Can you give me some tips on making moving less stressful?

1. Look at your new living situation and think about what you will need and what you will not. Separate and shed the unwanted items before going to the trouble of moving them.
2. Do your best to decide where everything goes and label everything accordingly.
3. If you are using movers get an appointment well ahead of time (weeks-months).
4. Have the utilities transferred to you for your new place as soon as you can.
5. Be around when the truck is loaded and unloaded so you can keep the movers on their toes about being careful.
6. Do not use boxes from liquor, grocery or big box stores. Spring for actual moving boxes.
This A: Keeps you from getting unwanted pest infestations and B: Keeps you from packing tons of smaller and inefficient boxes. Trust me, this is money well spent.

Most places have something to offer that you would not expect. Take the time to find out what those little quirks are and embrace a little change. You may find a new hobby or activity that keeps life in your new area interesting. Details about where to are moving to and from would be helpful like to the country or city…etc.

My first bit of advice would be to hire professionals to do it. Secondly, you can take it as an opportunity to discard things you no longer need or want. Good luck with the move!

Is this to a different country, state/county/province, or just across town?

Are you moving close by your current home? If yes, will you have the luxury of a few days overlap?

For me, the most difficult thing about a move is the kitchen; countless items to pack and unpack, and many of them fragile. If the answers are “yes” and “yes” to my questions, above, begin by thoroughly cleaning your new kitchen and installing fresh shelf and drawer liners. Then, decide where you’ll want to put things. Pack and move just a few boxes at a time – you’ll likely need to make a number of trips – and immediately unpack and store everything.

Clothing is a close second, again because of the large number of items, and also due to volume and weight. If you take the same, gradual approach, it’ll be easier. You can pack and move one closet per trip. As for anything stored in bureaus , simply leave the items where they are, remove the drawers, and transport the drawers as if they were boxes.

Make lists.Use labels.

Also, whenever I move I use it as an opportunity to get rid of accumulated crap.

Clean and organize before you start packing. Use black Sharpie permanent markers to label everything and all boxes.
Investigate the new area before you go. Check out some geocaches nearby. That can help you make friends before you get there.

@LuckyGuy geocaches? @ARE_you_kidding_me excellent tips there, I hadn’t even thought of booking the removal people well in advance. Thanks. @Pied_Pfeffer Just across town. @Love_my_doggie Yes luckily there is an overlap (thank goodness). I did think of that with the drawers. I think I might just do that. I can seal them firmly. Not sure how?

Geocaching.com It’s a treasure hunt game where you go out and find boxes and caches hidden in your area. There are now millions of them all over the world. You use your smart phone or GPS to locate them from the clue found on the website. I’m willing to bet there are at least 6 within 2 km of where you are right now.
One of the interesting things about it is the people. You find a few caches and read the logs to see who is in your area. After a short time you will recognize some folks. Often people get together for breakfast on a weekend and go searching together. You won’t find couch potatoes there.
Also every caches is rated for difficulty and terrain. Start out with the easiest ones. 1.0 or 1.5. You can get as crazy (challenged) as you like. 5.0 is the max and can be life threatening – side of a cliff, under water in a cave, off a bridge, on a mountain top. People who do those are usually in great shape.

If you can use a moving company that would make it a lot easier. You take your personal items and they will handle everything else. Can’t offer any advice on moving to somewhere you don’t want to move. I assume work is the reason, just have to make the best of it. And when you get there try and prove yourself wrong about it being a place you don’t like.

@CalHoncho I agree, I think a better attitude from me will help!

Don’t get movers’ insurance unless you have well documented your valuable items (time dated photos top, sides, bottom, and a purchase receipt or an appraiser’ document).

If you do have a claim they will deny your claim a minimum of 7 times before they even think of paying out. and unless you are very very specific about how repairs are to be made, they will do a slap dash job on the repair. You won’t get to choose who does the repair either. I can thank ”Bekins The Careful Movers” for destroying a houseful of museum worthy antiques.

If you do have anything seriously valuable, do your homework ahead of time and get movers that specialize in moving museums.

My father was the original “house flipper”. He bought, fixed up, and sold a house every year. I learned to do without and make do from a very early age. Don’t invest anything in your belongings. The best plan is leave everything behind and start all over again. That way, every move is an adventure.

We donated everything we owned to charity and started over in each new house. I learned to enjoy the adventure.

@YARNLADY Love this answer and you are right! Some things, of course, are replaceable others not so much. I just adore this idea so much. Thank you.

Yes moving is a stressful thing for sure and it really takes a lot out from you both mentally as well as physically however I personally believe that it is more appropriate to hire a professional moving company in this regard. These companies though may seem a little expensive to you however they surely take all your stress on themselves and provide you with a tension free move to your new home. Some general moving tips however are as follows
•Try to utilize the moving boxes.
•Keep inspecting the movers do not leave them on their own. Keep them on their toes.
•Audit your items carefully. Ensure where they are going and label them too.

Insuring them means nothing unless you have a recent purchase receipt, or it’s recently been appraised.

If you ever have a big claim as I did (Bekins destroyed a houseful of museum worthy antiques), THEY pick who repairs it. THEY decide how it’s repaired. THEY want it done as cheaply as possible. THEY don’t care. They will also deny your claim a minimum of 7 times before they even think of repairing your item.

Nuthin’ stressful about that, right?

We have moved many times. The majority of times that things have been destroyed or lost (read stolen), many of those times involved storage by the moving company. If you can avoid having them store your things, you may save yourself from some grief.

I thought I’d give feedback regards the move!

It went horribly, however, what has been amazing is that the area I moved to is actually Okay. I am liking it here. Except we have a compulsive renovator above us! It’s Sunday and it sounds as if the roof is caving in, ah! but aside from that it gets a huge thumbs up! Thanks for your answers.