12 tips to make moving day stress free

There aren’t too many people who are enthusiastic about moving house.

Even if your new home is a big upgrade from your old home, you still have to spend days on end packing up your belongings and setting up in your new abode.

The day that you move is perhaps the most stressful of all, so we’ve put together some tips to keep you on track for a stress-free experience.

1. Clear your schedule

If you’re moving house, that should be the only thing on your schedule that day. Moving house always takes longer than you think, so it’s best not to make lunch plans or promise a friend you’ll stop by for a cup of tea on moving day.

2. Cater

Make sure you have plenty of water and snacks on hand through out the day and take proper breaks to eat decent meals. Moving day is exhausting both physically and mentally so you need to make sure you’re well hydrated and fed to be operating at peak performance.

3. Have everything packed before the movers arrive

Whether you’ve got a mate showing up with their ute or you’ve hired professional movers, you need to make sure that all of your belongings are securely packed in boxes, ready to be loaded on to the truck or into a car. It could cost you extra if you leave professionals waiting and you’ll definitely stretch a friendship if one of your ute-owning friends has to sit around and wait for you to delicately wrap your china.

4. De-clutter as you pack

If you simply pack everything into boxes to take to your new home, the unpacking process will be a nightmare. Make sure you get rid of anything broken, un-usable or worn out as you pack to save you unpacking boxes of junk at the other end.

5. Have all your equipment ready and on hand

Always make sure you have more than enough boxes, tape, scissors and markers. Some packing supply stores will happily buy back unused boxes so it doesn’t matter if you buy too many. If you run out of boxes or tape you’ll have to stop what you’re doing to re-stock which is a huge waste of time on an already busy day. It’s better to over-buy than under-buy when it comes to packing supplies.

6. Start packing as early as possible

Even though you will technically have a moving ‘day’ the process of moving can start weeks before. Pack anything that you don’t need as early as possible. This could include bed linen, towels, kitchen appliances, filed documents and sports equipment. Any item that you don’t use every day can be packed in advance.

7. Pack a suitcase with overnight essentials

Make sure you have a bag packed on moving day with a change of clothes, fresh underwear, toiletries and pyjamas. You’ll thank yourself when you get to your new house and you don’t have to go searching through boxes trying to find a pair of clean socks in the middle of the night.

8. Be flexible

You can plan moving day as much as you like but things will never run totally smoothly. It’s best to just go with the flow, deal with problems as they arise and be flexible enough to change plans if you need to.

 9. Curb your nostalgia

It can be tempting to flick through your photo albums before you pack them but this is the worst kind of packing procrastination and it can steal serious time on moving day. Just remember that your goal is get your belongings in boxes and looking back through your high school year book is not conducive to this goal.

10. Make it fun

There’s no reason why you can’t put on some great music or a podcast while you pack. Invite some friends over and make a day of it. Your attitude plays a huge part in having a stress free moving day so make sure you focus on keeping the day upbeat and positive.

11. Schedule the cleaner for the day after your move

Most people severely underestimate how long it takes to clear out a house and it needs to be totally empty before the cleaners come in. Don’t stress yourself out by booking the cleaner for the afternoon of your moving day. Instead, schedule them for the morning after so you don’t have to stress about being done by a certain time.

12. Have cash on hand

There are always hidden costs involved with moving house – paying the movers, buying pizza for lunch, getting a cab back from the truck hire place – so make sure you have some cash on hand to save yourself the hassle of tracking down an ATM in a new neighbourhood.