Moving can spark a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, you’re excited to embark on a new adventure. On the other hand, however, your stomach becomes fraught with butterflies whenever you think about your long-distance trek.
Ensuring your cross-country move is seamless, and not overshadowed by nerves, requires a bit of smart preparation. Here are 5 things you can do to reduce stress when moving across the country.
Make a Detailed To-Do List
This is a long-standing tip that never fails to do the trick. Often, we feel overwhelmed because we opt to keep a mental checklist instead of a physical one. Trust me, there’s no better feeling than crossing off items on your list that you’ve completed. Besides making an organized list of all the tasks you need to finish before the big move,
Forbes suggests investing your time in researching your new location.
Familiarize yourself with neighborhood hot-spots, local laws, activities to do on the weekend, and even groups you can join to start forming new connections. By delving deep into the research process, you’ll become acquainted with the local area and reduce those feelings of uncertainty.
Whether you prefer pen and paper, or you elect to create a shareable Google Doc for your whole family to engage with, keeping everything organized and outlined in one place will allow you to take control of your move.
Be Mindful of Your Move Date
Just like peppermint hot chocolates and pumpkin spice lattes, there’s a peak season and off-season associated with moving.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, for example, you can expect to pay a higher fee to cart your belongings to your new home, as this is considered the “busy” season for moving companies. Likewise, weekend moves will always come with a bigger price tag when compared with a weekday move. To conserve dollars, consider scheduling your move mid-week between October and April.
Create a Packing Plan
Let’s face it: you can’t just dive into packing without putting any thought into it. No planning = anxiety overload.
Instead:
You want to take a strategic approach by first decluttering your space and donating, selling, or throwing away any belongings you no longer need.
The less stuff you have, the lower your moving costs will be. Additionally, rather than going into the packing process blindly, create an action plan for your move that includes a room-by-room breakdown of what you need to box up and the order in which you will tackle each room.
Get Your Research On
When you’re facing a myriad of decisions and options, moving starts to feel like an impossible feat. But if you take the time to do research, you can make informed decisions and feel a sense of confidence in the moving team you’ve chosen to partner with.
Moving companies typically fall into 3 main categories:
- Specialized
- Self-service
- Full-service
What path should you follow? That will ultimately be contingent upon the types of items you need to move, how many belongings you have, and what you’ve budgeted for moving costs.
A full-service moving company will essentially run the show. They’ll handle every facet of your move, including packing items, transporting your belongings, and unloading your stuff once they reach your new location. Of course, when it comes to moving cross country, the best scenario is to work with a company that offers cross country moving services.
A self-service move is one in which you take on the responsibility of packing, loading, unpacking, and unloading your items. Specialized moving companies have the expertise necessary to transport unique or fragile items, such as artwork, antiques, pianos, or appliances.
Many people make the mistake of choosing to handle the packing/unpacking step of the moving process themselves, only to discover they have no clue how to disconnect or disassemble their washing machine, large furniture, dishwasher, etc.
So, make sure you know what you’re signing off on before you take the leap.
Once you’ve made a decision regarding the type of moving company you’d like to use, you’ll want to start weighing your options. Always look for well-reviewed, properly licensed, and insured movers.
Don’t be shy about requesting 2 or 3 moving quotes to compare your options before signing the dotted line.
Remember to Budget Accordingly
When moving long-distance, you’d be surprised how quickly expenses can add up. The most important part of keeping your financial picture in check during your move is to meticulously track your budget. I can’t stress enough how crucial this is in organizing your pre-move plan. The estimated quote provided by the moving company will be a powerful resource when it comes to budgeting out your expenses.
While there are several kinds of quotes you can receive, the most common type is a not-to-exceed estimate. All this means is you are guaranteed not to pay more than the quoted price.
And, on the plus side, if your belongings wind up weighing less than the pre-move estimated weight, it’ll reduce the cost of your original quoted price. Other things to factor into your overall cost are packing materials, tips for the movers, gas, and additional fees for specialty items (like fragile artwork). Although moving can be stressful, when you incorporate these tips into your plan and invest the time in prepping for your big day, you’ll greatly reduce any feelings of being overwhelmed or anxious.
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
