he also willingly took on the roles of shock absorber and confidante. He didn’t have any qualms about responding to our last-minute requests and changes of mind.
Plan with the end in mind
The lack of planning can cause us to fret when making a monumental decision such as a move. If you prepare your pos-sessions and yourself in ad-vance, the process will glide through effortlessly.
Make yourself a moving checklist outlining everything that needs to be done before and after your move. This list should be prepared at least a month in advance and broken down into a timetable and the corresponding activities.
For example, one month before, the following should be done: fill out change of address form at the post office, make arrangements with moving company or reserve a rental truck, etc.
One to two weeks before moving: switch utility services to your new address, inform electric, disposal, water, news-paper, magazine subscription, telephone and cable companies of your move.
You alone know what you need to accomplish before and after you move and although checklists given by others are certainly helpful, it’s better to create your own.
Sort, Discard and Pack
Avoid moving anything you don’t really need. It is ex-pensive, time-consuming, and physically unnecessary to move things you won’t be using. If you don’t use it now, you most likely won’t use it later.
Dispose of broken tools, old toys, old clothing and other items that you no longer need before you move. Give usable items to charity or hold a garage sale.
Get boxes in assorted sizes. Be sure they’re clean, in good condition and have covers so they can be closed and sealed with tape. Start collecting them from your local stores or purchase them from your moving company.
Pack on a room-by-room basis, keeping the contents of each room in separate boxes. This will eliminate confusion and save time when you’re un-packing. Even if you only pack two boxes a day, in thirty days you will have packed sixty boxes. Start in areas where the goods are not in frequent use such as the cellar, attic, garage, etc.
Everything you pack does not have to be unpacked the first day in your new home. If it contains essential items, mark it PRIORITY A. If the contents are important, but not crucial, mark the box PRIORITY B. If the box contains out of season items, holiday items and other things you won’t need right away, mark the box PRIORITY C. Then, unpack in A, B, C order.
Take care of number one
It is so tempting to focus on the million and one tasks associated with moving that you neglect yourself and sig-nificant others in the process. Keeping yourself healthy and well-rested should be a priority but taking care of your emo-tional health is important too.
Whether the reason for the move is good or bad, ad-justing to change is certainly a stressful experience. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a reward after getting through a successful move. You deserve it.‚
The author lives in Ontario with her family. You can write her at mpmsl2002@yahoo.com.