How to move to a new home without stress

Everyone who has ever moved to a new home knows it’s never easy. It causes a lot of stress and requires time, energy and money. Do you want to learn how to pack and move without stress? Then keep reading.

Start early

Seriously. Of course, you’re busy at work and tired, and besides, you might argue that you have plenty of time, as you’re moving in two months.

Then all of a sudden it’s moving day. You’ll be rushing and getting extremely stressed while thinking to yourself, “Why didn’t I start earlier?”

If you start early, you will have enough time to get rid of the unnecessary stuff, think about packing supplies and be able to plan your move in advance. It will cause you a lot less stress if you do something small each day, such as making a list of necessities or packing your souvenirs. In the end, you’ll be relieved that you didn’t leave everything last minute.

Get rid of the stuff you no longer need

If you think you haven’t got that much stuff, you’re probably underestimating human tendency to hoard things.

For every item you’ve got, you have to decide; keep it or leave it – that old coffee table you thrifted by mistake, spices you never use while cooking, clothes you haven’t worn in years – you can give them to your friends, donate them or sell them on places like Facebook Marketplace.

If you’re moving to another town, there are probably even more things you can get rid of. Do you need that massive chair you’ve bought in IKEA? Even if you do, does it make sense to carry it to a new place? Moving companies are quite expensive, so it’s your choice whether you would pay for the service or a new chair.

Pack up efficiently

After you’ve thrown out or sold at least some of the things you don’t need, you can organise the rest. Just imagine: you need to squeeze your whole old-apartment life into a dozen boxes! There’s no way to do it quickly.

You can buy new boxes and bags or reuse the ones you’ve got (make sure they won’t tear). Divide your stuff into categories such as packing your winter clothes separately from summer clothes, separating books from documents and so on. Although you might need to keep some socks or T-shirts aside to fill up the empty space inside the boxes.

Label the boxes and keep track of what’s inside them: you can make lists or take photographs of the inside before the box is taped. Pack one room at a time to avoid feeling too overwhelmed. It’s even easier when you don’t mix the things that belong to different rooms.

When you arrive at your new home with all your stuff, you won’t unpack everything right away. However, you’re going to need some of the things, so make sure to pack what you need to begin with into a separate box. An essentials box may include toilet paper, toothbrush and paste, pet food, an all-purpose knife, cutlery, medicines and other things you don’t want to look for on your first night.

Do yourself a favour and pack everything before moving day. If you do that, you won’t be as stressed on the day.

Ask for help on moving day

The day has come. Hopefully, you’re completely finished with packing. Check all rooms and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Do the last-minute cleaning and remove the rubbish.

You can always hire professionals to move your stuff. In Dublin, for example, there are moving companies such as Man with a Van and Two Men & A Truck. Calling a moving service is necessary when you have heavy pieces of furniture, and it will also make the moving process faster. Just load all the boxes into a truck and they’ll arrive at your new home. Moving companies can also provide moving boxes should you need any.

However, if you have no furniture and you only need another pair of hands, ask a friend if they can help you. First, it’s more fun to move together; second, it’s free! But don’t forget to thank your friend for their help by taking them out for dinner or buying them a drink after a tough day of work!

Unpack as fast as you can

You’re finally there, at your new home! But you’re not done yet because you still need to unpack. People often delay unpacking and tend to have boxes lying everywhere.

Stop procrastinating! Approach this task as you did with packing, one room at a time. A good place to start is the kitchen because it’s harder to unpack and is one of the most used rooms in every household.

There is no need to put pressure on yourself to have everything unpacked in one day or even a week, but you should set a deadline for it. Otherwise, it will take months. You don’t want to live in a place that looks like a storage unit.

Once you’ve unpacked a box, throw it away or recycle it but don’t store it at home. A new home is a fresh start, and you want it to be homely and somewhere you enjoy coming back to!

You’ll probably move more than once in your life, so it is important to know the easiest way to do that. However, I hope you’ve found these packing and moving tips helpful, and they will be of use to you for your next move!