We’ve gone through the different steps involved in getting unpacked to organized on the blog, but one part of the moving process that we can’t emphasize more is the planning involved. Moving into a new home or even into your current home after a major renovation is a complex process that if done right, can be a stress-free and efficient process. In order to achieve that, you must be willing to take the time before you start moving to make sure everything is in place. Sometimes, this involves doing tasks in a counterintuitive way that forces you to think more about where you will be than where you are now. It doesn’t seem that hard, but it can be difficult to look beyond your current home to imagine your new space. That’s why Calm Order is here to help!
Declutter
The first step in any organization project, including a move, is to declutter. Purge anything that you do not need or want in your new space. This way, you’ll only need to pack the items that you are actually going to take with you to your new home. It will also allow you to handle the process of donating, selling, or recycling/throwing out the items you do not need or use. Depending on how many items and belongings you have, this could significantly lower the cost to remove the items and transport them to your new home.
Create a schedule
It’s important to keep in mind that there are a lot of tasks that need to happen in order to complete your move, and some of them need to be completed before the others. Create a schedule or timeline of what needs to be done and when, like the closing date of your property, the possession date for your new property, moving dates, and more. If it is possible, try setting the possession date for your new home before the closing date for your existing home, so you will have time and space to keep your belongings until you’re able to move in. This process can become complicated if you need to set-up temporary storage or move in with family or friends in the interim. Once you have an idea of the key dates, you can plan to take time off work, line up trades for minor upgrades, and coordinate movers, furniture and appliance installations, and other necessary tasks like cleaning or a potential estate sale.
Transition your belongings
Before you begin unpacking in your new home, you should already have an idea of what items are going into what room. In some cases, items that you have stored in the bedroom of your current home might actually be going into your living room or a different space in your new house. To avoid it being moved into the wrong space, make sure you know exactly where each item should be. If possible, try to arrange for a time to do a walk-through of your new space so you can come up with a plan for the space based on the furniture and items you have in your current home. Whether it is due to space, different layouts, different needs, or personal preference, you may need to change up what room your belongings go in, so make sure you have an idea of there they are going to live in your new home before you get there.
Pack with a plan
Label, label, label! It is important to know exactly what is being kept in each box that you are bringing to your new place, especially if you have a moving company coming to move them for you. An important part of this is also labeling and packing boxes based on where they will be going in your new home, not on where they came from in your current home. This may be counterintuitive from what many people are used to doing – it seems natural to label boxes based on what we have in them or based on what room we packed them in. However, it is more efficient during the moving process to first create the plan for transitioning your belongings, and then based on that, labelling each box and item based on that plan. In this way, you won’t have to re-move boxes and furniture in your new place because everything will have ended up in the right room the first time.
Prepare for the first night
The first day and night of any move can be a busy and stressful day – instead of making you and your family dig through all the boxes to find your tooth brush or phone charger, have a first night box or suitcase ready to go with all your essential items. This way, you can find the important items you need right away, like a change of clothes for work the next day. It will make the first day/evening in your new home less of a frantic process, and calmer and more orderly because you won’t be rushing to unpack everything in order to get to the few key items you need.
Get some help
There is a lot to deal with during the moving process, so why not get some help from the experts? Think about hiring an unpacking service to make sure you get unpacked and running as quickly as possible. You can learn more about Calm Order’s Move Services and how we can help you here.
