By Adrianna Zampieri
Frustrating, time-consuming, and stressful: the three words that come to mind when you think about moving. Just the thought of packing boxes and loading boxes only to unload and unpack what you spent hours organizing is enough to make even the most optimistic person cringe, so minimize your stress level with a few tips and tricks to make your journey into a new home a more pleasant one.
1. When it’s time to move, it’s also a great time to go through your belongings and decide what you do and what you don’t want to keep. By purging the items you no longer need, you’ll have fewer things to move, and you know that you’ll be settling into your new home with no extraneous items.
2. An endless amount of cords is a necessary evil when it comes to electronics. Before unplugging, label them with masking tape as a reminder for which cords are used for which device. Also take a photo of the cords while they’re still plugged in. Doing so will save you the time and frustration when setting up the electronics in your new home.
3. When taking apart furniture, you’re left a number off small screws and piece that are easy to misplace. Keep all of the screws and hardware into a sealable, labeled bag and tape it to the furniture itself or place it in the corresponding box.
4. While moving is a stressful event, there’s no need to make it harder than it has to be. Pack your heaviest items, such as books, in rolling suitcases. Your back will thank you.
5. Rather than taking your clothes off of hangers just to have to hang them back up again, put them in garbage bags. Either slide it right over your clothes from the bottom up and tie the knot around the hangers, or poke a hole at the bottom of the garbage for the hanger and tie the knot below the bottom of your clothes.
6. To avoid confusion, use colorful duct tape or labels to mark on your boxes their ultimate destination. There’s nothing worse then hauling heavy boxes into one room only to find out it goes in another.
7. When packing, wrap your breakable items with towels and blankets to protect them from breaking. It’ll cut down on the amount of bubble wrap and packing paper you’ll need.
8. If you’re moving with pets, all of the commotion can stress your animals out, and as a pet parent, you want to keep them calm. Separate your pets from the hustle and bustle by placing them in an empty room and closing the door. Don’t forget to give them their favorite bed or toy, too. The scent of their old home will help them settle into their new one.
9. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so you definitely won’t be moved in and unpacked in a day. Pack a box of first night essentials, including items such as toiletries, medication, basic cleaning products, and other necessary items. This ensures you won’t have to go digging through box after box just to find your toothbrush after a long day of manual labor.
