Real Estate

Five Tips for a Stress Free Move

From packing to planning the new layout, here are some ways to make your move easier.

This article was written by Joanna Prisco.

Even if you've finally found your dream home, moving from one abode to another can create a mountain of mess. So, Brooke Stone, president of a New York City-based personal assistant company, offers five tips from strategizing, streamlining and de-stressing your relocation.

1. Take the opportunity to go through and purge your stuff while you are packing. Don't move what you don't want or use - it's expensive and will immediately clutter up your new space. Start fresh. Donate your unwanted items to local charities, many of which will pick them up free of charge. Many moving companies will also drop off your donations at a Salvation Army at no cost or for a small additional fee. 

2. Make a furniture plan or room layout and share it with your movers when you all arrive at your new digs. If you take the time to create the plan and walk your movers through the space, they can easily deposit your furniture and boxes as close as possible to where they will end up without asking you a million questions. 

3. Label your boxes as you pack. Even when you are tired. And have been packing for hours. And don't want to. Just do it. Label by room and broadly by contents, for example "Living Room - decorative items" or "Bedroom - summer clothes." This not only helps the movers, but helps you when unpacking doesn't move as fast as you may have hoped and you need to find that one specific item. 

4. Pack a special bag for the day of your move with sheets for your bed, a clean towel, PJs, a change of clothes for the next day and essential toiletries. At the end of a successful moving day, the last thing you will want to do is dig through boxes to find your toothbrush. 

5. Mentally prepare yourself for the emotional effects of your move. On moving day, accept that things may not go exactly as planned. Instead of clinging tightly to a defunct plan, be flexible—smile and laugh with your movers, drink lots of water and go with the flow. In your first week in your new home and neighborhood, give yourself time to relax, settle in and figure out how it feels to be there. Moving is a big change and the accompanying emotions, good and bad, are all an important part of the process. Working through them is essential to making a full transition to your new home. 


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