Life can be unpredictable, but at one point or another, you are bound to need to make a change. Whether it is a change in your career path, a lifestyle change, or a change in location, it can be a lot of work and potentially stressful to undergo these big changes. However, life changes don’t have to be all stress; there are some things you can do to decrease your stress levels and allow the excitement and hopefulness for a better future to take the spotlight. Here are ways you can make the process smooth for the common life change of moving:
Moving
Whether you have a history of moving a lot or are moving for the first time, or if you are moving far or just moving down the street, moving is something that is always a huge change. With this huge change can come a great deal of excitement: a new home, a better location, a step in a relationship – there are any number of reasons why a move can bring so much excitement to your life; however, moving can also be a source of stress for many people. There are a lot of things to do and consider when planning a move: selling a home, working out finances for a new home, packing, getting your things to a new home, moving long distances, leaving friends and family behind – just as there are many reasons to be excited about moving, there are also many potential stressors.
That being said, let’s talk about some ways to reduce these stressors. My first recommendation is to plan your finances in advance. Before you decide to sell a home or buy/rent a new home, take a good look at the current market. You are looking for what homes that are comparable to yours sold for, and what homes that are comparable to where you’d like to move are renting or selling for. Make sure that your goal home is within your budget. Don’t forget to include costs like a moving company, initial setup fees for new services like electric and water utilities, and any new furniture you might need. If you’re looking for a great moving company, I would highly recommend looking into Star City Services. They are a VA-based moving company wo puts their clients first. They provide services like long distance moving Roanoke, residential moving services, packing help, furniture assembly, etc. If you are looking for ways to make a move smooth, hiring a moving company is essential!
My second recommendation for moving is to pack as far as you can in advance (but not too far), and to pack a little at a time. Packing is something that catches me off guard every time I move. I always put it off until the last minute, and then scramble to get everything done. The trouble with packing is that you still need to use a lot of things prior to moving day. The key here is to start packing the things you don’t use as early as possible. Think about packing areas like guest bedrooms/bathrooms and hobby rooms. You can even begin to pack areas like linen closets and your kitchen, and only leave out a small number of towels/dishes for a quick pack-up the day before moving day. Starting the packing process early and doing a little bit at a time will greatly reduce the stress that this necessary moving activity brings. Try to tackle one room or area per day. Trust me, packing is something you don’t want to have to worry about when the time comes to get out the door!
A third piece of advice to make moving as smooth of a process as possible is to get your friends and family involved. Moving can be a huge chore, but it doesn’t have to be a bad chore! If you’re accustomed to making your chores fun (think: dancing around with the broom), then this should come natural to you. Putting on your favorite music is an obvious way to make the packing and moving process less painful, but there are some other ways, as well. Inviting friends and family (who are willing to help you) over can make things go by quicker as well as bringing some fun and excitement to the chore. This is also a great opportunity to spend a bit of quality time with friends and family you might be leaving behind. Complete the day with a dinner or an evening outing for extra quality time.
In sum, moving doesn’t have to be the miserable experience that it’s cracked up to be! Make things more fun by preparing finances in advance and hiring a moving company to help, packing in advance, and involving friends and family. Here’s to new adventures!