C.J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
According to a Harvard University survey, 13% of Americans move yearly. In a further breakdown, the report indicated that about forty million Americans had moved every year in the last five years. So, you see, moving is an essential part of living and you cannot ignore the fact that it’s a significant life change.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
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It could be a new job, marriage, or finally purchasing your dream house. Whatever the scenario is, house moving is a tedious task, and it helps to plan for its peculiar demands. Do you know how to move without all the hassle? My husband and I moved in late 2020 to a new state. It was a huge thing for us, being our first state to state move and we’d like to share some of the things we learned.
Please read on.
1- Keep a record of packed items
Inventory taking is a crucial part of packing and moving. You don’t want to arrive at your new location, only to start searching for where you placed what. Even worse, you’ll want to avoid the chances of losing some of your stuff. A house has many components that turn it into a home. Besides the family, there are decorations, cutlery, clothing, and more oversized items such as furniture, television sets, etc. An inventory helps you categorize your packed belongings and group them for easy sorting at the new location.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
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For example, it helps to pack all your kitchen items and toiletries into separate sturdy boxes. Aside from making it convenient to load them into the moving truck, it significantly reduces chaos when it's time to unpack. Another efficient inventory strategy is to group items by rooms. So, all your bedroom items will go into marked boxes for easy identification, whereas storage items are marked for an area such as the basement. For every room, you must have a record of how many boxes you’ve packed. More importantly, if you have pets, consider your furry friends and have their stuff close by.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
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For our late 2020 move to a new state, I used the app Moving Organizer Pro. I loved it! It enabled me to label each box with a number AND take photos. All the information was stored in the app and then when we moved, I was able to check off the boxes as I unpacked them. I LOVED the photo portion because it helped me see what was in each box before I unpacked it.
The Hang Tags I Used (via Amazon)
I also used hang tags and labels for everything. I ordered them on Amazon. I also recommend using shrink wrap. I wrapped numerous glass items, furniture and more before the movers arrived. While they wrapped most of our furniture in moving blankets, this extra layer of protection was a great thing to have!
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Pexels via Canva
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It is never recommended to pack all your house belongings in just a few days, especially when your items are many. For better results, begin to pack and create your inventory, at least three weeks leading up to the final move. Most importantly, once you have access to your new home, make a deliberate effort to label all the rooms to make identification easy for your helpers. They’ll then know where to place what (especially if the packed boxes are clearly labeled as well).
The Labels I Used (via Amazon)
The moving company we used provided us with free boxes. They were used once by previous movers, but the boxes were in great shape. Their wardrobe boxes were fantastic so we were glad they offered us these. They also gave us a much tape and packing paper as we needed.
For the items I took with me (toiletries, some food items, some clothing, pet supplies), I packed them all in clear storage totes. The clear totes helped me be able to see everything so I could easily access it. This was very helpful as we lived out of those totes for two months while we found our new home.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Pexels via Canva
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2- Hire the right movers in advance
For people who have moved more than a few times, finding and hiring the right mover weeks to the final day is a necessity. As a tip, be sure about the exact moving day and book your movers ahead of time. Doing this early gives you the peace of mind to concentrate on the major task at hand. This transporting business is a busy one, and a failure to hire them in advance could result in the right-sized truck’s unavailability.
It gets even worse if you wait to book at the very last minute, as your desired moving date may already have been booked by someone else. If you live in the Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and St George areas, start an online search for 'moving companies near me,' and Slater Transfer and Storage will come up. With almost four decades of moving experience, clients continue to be satisfied with their services. Nonetheless, regardless of the moving company you hire, always conduct a thorough search on their credibility.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
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It’s necessary to determine whether they have a license to operate under your state's Transport Department. As a rule, keep your bill of lading (guidelines of your contract with them) safe for future references; it could prove useful should a dispute arise.
My husband and I interviewed several moving companies before choosing one and recommend others do the same. We asked TONS of questions. We were having the bulk of our belongings moved by the company, placed into storage for a couple of months while we found our new home, then brought to our new home in a new state.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Pexels via Canva
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We asked them about how to wrap items to endure the storage space AND the heat of the summer (we moved in August). They suggested we take our vinyl records and most electronics with us. We could do this as we rented a small moving trailer to move some of our items while we drove to our new state with all our pets. Hiring movers for a big move like ours was not cheap but it was worth every penny as they did an amazing job!
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Pexels via Canva
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3- Get rid of your junk
Did you know that it’s almost impossible to get a full sense of the amount of junk you own until you're moving houses? For many people, holding on to old (usually non-beneficial) items is due to the sentimental value. However, the sooner you get rid of all that junk, the better and easier unpacking will be for you.
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Pexels via Canva
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Perhaps, it would help to look at it from a cost angle. It costs more to transport many personal belongings. We sold our large television before moving because it was going to cost us more to move it. The price of televisions are significantly lower now days, so it was worth it to sell it and buy a new one after moving.
If you're not lucky, you may be required to make two trips with the moving company, and you know what that means. You can reduce your junk by organizing a yard sale before moving out to the new location. You never know when someone else may be in dire need of what you consider junk.
My husband and I donated many items to charities, friends and sold lots of things via Facebook Marketplace and eBay. Doing this helped us make enough money to help cover at least half of the cost of our move!
Moving to a New House? Do It Hassle-free with These 3 Tips
Graphic by Carolyn J. Braden using Canva
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Now you know there are salient things you can do to reduce the usual hassle that comes with moving houses. Remember that time management and careful planning are also significant elements of moving. Hopefully with these tips, you won’t be so stressed the next time you have to move.
C.J. (Carolyn) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.
This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links. All opinions and ideas expressed in this post, however, are based on my personal point of view.