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Moving to a new home is incredibly exciting. You have a new, blank space to make entirely yours. You can add personal touches, and fashion it to your taste – to create your private haven.

However, moving is also extremely stressful. Lugging boxes, losing items, breaking furniture. Not to mention the arduous process of folding your entire life away into boxes, uprooting yourself.

Fortunately, with some preparation, you can cut down on moving stress. Here are the five most important tips.

1 – Get admin out of the way

Moving involves jumping through many administrative hoops that are often underestimated. By making a list of these beforehand, you can save yourself from any number of unpleasant surprises-both while moving and after you’ve arrived.

Compiling a list of those administrative hurdles is a chore in itself. It will vary depending on how far you move and what sort of home you move into. There’ll be decidedly less to take care of if you move between apartments in the same city, than if you move to a house in a different state, or even abroad.

Some admin tasks are universal. They include canceling utilities like water, power, or internet access at your old home, and setting them up at your new one. You’ll also have to update your address in the billing information for any subscriptions that you have. It’s always a good idea to set up mail forwarding so that important letters can definitely reach you.

Especially if you’ve just bought a house or an apartment rather than renting it, real estate agents can be invaluable allies in mastering administrative challenges. With a reliable pro by your side, handling larger-scale admin should be a breeze. Some realtors even kindly supply admin to-do lists to new homeowners.

2 – Start decluttering early

The earlier you start preparing, the lower your adrenaline levels will be on the big day.

If you’ve lived in your old home for years or even decades, things will have accumulated in out-of-the-way corners, in the backs of shelves, and in your basement and attic. Without deciding ahead of time what you’ll keep or not, you’ll end up lugging lots of unnecessary stuff to your new home.

That’s why you should start to declutter well in advance. Go through old folders, dusty boxes, the back of your closet, and dark nooks where forgotten things lurk. And mercilessly rid yourself of things you don’t need.

By beginning around two months before moving day – and well before you even think about packing – there’ll be far fewer things to fit into boxes and haul into trucks. Plus: You might stumble across long-forgotten treasures.

3 – Pack in stages

You should start packing around six to eight weeks ahead of your move. Yes, that early.

At the first stage, you can start stowing away everything you definitely won’t need again before moving day, like off-season clothing or books. You can also begin using up household items from stored food to cleaning supplies.

The less often you use things, the earlier you can pack them away. This also goes for furniture. Depending on whether you move by yourself or hire professional movers, you will have to disassemble everything from desks to beds. An early start avoids hurried, sloppy work on the big day – and there’s a lower risk of damaging things.

Pack away essentials progressively during the final week. Make sure to have a suitcase with enough clothes, towels, toiletries, and bedsheets to last you for a few days in your new home. That way, you won’t have to go rooting around a desolation of boxes for your toothbrush the first evening.

4 – Use the right packing materials – and movers

Investing in high-quality packing materials is worth it. Sturdy boxes that won’t break and spill your personal items all over the sidewalk. Quick-dry markers that won’t smudge and become illegible. Tape that actually holds things together reliably.

Make sure to get boxes in a variety of sizes and dimensions – it’ll help you in the life-size Tetris game you’ll be playing in the moving van. Heavy items should be packed into smaller boxes made of sturdy cardboard or plastic. Bubble wrap or packing paper will protect fragile items even on the longest haul.

If you’re moving over long distances or even abroad, have a lot of things to transport, or want to take along specialty items such as antiques, artworks, or large musical instruments, consider hiring a professional moving company.  By doing research on a company’s qualifications, comparing quotes, and checking out online reviews, you’ll be able to find movers that can help you reliably and efficiently. And: Make sure to set up a moving contract.

5 – Prepare your new home before the arrival

Finally, make sure that your new home is ready for you.

Have major work done before the deluge of boxes arrives. Painting the interior, putting in new windows, resurfacing floors, installing new fixtures, remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms – all of this is much easier if you’re not in the midst of unpacking.

Also, consider hiring professional cleaners to give your home a good once-over before you move in. Deep-cleaning floors, windows, closets, and cabinets removes any traces of previous inhabitants – and leaves you with a blank slate to fill.

Final Thoughts

Moving home will always be a challenging endeavor, entailing headaches and adrenaline. However, with good preparation, you can lower stress and make sure things go more smoothly.

Declutter and pack early enough – with the right packing materials. Prepare your new home in advance, take care of admin strategically, and consider professional movers.

By taking these tips to heart, you will master the day of the move with as few heart attacks as possible. So that, at the end of moving day, you don’t collapse from exhaustion – but can rather start actually living in your home.

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This content is brought to you by Anees Saddique.

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