If there’s one thing I’ve learned in helping people to move, it’s that you can never start to prepare too early. Whether you’re 35 or 80 year of age, moving from a one-bedroom apartment or five-bedroom house, packing up an immaculate bungalow, or hauling away truckloads of a “collector’s” – I use the term loosely – delights, there will be a lot of decisions to make and a lot of physical work to be done. The mental, emotional and physical commitment needed to have you ready on move day is exhausting.
Bearing in mind that you need to keep your home adequately furnished
and tidy for showing, consider these few pointers to make your move and move preparation
run a little more smoothly.
Never assume you’ll have enough time. Have
you heard what happens to the best laid plans? It’s always prudent to
expect the unexpected. You will be amazed at how much stuff comes out of a well-maintained
home. Don’t underestimate the amount of time needed to sort and pack. Get
started as soon as possible. The worst thing that can happen is that you finish
packing ahead of time and wake up on moving day feeling refreshed and prepared.
Don’t wait until the last week before
your move to take out the trash. Once
you identify anything that will not be moving with you, get it out of your
house. This is true of recyclables, hazardous
waste, small items you can donate to a thrift shop, larger items that may be suitable
for re-sale, or those items that just have to go to landfill. Many municipalitites offer curb-side pick-up of larger items, free of charge. As well, most recycling and garbage depots allow residents to drop off hazardous waste Monday to Friday. Planning ahead for the disposal of these kinds of items can save you money in the long run.
Pack seasonable items first.
You won’t need your winter coat, Christmas decorations or menorah in June. Why not get these things boxed and free up
the mental space they would otherwise occupy.
There’s got to be something else you could be planning for.
Label, label, label. No
matter how tedious it may seem, label all boxes. Whether you list the specific
contents, or prefer to list the area of you home that the contents came from,
leave yourself some clue as to what’s inside all boxes. Consider colour coding
the labels; for example, all boxes from the master bedroom have red labels,
boxes from bathroom have blue labels etc.
Keep like with like. If
you weren’t able to tidy up before you started packing, tidy while you pack. If your arts and crafts project is on the
kitchen table, please do not pack it in with the cookie sheets sand muffin
tins. This is the time to take your
crafts and put them with your other craft-related supplies. When you need to
unwind in your new home, you’ll be glad that you can easily find your crafts.
When you finally get to your new
home give yourself adequate time to unpack. Think about where you want things
to go, instead of tossing them in a cupboard to be dealt with later. Taking the
necessary steps to get yourself comfortably settled will make your move more
peaceful and satisfying. Best of luck to
all who are moving in the near future.
