Last month, we talked about common fears when moving abroad and how to overcome them. Once you overcome them, comes the big move. Whether you are moving to another state or overseas, we want our first night at our new place to be stress-free. Here’s a guest post from Maria of GlobalisationGuide on how to make moving and settling in easy.
Moving to a new place can be an overwhelming experience for some, while for others, it could be a dreading event. Fair enough, it can be quite stressful because of the many things that need to be done like organizing your stuff.
If you want to make moving and settling into your new house easy and stress-free, it’s good to have a planned and structured method in making things more manageable.
How to Make Moving and Settling in Easy:
1. Get your transport ready
You can move to your new house by yourself or with the assistance of a professional mover. Either way, you need to know how much you are bringing to your new place. Renting a big van will put your money to waste if you only have little things. Meanwhile, renting a small van will hike up your service or petrol price because of the number of trips you would take. U-Haul rentals have trailers in different sizes – it’s worth checking out.
If you are not rushing to move, you may wish to do some trips over a few days or weeks. You may hire someone to install your furniture while the rest of the team will work on bringing in the remaining items to your new home. It is advised most of the time to plan and move the biggest furniture and items first prior to moving everything else. Extending your move would save you some money on professional movers or van rentals.
Wellington’s: We have a relative who drove from New York to Atlanta every month for several months to move their furniture and things. This could be time-consuming, but he only has to spend money on gas. Different strokes for different people.
2. Check the facilities
Before you even purchase or rent a place, you should check for any leaks, termites, and damage. Check if the wiring and piping are properly installed. Check if all the facilities at your new home are working like the heater, gas, electricity, and water. You should also know where the circuit breaker and water shut-off are located. Make sure the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working, and the fire extinguisher is filled. If there’s a fireplace, let them show you how it works. Your place should make you feel safe and comfortable.
3. Unpacking
Wait! Before you unpack, clean the house first! If you are renting, lucky you, the owner will clean the house for you. If you bought the house, then at least do a light cleaning or dusting. Another option is to have a professional cleaner come before your arrival. They can do deep cleaning including carpet cleaning and bathroom scrubbing.
Once the house is clean, you can unpack. Tackle boxes on priority. Obviously, you don’t need to unpack all the boxes on the first day (unless you only have a couple of them). If you have kids, unpack all the essentials – diapers, wipes, bottles, clothes, blanket, toys, etc. Happy baby means happy momma!
Whether you have beds or not, take out the bed sheets and pillowcases, so they are ready for later.
Next is the kitchen items. Only unpack what you need for the day and the next morning like plates, utensils, mugs, toaster, coffee maker, etc. Whatever you don’t need yet can stay in the box in the meantime.
The last one for the day is the bathroom. Unpack your toiletries, mats, shower curtain, and a towel. You can use your grocery plastic bags as trash bags so there are no messes or clutters in your new house.
If you still have time or energy, you can unpack more like your clothes, shoes, and bags. Others like to display their picture frames first to ease homesickness.
Read also: How to Deal with Homesickness as an Expat
4. Measure and buy
Before you move to your new house, measure the area of each room so you can plan for your furniture. It also gives you an estimation of the number of things you can put in each room. Keep in mind to leave some empty spaces intended for walking and to simply have the sense of “space”. Whether you are a minimalist or you want to splurge, it’s better to buy the essentials first.
Wellington’s: When we were shopping for our new house in Atlanta, we thought all rooms have the same sizes. So we ordered 5 king-sized beds and mattresses. When they were delivered, we found out one of the rooms was actually smaller! We had to return one set, and order again a queen size. That’s why, it’s better to have an idea of how big the rooms are to save yourself time and headache!
5. Prepare for the first night
Set up the bed first! Don’t you want to sleep in your own bed after a long day of traveling and unpacking?
We hope your bed has been delivered before your arrival. If that’s not your plan, you can buy a bed at an affordable price. When moving to your new house, it is better to move your bed into the house first and have them installed just to make sure that you have a space to sleep on for the first night.
Wellington’s: When we moved to Alaska, on the first day, we only bought 2 king-sized beds and mattresses and everything that came with it like pillows, sheets and pillowcases. Nothing else, but at least we slept comfortably on our first night!
Most importantly, relax and enjoy your new home!
Final Thoughts!
The above five tips are simply the general guidelines to manage things better, and reduce the stress that comes with the move. Taking care of all these things makes moving and settling into your new home easier.
If you get to spend the first night in a clean home, feeling as if you are well on your way to creating a space you love, you will be even happier with your purchase. Best of all, the house will be all your own to organize, decorate, and turn into a home.
Have you recently moved into a new place? Do you have other tips for moving and settling into a new home?
Maria Cordova – A business and social entrepreneur. Advocate for innovation and sustainability. 2016 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) fellow, Techcamp alumni, and international entrepreneurship speaker. Currently writing for global nomads at globalisationguide.org.
Content edited for clarity. Featured mage by cottonbro from Pexels
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Thank you for such a useful article! I am terrified of moving! I collected so many things over the years!
I laughed as I read this because do too went through a transition and the thought of moving is exciting but the task that comes behind it is not so exciting.
thanks for this useful tips sharing, really help with those who are gonna moving & settling for sure
cheers, siennylovesdrawing
Indeed moving from one place to another is stressful and cumbersome. Thanks for sharing these tips, very helpful and informative. 🙂
Recently, I just moved to my new home and I can attest that it truly was challenging. Good thing my dad owns a truck and we’re able to transport all my belongings safely. My Pajero isn’t big enough to stuff all my things (boxes… boxes… tons of boxes!). Thanks for the tip!
Nothing is more stressful than moving into a new place, and starting over again. It took me two months to finally settle to my new apartment, especially I’m alone.
This tips would help me a lot that I can apply in the future when I buy a new house 🙂 Check the facilities is always the best before moving and settling.
I’ve moved three times in the past year and I’m so glad to finally be settled. You never realize how much stuff you truly own until you have to box it ALL up. Every single item. Getting the house professionally cleaned before moving is a great idea.
I feel like a lot of people think the house will be spick and span and ready to go. But no, you definitely need to in a day before moving everything in and do your own cleaning. Never know what some people will skip over!
Very informative article. I haven’t tried moving to a different house yet. Hahaha. This is gonna be useful once I get to hiy that dream house down south
What great tips on how to make moving and settling in easier. It is no piece of cake as I moved a lot during my life but these tips will help people!
Moving is such a huge overwhelming task. Thank you for this tips.
We have been thinking about upgrading our house. The thought of moving decades worth of stuff is overwhelming.
I’ve moved to a new house recently, it is so exhausting. Renting a transport was such a big help to us, we didn’t regret we hired one.
hi
these are some useful tips indeed. I wanted to know have you moved your house often as I could see the in the tips you were mentioning different towns and cities
These are great tips and are really helpful! Thank you for sharing these , gonna save this for future reference.
I have moved last year and I can attest that those 5 tips that you share are essential and can make a huge difference.
I believe that moving is such a headache. But, you can’t do anything if the situation requires. Yet, your tips will surely help those families who will move soon.
When I was little, I had difficulties settling down because we had to move frequently due to the nature of my dad’s job. I’d love my kids to find it easy to settle down permanently at a location and make good friends there. Nice write up Cheers
Having the house cleaned before you move in is an excellent tip. Definitely a good idea.