Moving home is an existing time, but it’s also very stressful. Moving home means contacting estate agents and lawyers, working with utility companies, and packing up your life into boxes and bubble wrap. However, with the right planning, you can make a seamless, stress-free move.
Choosing your Location
Research Possible Areas
Whether you are moving home for business or pleasure, you have choices about where to live. Most people what to live close to the office to reduce commuting times, but not always. If you find better properties, prices, or utilities somewhere else, it’s worth considering the extra journey.
It’s best to work with an estate agent from the start; they can act as your broker and mentor in the relocation project. Since they play such a central role in the project, it makes sense to research them thoroughly or choose one that has a recommendation from a trusted source.
Choose an Affordable Area
Like most things in life, you don’t want to pay over the odds for your next property, even if it is the perfect location for your next home. Property prices vary depending on the location and the property market, so it’s always worth getting a second opinion on house prices before buying.
If a house seems too costly for what you’re getting, it could be down to market conditions, but if the deal seems too good to be true, chances are you are not getting the full story. There might be some issues with crime in the area, or the transport links might not be ideal for commuters.
Choose a Place with Nice Weather
While the weather in a new place might come second to amenities and transport links, it’s still important. On the weekends and holidays, you want to have a chance to use the outdoor patio or balcony on the property decided on, and some places can have unexpected micro-climates.
If you are moving to Florida with Uphomes you’re in luck when it comes to the weather. The coldest month in Florida is 10 degrees in January, which is tolerable for most people and they can still work in the garden. In the summer, you can expect temperatures to reach 28 degrees.
Entertainment in the Area
You’ve thought of most things when it comes to your next home move; these include utilities, crime rates, and schools, but will you have anything to do on the weekends, or will you have to travel out of town? Make sure there is plenty of entertainment in the area you are moving into.
Entertainment means shops, cafes, and restaurants where you can meet friends, take the children for a day out, or buy things for the household. When you need to take a motorway trip for some basic entertainment, it makes life a little more expensive and a little more stressful.
Moving without Stress
Early Planning
When you have decided to relocate to a new state, city, or country, it’s time to start planning. Having made the decision, there is no point in putting it off any longer; simply invest in a journal or diary as a moving bible and start putting down some ideas. This helps you to stay organized.
There’s no point in waiting until the last minute to start planning; this only increases your stress levels and makes it more likely that you will forget about something important. Not only should you start planning early, but you should create a time and place for thinking about the big move.
Make Lists
There is nothing quite as reliable or functional as a list. Making lists for your big move in your moving diary helps you stay on top of everything that needs to be completed before the removal people arrive. Start by creating a list of categories that you can then use as headings for lists.
Making lists is a simple and effective way to stay organized and ensure your complete all necessary tasks on time. Some of the categories you will need to include are utilities, insurance, paperwork, packing, room planning, moving day plans, and anything else that comes to mind.
Declutter the Home
Moving home is a fabulous chance to declutter the space and make your home move simpler, cheaper, and less stressful. Forget about transporting all of your belongings – this will cost extra, and you might still need to throw out many of the items – instead, downsize your home before.
As with the listing strategy, it’s an excellent idea to use categories to organize and declutter the home. In each of the target rooms, create three categories, one for packing, one for deciding, and one for getting rid of. Where possible, try to sell the items and reinvest in the new home.
Make a Packing Plan
Booking a removal company doesn’t always mean you won’t have to pack. Some removal companies include packing as a service, while others don’t. Additionally, some companies will charge extra, while others will include a packing service in the original service agreement.
Double-check with your removals company whether they will pack the belongings for you or not. If they are only transporting the items, it means you will have to pack the belongings yourself; you will have to use the right kind of boxes and wrapping and ensure items fit through doors.
What Can’t you Move
If you want to reduce the amount of stress you experience on a moving day, you need to think about everything. That means the things you can’t move as well as the things you can move. Remember, there are some things that a removals company won’t move to, so double-check.
High-value items like heirlooms might need to be moved by family members for insurance purposes, and plants and outdoor equipment like BBQs also need to be moved independently. If you have a lot of items you need to move independently, it might be worth hiring a second van.
Manage Paperwork
When it comes to moving home, there is a ton of paperwork to organize. Not only do you have the legal papers for the home move to deal with, but you also have paperwork for your existing home and the new property. Some people use a lawyer or estate agent for all of the paperwork.
Paperwork needs to be a category in your moving bible. Chances are you will have a few categories under this with things to do before the big move. Again, listing your paperwork and starting early is the best way to stay organized and in control of this complex long-term project.
Organize Utilities
When it comes to utilities, you have two properties to pay attention to. Your current property needs to be closed down, which means your gas and electricity need to be turned off, and the water authority needs to be contacted. You also need to sort out any parking permits you have.
In the other property, you need to do the opposite. The property you are moving into will need to have the water, gas, and electricity switched on; you will also need to sign up for any local parking permits. Of course, timing is essential in the process so that you have support services.
Clean the Home
Hopefully, the property you are moving into is clean and ready to go! Sometimes, an estate agent will hire services to make sure this is the case, but not always. If you have any doubts about this, you should visit the property ahead of time and perform a deep clean before moving.
The last thing you want is to move into a new home with all of your belongings and put everything in place when there is dirt, dust, and grime on the floor and walls. Of course, the new property is the priority, but you might also think about leaving your old home in a nice condition.
Survival Kit
A survival kit for moving day is essential to think about, especially if you have a family with small children in it. Moving day can be a stressful experience, especially when children are tired, bored, and hungry, so ensure you know what to expect and how to manage it to reduce stress.
A moving day survival kit might include toiletries, phone chargers, bottles of water, snacks, and hot drinks. For the kids, you will also need some toys and games to keep them occupied. When planning your moving day, make a list of all the problems you are likely to encounter on the way.
Take your Time
Moving home is a big project that doesn’t happen overnight, so create a stress-free move for yourself by taking your time and managing your moving day expectations. Chances are you will not get everything completed in a single day. Stay flexible and try not to worry if plans change.
Final Thoughts
There are two things to keep in mind when planning a home move. One of them is how to reduce your stress, and the other is how to make the home move as efficiently as possible. Both of these aims can be supported by starting your planning early and creating a moving day bible.
