Congratulations on your new home! It is now time to move on to a bigger and better adventure. Now you will make new friends and possibly enjoy even better memories. But first, you have to figure out how to pack your belongings in a manner that helps you manage your time, money, and energy.
Efficiency is key to a successful moving project. While moving may feel like a drag and doesn’t exactly sound like fun, efficient planning usually leads to a positive outcome. Whether you are planning a move soon or you are well into your pre-move plans, you want to be as efficient as possible.
Here are 10 efficiency tips that can help make your move as easy, painless and pocket-friendly as possible:
1. Craft and Follow a Packing Calendar.
Mapping out all you have to do will save you loads of time when packing. This will mean creating a to-do-list customized to fit your packing timeline. Packing is the most stressful part of a moving project, so it is important that you find a way to round off the process as soon as possible. Working with a good packing calendar helps you break up your tasks into bite-sizes and keeps your motivation high as you complete each mini packing goal.
2. Set Mini Packing Goals.
Packing is time consuming – you can’t expect to start and finish the process within 24 hours. So, if you have just crafted a good packing calendar, it is time to go one at a time – that is, category by category or room by room. Start packing from one room and only move to the next room when you are done. This way, your packing will be done in an organized and efficient manner, and will be concluded before you know it.
3. Pack only the Things You Need.
It is time to cut back on clutter as much as possible. Sort out your belongings to determine the unused or unnecessary items, and eliminate them. Moving presents you a great chance to reduce the excess stuff in order to simplify your packing task, and even make life easier when it is time to unpack. Be ruthless in purging out items that are no longer in use so you can start life in your new home with a clean slate.
4. Sell Stuff You Do Not Need
There are those items you won’t be needing in your new home, but this doesn’t make them useless. So, it may be time to make a few bucks off them. This tip will especially come in handy if you are on a budget and you’ve got a few items you no longer need. Why don’t you give your moving budget a boost by infusing some much-needed cash then?
Whether you are on a budget or not, setting aside items you don’t need and selling them is a great way to cut down on excess stuff when packing. You can easily sell these items online before your move.
5. Make Arrangements for Packing Materials
An efficient move will only be feasible if you have the packing supplies you need to complete the relocation project. You will need lots of packing paper to protect the delicate items, bubble wrap to protect the breakable items, different sizes of cardboard boxes, and packing tape to hold things in place.
6. Observe Safety Packing Tips
You want to finish your packing task as fast as possible, but you should not compromise general safety rules in an attempt to speed up this typically time-consuming project. One great way to ensure safety is to double tape the bottom of each moving box before stuffing it with items. It can also be helpful to use small to medium sized boxes for heavier items and larger boxes for lighter items.
7. Label Your Boxes
Label every box as soon as it is filled up. Some may consider it a waste of time since the box will still be unpacked in the new home, but labelling your boxes with the nature of content and their destination room makes the handling easy for your moving company. It is a smart and clever way to get life started as soon as you move into your new place.
8. Pack an Overnight Essential Bag for Each Family Member
The move-in night will not be a good time to start searching for items that you need for a comfortable first day and night. Your small essentials bag should contain medication, toiletries, cell-phone chargers, and change of clothes.
9. Hire a professional Moving Service
Packing is enough stress as it is; you would need more help when it is time to finally move into your new home. While a professional moving service will take loads of stress off you, however, it is important that you put these moving experts in a position that allows them succeed. Do not wait until the last minute before you start organizing your stuff.
Start packing and moving preparations as early as possible. Work with you calendar, get an insurance, prepare the furniture, and create a moving plan for your pets and children. This way, you would have ensured a seamless moving process for you and the moving company.
10. Decide on the Right Moving Day
Reach out to the moving company at least one month ahead so you can make plans accordingly. If your schedule is flexible, you could explore potential moving dates and choose a time that it is cheapest to book an appointment. Weekends are the busiest times for moving companies, so if it is possible to skip it altogether and schedule a week-day move, you may even get a significant discount.
