Stressful major life events – such as moving house – are common to us all. The stress generally comes from the workload and attention to detail that they demand, and it is all too easy to feel completely overwhelmed by the preparation required. However, starting early and being methodical can help reduce stress levels and help ensure a successful move.
These 10 Tips May Help:
Put your house on the market. Having an offer accepted on your dream property is great, but only if you can sell your own. If there is a chain, or the owner is keen to move quickly, they may decide to accept other offers if there is likely to be a delay.
Fix any cosmetic defects around your home. relatively small spend to update a tired bathroom or kitchen, or even just freshening up paintwork throughout can make a property look more cared-for and desirable. It won’t just be easier to sell, but a bit of low-cost updating can add thousands to the final sale price.
Learn to love lists. Becoming a list-maker is a good habit to develop when managing any major household project, but getting through a house move without a good list is almost impossible. Organize lists by week, and keep focused on the current week’s tasks.
Learn to love lists II. Have different lists for solicitors, banks, estate agents, removal companies, utility providers and the like.
Removal companies. It’s important to be happy with your removal company, so word of mouth from friends and family is particularly important. If you have specialist equipment to move, use special interest groups on social media for good recommendations.
Use storage. A storage facility can be very helpful at two stages in the moving process; clearing your clutter into storage can help potential buyers imagine their own in its place. Once you have a moving date, putting everything that isn’t essential into storage can help the process seem less stressful, and packing much easier.
Hire builders/decorators for your new property well in advance. You don’t want to find yourself camping out in one room because your preferred tradesmen are busy elsewhere. As soon as you have firm moving dates, confirm details.
Watch when your utilities are being disconnected/reconnected. The final week before moving should really be called “Phone Week”. This is the period in which you’ll constantly be on the phone checking last minute details with anyone from your bank to your removal company. Make sure that your phone and internet stay on until the last possible minute, and that your cellphone is fully charged at all times.
Watch out for your pets. Moving house can be extremely distressing for animals, even caged pets, so when things really start to get hectic at home, consider moving your animals to kennels, or to stay with friends for a couple of weeks, as this will ensure that their environment remains as stable and stress-free as possible.
Don’t forget the “essentials” box. Make sure that you have a box containing toilet rolls, easy to prepare canned goods (and can opener!), mugs, plates, cutlery, essential medications, and takeaway menus to hand. It’s easy to forget this, and will save you the frustration of digging through several boxes for what you need urgently.
No organization-heavy event is stressful for the habitual list-maker, and no task is so daunting that it doesn’t become manageable when broken down into smaller chunks. “Moving House” is the bigger picture, and tackling small steps one at a time can help to dispel the worries.