It’s no secret to anyone that moving is stressful. I mean, think about it. You’re taking everything you own, uprooting it, and planting it somewhere else. It’s stressful even if you’re just moving down the street. But, add in the fact that you’re moving to a whole different city and the stress factor goes up even more.
When we move, we often call on our friends and family to help us with the packing or unpacking processes. That means your move can be stressful for your friends and loved ones too. So, how about we have a little discussion about some tips for how to de-stress your move? Then you and your friends can still be friends, and you’ll get your move all taken care of without needing to drown your sorrows in something.
For starters, we, as humans, are creatures of habit. Moving means all or most of our habits are about to have to change. Especially if you’re moving to an entirely new city or territory, the things that you do habitually, like stopping for that delicious latte on the way to work, chatting with your neighbor after doing yard work, even the order in which you clean your house, will be no longer.
Money is another reason moving is stressful. It costs a lot to move most of the time. There are lots of financial decisions involved from choosing a moving company, to finding a new home, to eating out, to paying for packing materials, and so much more. Budgeting for a move can be tough, so it definitely creates stress.
The amount of physical effort it takes to move certainly stresses us out too. Packing, sorting, cleaning, hauling, lifting, and moving things is serious work. Physical stress on your body also causes stress within it.
Mental distress is exhausting. You have to plan and think about a lot when you are making a big move. This causes stress and anxiety for everyone involved. You might even be losing sleep over these things. Moving turns our entire world upside down, so of course, that induces stress.
So, let’s talk about how you can combat that.
While you need to be diligent about your packing and do it right, so things don’t get broken or damaged, you can make your packing time fun. Put on some music you love and dance around when you’re putting items in boxes. There’s no reason it has to be a mundane task.
It’ll also be more fun if you don’t leave it until the last minute. Give yourself plenty of time to get all of your stuff packed. If you start early enough, you can set a number of boxes to pack per day so that you don’t get overwhelmed by how much you need to get done.
You can multi-task by using this opportunity to do something you might have wanted to do for a long time. De-clutter your life by going through closets, your basement, your kitchen and getting rid of things you don’t need. You can give items to friends, sell them for some extra cash, or donate them at the appropriate facilities. You’ll have less to unpack once you get to your new home and you’ll feel good about accomplishing something you’ve wanted to do for some time.
When you pack your things, be as organized as you can. Knowing that you’ve sorted everything out already will give you some peace of mind when you’re thinking about how you have to unpack your things on the other end of your move. If you just throw things into boxes and bags without thinking about where they go and without labeling anything, you’ll be creating more stress because you know you have to sort everything after you move.
Don’t feel like you have to move all by yourself. There is nothing wrong with asking for help. You can ask friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors for help with packing, keeping your kids, breaking down furniture, and moving large items. You don’t need to feel guilty about it. No one should have to do such a big job by themselves. Besides, you’ll likely have to return the favor one day.
All work and no play makes for a very stressful situation. Hopefully, you’ve started your process early enough that taking breaks doesn’t make you stress more because of the lack of time you have. But even if you don’t have a lot of time to work with, you have to allow yourself some breaks. You need to stay hydrated, take time to eat, remember to breathe, and maybe even laugh a little bit. Sit down, relax, and get rejuvenated before you get back at it. It will allow you to release some of the stress you’re feeling instead of letting it continuejust to build up more.
This might sound weird at first, but let us explain. There are a lot of items that you’ll be taking apart, disassembling, and removing pieces of. Furniture, toys, electronics, and more can require that you do this to transport them safely to your new destination.
Taking pictures of these items gives you a visual reference for how they go back together. You will save yourself a lot of stress by making a visual file like this that will show you how to put everything back the way they’re supposed to be.
Moving is sure to be stressful on some level. But it doesn’t have to be debilitating and cause you to have a total meltdown. Take big, deep breaths, surround yourself with friendly faces who will help you, and remember that the seemingly chaotic mess that is your life right now is just a passing moment. You’ll be on the other side of it soon.
