Change is incredibly stressful, and few changes are as massive or important as moving from one home to another.
You’ve likely already felt the pressure as you searched for the right location, toured many homes and considered money, whether that be to purchase a home or for figuring out how to work the rent into your monthly budget. You’ve probably also found yourself scouring for tips for saving on small NYC moves.
Now that you’ve made the decision on what home you’re moving to and have set the date, a new pressure now rests upon your shoulders: actually packing and moving out of the old place and into the new. To keep this pressure from swallowing you, read the following advice and make it work for you.
Prepare a Plan
There are many plans you can make for moving, but one of the most important is the moving budget. You need to purchase boxes, tape, markers and other supplies to make moving your items easier; decide whether you want to hire movers or work with friends and family to rent a moving truck and equipment as necessary and more.
If you’ve been living in one home for a while and need to get rid of a lot of items then you may even need to consider the cost of renting a dumpster or scheduling time to donate some items to a charity. Before you even begin moving, make sure you have enough money set aside to not only cover all of the expenses unique to moving but also for your day-to-day expenses, such as food.
Another type of plan you could make is which rooms you’d like to pack up first and which will wait until later. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms probably need to wait, as an example, but some parts of a study, game or hobby room and living room can be put into boxes rather quickly without having a major effect on your daily life.
No matter which room you decide to start with, make sure that anything you use on a daily basis is left available; you do still need to live in the home until moving day.
Find Your Limits
You may want to start an exercise routine before you start moving so you understand what your limits are and to help prepare your body for moving day. If you can’t do an extremely extensive workout then you should focus on stretching.
Preparing your muscles for the large amounts of heavy items you may be moving and the constant travel is a good idea especially if most of your life is sedentary. If you can do more extensive exercises, then try to increase your strength and endurance.
No matter what you try, you need to make sure you enjoy it. Moves can be stressful and get even more so if volunteering friends or family or hired movers are involved; you’ll likely find yourself thrown off of your groove constantly. Enjoying the exercise routine that will help you be more physically capable for the move will not only help decrease your stress overall but also see the move go smoother and faster since you’d be able to directly help more.
If you do start a routine, you may need to pause it once the work begins so you don’t overexert yourself. Instead of focusing on strength training and endurance, focus on stretches and maybe even brief yoga poses to keep your muscles prepared without causing unnecessary damage.
Allow Breaks
Moving is stressful partially because a lot needs to get done in a short period of time: you need to be out of one house by a certain day and in the new one by a different day. Failing to meet these deadlines can be expensive and highly stressful, but proper planning and outside help will make this easier.
Even if you’re moving completely alone you need to leave yourself time for breaks. Just stop, sit down and relax for anywhere between fifteen minutes to an hour based on what you need. This time will allow your muscles to rest and your mind to wander, which may give you some ideas on how to increase your efficiency or solve a difficult problem you’ve been facing.
Another problem you may face isn’t so much physical as it is mental: feeling overwhelmed. There’s a lot to do, tons of plans to create, lists to check and you’re undergoing a massive change. It’s reasonable to expect that it would get to you especially if you’ve not moved before. The best thing you can do for yourself when you start feeling overwhelmed is to take a private break.
Take the time to breathe, write down what’s bothering you or even just let yourself cry. Take the time you need to calm down before going back to moving or you’ll find it much more difficult and stressful than it needs to be.