Choosing the best place to live is a difficult decision, but according to statistics on moving from the US Census Bureau, it’s a decision millions of us make — 11% of Americans move each year.
As many movers learn, once the choice to relocate is made, moving can be a stressful, expensive process. That’s because moving brings change. It requires us to really think about what we want to bring into our new home, and what we’ll leave behind.
With that in mind, here are four tips to make your next move simpler and less of a hassle:
Plan Early
The sooner that you begin to plan and prepare for your move, the easier it will be. As you begin to narrow your search for the perfect home, go ahead and begin to research the moving companies that service the area where you plan to relocate.
This way, you have plenty of time to look into the services that each company offers, compare prices, and learn more about any special deals each company may offer to help you save on moving.
Unless you’re using a professional mover to pack your items, it’s a good idea to start saving packing materials early. Go ahead and pack up some of your bulkier, less frequently used items. Consider going through your possessions and paring down, to save additional time and money.
Factor Your Time When Comparing Prices
When you begin to compare prices between companies, don’t forget to factor in the cost of your time. Some companies may quote a low price to rent a moving truck, but packing everything yourself, loading the truck, driving it, and then unloading it again, rarely saves money when you factor in the cost of your time.
For this reason, many movers are choosing professional companies to pack up and relocate their entire household for them, saving them time, money — and a lot of aggravation.
Schedule Service Connections Prior to Arrival
Many individuals wait until after they’ve moved in to schedule a connection date for their utilities and services; it is only then that they discover that many localities will not schedule the connection date within 24 hours of calling. A growing number of municipalities and service providers now require appointments for the connection of services to be scheduled days to weeks in advance.
Unless you want to spend several days in your home without electricity or other vital services, it’s a good idea to call ahead, well in advance of your arrival date, and schedule the connection of your basic services to occur either right before, or just after, your arrival.
Ensure Your Home is Clean and Pest Free Before You Unpack
Even if your new home was only recently built, came with a professional home inspection, and doesn’t have any obvious signs of a pest infestation, dust, or a mold problem, it may not be as clean as it appears on the surface. Once your boxes and other items have been unloaded and placed into your home, it’s a good idea to ensure that everything is in good working order before you unpack.
Check faucets and other plumbing fixtures for leaks. Go through the home and sweep, mop, vacuum and otherwise clean all of the surfaces before you put away your belongings.
Thoroughly cleaning the property will help ensure that items aren’t obscuring your line of sight. This way, it’s easier to spot any potential problems, such as a broken window latch, a slow drain, or mold.If you find any problems, go ahead and have them repaired quickly, before they become harder and more expensive to fix.
By taking these few simple steps during your relocation, you’ll reduce the stress of moving and ensure you’ll be more comfortable and better able to enjoy your new home as you begin to unpack and settle into your new life.
Photo Credit: Rosmarie Voegtli
If your move is a life-changing one, it might require more than just moving directly from one house to another.
Our move from Warrenton, VA to the mountains of Southeastern WV, was the last stage of our lives’ reorientation from the factories of Detroit, to Arlington VA then Warrenton, to here and now.
“Here and now” required a set of mini-stages: Setting up a temporary household while we built our house, consisting of a Prowler travel trailer to use for a kitchen , bathroom and one bedroom and an adjoining three bedroom cabin (Four of our kids were still living at home).
Most of the household stuff from Warrenton was stored in a large garage adjoining the new house under construction, about a half-mile and 800 feet higher in elevation from the cabin-trailer combo.
If you want to completely reorient your life, it can be easier to do in stages.
Do it! You only get one shot at this life.
Good advice, Dave! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome.
Hope to see a movement back to rural independence by young people.
Move planned ahead, done in stages and going beyond preppie or temporary “getaway” projects.
We used a couple of utilty trailers to move our stuff to the garage here; A steel lowboy I had built in a welding class in Warrenton and another I had built on an old housetrailer chassis, to move furniture I repaired for a local antique (read : “old junk from Pennsylvania barns”) shop.
It had close-spaced 2X2 uprights and locals told me they thought I had it had been a pig hauler.
The steel trailer was used to haul old three-phase motor powered commercial woodworking machinery I had picked up thriftily here and there (it was obsolete for commercial use), which I used to produce the millwork for the house.
Before you move, have a couple of major yard or garage sales. Get rid of almost everything. If you are in doubt, sell it and after that donate the stuff that’s left or put it on curb and list for “free” on Craigslist. Moving is hard work and expensive, the less you have to move the cheaper and easier the move is. You can always replace stuff at other people’s yard sales in the new location. Don’t move what you don’t use or need. Get rid of clothing you don’t use, clutter, large furniture, no longer used toys, books, hobby stuff. You will make a few dollars, make space, save money on the move and make other people happy.
Great tips, Karen. Thanks for sharing these!