Hate Moving? You’re Not Alone
Oy vey.
Well, the move is over. We are safely ensconced in our new digs in Eagan, unpacked and mostly settled in. Pictures are on walls (although some leaning against the walls until we make a final decision on placement), new furniture is assembled, and neighbors have been met.
Overall, I think things went more smoothly than expected. But even if a move goes smoothly, it does not make it fun. I am SO glad to be done with the whole process!
As a professional organizer, I have coordinated moves, packed and unpacked several clients, but hadn't moved myself since we moved to Richfield almost seven years ago. Moving our family was a great reminder of how tough it is for my clients. Upon reflection, here are a few things I did that made our life easier during the lead up to the move and the days surrounding the Big Day. If you have a move on your horizon, it might make your life easier to try my tips.
Declutter BEFORE you move. I have heard people claim it's better to just move everything and deal with it in the new house, but this is absolute lunacy to me. Why would you move stuff you don't intend to keep? Before our move - MONTHS before our move - I started going room by room, drawer by drawer in my free time to make sure everything we owned was useful, beautiful or loved. If it didn't make the cut, I pitched or donated it. I have no interest in packing things that we don't want! Bonus - less to unpack!
Packing takes FOREVER, start early. Don't leave your packing to the days before you move! Even as someone who does this for work, I was surprised at how overwhelmed I felt packing my own things. We were in a small home and really don't have an excess of stuff, and I still felt like it was never-ending. We started packing and moving things that were safe in the cold to the garage to allow us space to keep unpacking. It made life easier during staging (when all personal effects had to be gone anyway) and helped us see our progress.
Toddlers and pets make life complicated during a move. Plan ahead for them! We have a 2 year-old, an old dog and a fat cat. All were pretty stressed out in the packing and moving process. We had a neighbor watching Lucy the cat, Aily went to daycare, and Diesel went to our dog sitter during moving day. My mistake was not considering getting Lucy care the day of the U-Haul loading - we couldn't find her for almost the whole day because she was so freaked out! It's hard to account for how pets and kids will feel during a move, but the more you can consider the difficulty of the transition for them, the easier it will be. Once we got into the new house, I prioritized getting Aily's room ready (and similar to her old room layout) and the pet's spaced organized so they could start settling in. Aily had a little sleep regression and needed extra snuggles, but is adjusting just fine now. Diesel did just fine, thank goodness.
Take time to be strategic when you unpack. I made a point of thinking about functionality as I unpacked at our new home. I thought a lot about how we would use each space and tried to set things up to avoid inefficiencies and frustrations in our daily lives. Of course, as we live here, we will learn more about things and have to rearrange, but at least there's some effort given at the start. Just taking a little extra time on the front end, vs just rushing to get things unpacked and into cabinets, can save you a lot of stress down the road.
If you're planning a move and find the process overwhelming, I can help! From coordinating the actual move to packing/unpacking, I'm your girl. Oh, and if you already moved and find rearranging completely exhausting, an organizer is a great resource! You know where to find me.
