Making Moving Manageable
As anyone who has ever had to pick up and change residences knows, moving can be a horrible ordeal. Sorting, packing, cleaning, unpacking, putting away – the effort that has to go into it is simply exhausting, not to mention stressful. A move of a few miles can be rough; a move across the country can be ground for divorce! However, there are ways to make moving manageable – and less painful for all involved.
First, decide if you want to handle the move yourself, using a rented truck or trailer, or if you’d rather hire a professional moving company. The professionals don’t have to be expensive; there are economy moving companies that charge very reasonable rates. Higher-priced nationwide moving companies often offer insurance, but keep in mind that typically the coverage doesn’t include anything you pack yourself; if you go with this option, let the professionals do their job!
If you do handle the move on your own, learn how to pack correctly, so you don’t end up with broken pieces, instead of valuable objects. Although boxes of a good size for moving are typically available for free from grocery and liquor stores, and newspapers make for cheap packing material, for truly fragile items, you may want to invest in movers’ boxes, along with bubble wrap. And, when it comes to tape, too much is never enough.
Second, sort your possessions. Do you really need to keep the painting of dogs playing poker? Did you receive wedding presents that weren’t on your registry? Did your husband bring his wagon-wheel table and beanbag chair from his college dorm room? Do you look at certain possessions and wonder now why you bought them ten years ago? Remember that anything you can get rid of is one less item to pack, ship, unpack, and put away! Plus, your truly good furnishings will shine brighter without a lot of clutter around them.
Have a garage sale. Sell things on Ebay. Or, remember that moving is an excellent time to donate to charity the clothes your kids have outgrown, the old china you never use, the faded belongings that nevertheless still have some life left in them. Get rid of such things, and take a tax deduction! The less you have, the less you have to move. The less you have to move, the less stressful the move will be, and the sooner it will be over. Make your move manageable by minimizing the mass of mess!
3 years ago • Notes