Regardless of the size of your home, how many times you’ve moved, or how many miles you’re moving, moves bring stress. In the list of “top five major life stressors," moving is just behind death of a loved one and separation from a significant other. That being said, moving isn’t to be taken lightly. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have a team of packers, movers and maybe professional organizers, moving creates a complete upheaval of your life in both a physical and mental way.
As a professional organizing firm, one segment of our company is move management. One of our roles then, as professional organizers, is to coordinate moves. Often these are large-scale moves with tight time constraints and numerous people involved. Our goal is to manage the move in the most efficient, most functional and least stressful way possible. If you don’t have a team of organizers on which to rely, we’re sharing our move preparation steps in hopes that it will help you have a smoother transition. Or, you can always call us…
For the next 6 Mondays, we will expound on each step. This week is step one.
STEP #1: Plan in advance
The adage “time is money” is never more true than during moves. Lack of preparation will only increase costs and stress. Stress is often caused by sudden or changing deadlines and the resulting sense of urgency and unexpected costs. Giving yourself as much time as possible, months even, will ensure your move will be less stressful and less costly. We promise, when moving week arrives, you (and your budget) will be glad you did.
Here are some prompts to start that planning process:
1. Define your goal: Upsize? Downsize? Be near a school district? Take advantage of market? Build?
2. Determine time constraints: When do you want to be out of the current home? In a new home? Are you open to an interim rental home? Are there certain dates when you should avoid moving, like April for a CPA? How quickly is the market moving so you’re ready as it’s ready? Setting these parameters will help you work backward from the date you want to be in your new home, and help as you begin to contact potential movers, vendors, realtors, etc. The more notice you are able to give, the more likely your vendor of choice and preferred dates will be available.
3. Determine how to move: Is this a DIY move? Hire a professional moving company? Corporate move? “Hire puka and you go to the beach” move? If so, contact the vendors now.
4. Selling your house? Will you be contacting a realtor? For sell by owner? Need a pre-listing inspection? Repairs? Updates? Contact your realtor and get their expert advice— the sooner the better.
5. Create a Budget: Setting a budget ahead of time will determine what tasks can be delegated versus what you will need to handle. Advance planning will allow you to compare services to price and update the budget as necessary. It may also encourage you in Step #2: Prepare for a Fresh Start, as you let things go and realize that in moving, less is less. Less stuff = less cost = less stress.
Join us next Monday for Step #2: Prepare for a Fresh Start!
Need the entire article asap? Contact us at info@pukaorganizing.com and enter “Move Blog” in the subject line. We’ll send the entire article to you this week.