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Four simple ways to reduce stress on your next house move

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 02 October 2019 05:11

Moving house is stressful. That’s not news. But what a lot of people don’t understand is that a lot of the stress of moving house is avoidable. With a little planning and compromise, you can drastically reduce the stress levels associated with your next house move. Here’s how.

 

Book in advance

 

Removals firms experience pronounced peaks and dips in demand. Fridays tend to always be busy because people prefer to move before the weekend so they can spend Saturday and Sunday unpacking. The holidays are also busy, as customers try to use time off from work to get settled in their new home. Christmas is chaos, as families want to be in their new home before the big day. If you want a stress-free move, avoid these periods. 

 

And as soon as you know your moving date, get some quotes, with a view to booking your removals contractor as far in advance as possible.

 

Insist on a survey

 

A lot of removals firms will quote over the phone or online, based on a quick conversation or an online survey. This is convenient, but it can lead to stress. Why? Because the only way a removals company can give you a cast iron prediction of how much your move will cost and how long it will take is by physically surveying your property and your belongings.

 

People typically under-estimate the amount of belongings they have, which means when the removals crew arrives, there’s often more for them to load into the vans than anticipated. The pre-move survey, typically offered for free, also gives the crew a chance to look out for potential hurdles. 

 

For example, if there’s a fire hydrant on your street, your crew will have to arrange parking in advance. If you live in a high density neighborhood or in an apartment downtown, parking restrictions may come into play. And what about period buildings? Narrow staircases in particular can add hours onto a move as crews have to take it slow getting your belongings out safely. Avoid all of these sources of stress by getting a pre-move survey done.

Declutter

 

File this one under ‘boring but important’. According to research by London-based removals and relocation firm Kiwi Movers, half of people have at least one unopened box in their home ten months after they’ve moved. This probably isn’t because they’re lazy, but because they packed things they didn’t really need to take. Decluttering will reduce stress and it will save you time and money. Why pay a removals firm to move things boxes you’re never going to open?

 

Be realistic (and safe) when packing

 

When most people pack, they do it without considering how they’re going to move those boxes out. So it’s common for people to load up large boxes with heavy items, only to realise they can’t move them, let alone lift them, come moving day.

 

A good way of avoiding this is to use a higher quantity of smaller boxes. That way simple physics will prevent you from overloading single containers. It also means you can get more hands on deck during the move. 

 

Pack an ‘open-first’ box

 

Picture the scene. You’ve arrived at your new home, you’re exhausted and surrounded by sealed containers. You don’t know where anything is packed and all you want to do is make some coffee, or brush your teeth - or worse - change the baby’s diaper, but you’ve got no idea where any of the essentials are.

 

An open-first box solves this problem and eliminates a good portion of stress from the load-in phase of your house move. A small box containing essential toiletries, medication, cell-phone chargers, pain killers, plasters, hand sanitizer and anything else you anticipate needing can be a lifesaver. Mark this box clearly and remember to pack it last so it comes off of the truck first. Once you’ve got it inside, put it in an easy-to-reach place, so you don’t have to climb over the rest of your belongings to access it.

 

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Curt S Pearson

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