It’s difficult to stay organized when you’re moving across town, and it can seem practically impossible to stay organized when you’re moving across the country. However, keeping things in order during your long distance move can save you a lot of headaches during the moving process and when you arrive to your new home. Here are five, simple tips to help you avoid disorganization, chaos, and unnecessary stress as you move to another city:
1. Plan and prepare.
A successful move requires the successful completion of a number of tasks. It’s a good idea to make a list of everything you anticipate you’re going to have to do to relocate: packing, hiring movers, and renting a moving truck may all be on your list, among other things you need to take care of before you leave town. Making a list of moving-related tasks and crossing off the tasks on the list as you complete them will help ensure that you don’t forget to do anything important.
2. Get the ball rolling sooner rather than later.
It’s never a good idea to start packing or making necessary arrangements the day before you move. Start getting ready to move as soon as possible. For instance, you may want to begin packing a few weeks before you move, and you may want to reserve a moving truck a few weeks in advance. It will be much more difficult to stay organized if you try to do too much at the last minute.
3. Leave some of your things behind.
Moving is a fresh start, and it gives you the chance to leave things that are weighing you down behind. This is true in both the metaphorical sense and the literal sense. If your house is currently cluttered, there’s no need to bring that clutter with you. Before you move, go through all your things and decide what you can get rid of before you relocate.
4. Ask for help.
A long distance move is a lot of work, and it’s usually too much work for one person to handle in an organized manner. If you’re moving with your family, ask them to work as a team to prepare for and make the move. If you’re moving alone, ask family members and friends who owe you a favor to help you pack and load up your car and/or the rented truck on moving day. You may also want to hire movers to help you transport heavy furniture and appliances.
5. Vow to unpack everything the week you arrive.
Moving is exhausting, and waiting a week or two to unpack is tempting. However, it’s better to try to unpack and organize everything in your new home as soon as possible. Why extend the moving process any longer? Once you arrive to your new home, rest a little and then get to work to set up your new home. Once everything is organized, you can begin to explore your new city without the stress of knowing that there’s still work to be done.
Mike James works in the self storage industry, regularly traveling to see locations like a Gardena self storage facility. In many locations, like a self storage facility in San Dimas, Mike James helps his customers store seasonal sports gear when it is not being used for outdoor activities or equipment for home improvement projects that are waiting to happen.
