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Moving to a new home can be one of the most exciting times in your life, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Especially when it comes to packing all your belongings and making the actual move. Moving can be a very overwhelming and stressful experience. We recently sat down with Lisa James from Mesa Moving and Storage, one of our Community Partners, to discuss moving tips and tricks. You can listen to the entire podcast above, or read a summary of the talk here.
How to Prepare to Move
The more prepared you are and the more thought you put into the process of moving, the less stressful it is going to be in the long run. Here are some of our trusted tricks for preparing to move:
- Simplify your life: Over the years, it’s natural for us to accumulate stuff. Moving provides us the opportunity to actually go through all of our stuff and determine what is really important to us. Ask yourselves if something actually brings value to you. Is it something you cannot live without? Is it worth it to move it? Can you see it in your new home and do you have room for it? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then pack it. If not, then give it away or throw it away.
- One Room at a Time: When you actually begin packing, it can be very overwhelming to look at the entire picture or the entire home. It will seem like an impossible task. Therefore, it is important to take it one room at a time. Furthermore, break that room into 5-foot sections at a time. Once you finish one section, move onto the next, until that room is complete. Then, shut the door. You will feel so accomplished having tackled one room. Seeing that accomplishment will encourage you to keep chugging along.
- Keep a Notepad With You At All Times: Packing is one of the most mind-numbing activities. While you’re packing one room, you may suddenly realize you need to do something in another room, or you can’t forget to pack something in another room, or organize something in another room, etc. Constantly running from room to room is not going to help your progress. Keep a notepad with you, with each room in the house having its own page. When you think of something, write it down. That way, you won’t forget anything, but you also won’t be interrupted. Writing things down will definitely help you sleep better at night, that we can promise you.
Moving does not have to be stressful. Use these tips in preparation for your move, and hopefully, they will help alleviate some of the hassles. Next week, we are continuing our discussion of moving tips and will be talking about the advantages of using a mover, rather than doing it all yourself. This could additionally alleviate some (if not most) of the stress associated with moving.
Lisa James
Lisa James has over 30 years of sales experience both inside and outside of the moving industry. She began her career in the moving business in 1993 as a customer service move coordinator, evolved into a relocation consultant, has owned tractor/trailers, and always “checks what she expects” as an in-home Quality Control Ambassador.
Having personally moved to four different states within eight years, Lisa has first-hand knowledge of what it is like to move from the customers perspective, and has great empathy as a Residential Consultant.
Lisa believes in providing the best service for the best price. This is one of many reasons she is continually checking her estimate accuracy so she can be as close as possible to the actual weight and packing of a household shipment. She goes that extra mile to take care of her customers so every move is a good move!
Cheri Landin
NMLS #68929