How To Make Your Move Less Stressful — For Real
One of the most overused cliches in the moving industry is that moving is stressful. Duh.
Let me tell you about my last move. I chose not to let the movers pack because I needed to do some serious organizing and purging. I was lucky that I had the option of working from home, but that only meant that on top of my long work hours, I had to prepare for the move.
During the three weeks leading up to the move, we still had not closed on our house and things were not looking particularly good. The house was bank-owned. The bank received higher offers than the one that they accepted from us, so they tried everything to get out of the deal. Still, if the move were to happen, I had to go on as scheduled.
Fortunately after several anxiety attacks, our broker worked his magic and we closed on the house, a week late.
None of that begins to address the physical toll the move took on me. My back and knees compelled me to stay in bed, but I couldn’t. Instead, I packed. I lifted heavy objects. I bent over far too often. It didn’t have to be that way.
Don’t be like me. The best way to manage the stress of your move is to prepare months in advance, not weeks. Pick a daily or weekly closet or dresser, and donate everything you don’t wear or use.
Hire an Organizer
If you can afford it, hire people to help you out. A professional organizer will cost between $30 and $80 an hour. That might sound like a lot of money, but they can help you save on the move and they can help free you up to do your real job.
Let the Movers do it
Full service movers are exactly that. They won’t help you organize, but they will pack anything you want them to pack. They can even unpack for you. Again, you will pay for the service, but they will knock it out in a day or two. That’s a lot better than you can do on your own.
Hire Cleaners
For me, the most stressful part of the move was the aftermath. While I had hundreds of unpacked boxes in my new home, my old home still needed a lot of attention. Here I thought I was done with that place. I recruited a couple of friends and we banged it out within a day. Still, next time, I will hire someone to make the house spick and span for the new residents.