Relocating Assistance: 8 Tips for a Better Cross Country Move
We all know about turning on the energies at the new place and submitting the change-of-address kind for the postal service, but when you make a long-distance move, some other things enter into play that can make receiving from here to there a bit more difficult. Here are 9 suggestions pulled from my recent experience of moving from the East Coast to the West Coast-- from loading the moving van to dealing with the inevitable disasters.
Make the most of area in the moving van. Moving cross-country is not inexpensive (I can only envision the cost of moving overseas), so I did a lot of reading and asking around for tips prior to we packed up our house, to make sure we made the many of the space in our truck.
Declutter prior to you load. There's no sense in bringing it with you-- that area in the truck is money if you do not love it or require it!
Does this make them much heavier? As long as the drawers are filled with lightweight products (certainly not books), it needs to be fine. The advantage is twofold: You need less boxes, and it will be simpler to discover stuff when you move in.
Pack soft products in black trash bags. Fill sturdy black garbage bags with soft products (duvets, pillows, packed animals), then use the bags as area fillers and cushioning inside the truck. To keep products clean and safeguarded, we doubled the bags and tied, then taped, them shut.
2. Paint prior to you relocate. It makes a lot of sense to do this before moving all of your stuff in if you prepare to give your brand-new area a fresh coat of paint.
Aside from the obvious (it's simpler to paint an empty home than one full of furnishings), you'll feel a great sense of accomplishment having "paint" checked off your to-do list prior to the first box is even unpacked.
While you're at it, if there are other messy, disruptive products on your list (anything to do with the floorings definitely qualifies), getting to as much of them as possible before moving day will be a big assistance.
Depending on where you're moving, there might be very few or many options of service suppliers for things like phone and cable television. Or you might discover, as we did, that (thanks to poor cellular phone reception) a landline is a necessity at the new place, even though utilizing just cellular phones worked fine at the old house.
4. Put 'Buy houseplants' at the top of your order of business. Among the all of a sudden sad moments of our move was when I recognized we could not bring our houseplants along. This may not sound like a big offer, however when you've lovingly nurtured a houseful of plants for several years, the idea of drawing back at zero is type of dismaying. We gave away all of our plants but wound up keeping a few of our preferred pots-- something that has made picking plants for the new area a lot easier (and more affordable).
Once you're in your new place, you may be lured to put off buying new houseplants, but I advise you to make it a concern. Why? Houseplants clean up the air (specifically crucial if you have actually used paint or flooring that has volatile organic compounds, or VOCs), however most crucial, they will make your home seem like house.
5. Offer yourself time to get used to a new climate, time zone and culture. After moving from New England back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I've been impressed at how long it's taken to feel "settled"-- despite the fact that I have actually returned to my home town! Structure in additional time to handle that adjustment period can be a relief, especially for families with kids. A week or more to catch your breath (and find the very best local ice cream parlor-- concerns, you know) will put everyone in better spirits.
6. Expect some disasters-- from kids and grownups. Moving is hard, there's simply hiring long distance movers no other way around it, but moving long-distance is especially hard.
It means leaving good friends, schools, tasks and possibly household and going into a terrific unidentified, new place.
Even if the new place sounds great (and is excellent!) crises and emotional moments are an absolutely natural response to such a huge shakeup in life.
When the moment comes (and it will) that someone (or more than one somebody) in the home requires a great cry, roll with it. Then get yourselves up and discover something fun to explore or do in your new town.
7. Expect to shed some more stuff after you move. No matter how much decluttering you do before moving, it appears to be a law of nature that there will be products that just don't fit in the new area.
Even if whatever healthy, there's bound to be something that simply doesn't work like you believed it would. Try not to hold on to these things simply from aggravation.
Sell them, gift them to a dear friend or (if you genuinely enjoy the products) keep them-- but only if you have the storage space.
Anticipate to buy some things after you move. Each house has its quirks, and those peculiarities require new things. Possibly your old kitchen had a substantial island with plenty of space for cooking prep and for stools to pull up for breakfast, however the new kitchen has a huge empty spot right in the middle of the space that needs a portable island or a kitchen table and chairs.
Moving cross-country is not low-cost (I can just imagine the expense of moving overseas), so I did a lot of reading and asking around for suggestions before we loaded up our house, to make sure we made the many of the space in our truck. If you plan to provide your brand-new space a fresh coat of paint, it makes a lot of sense to do this before moving all of your things in.
After moving from New England back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I've been surprised at how long it's taken to feel "settled"-- even though I've moved back to my home town! Moving is hard, there's just no method around it, but moving long-distance is specifically difficult.
No matter how much decluttering you do prior to moving, it appears to be a law of nature that there will be items that just don't fit in the brand-new space.