Tips to Ensure a Smooth Transition During Your Move

Do you remember the last time you moved? The packing, the endless tape, the boxes, carrying heavy furniture around, your friends suddenly having something come up so they can’t help? It’s a trial faced by hundreds of people a day.

Whether it’s moving into your first apartment or your dream home, the process itself never seems to get any easier. In order to make your move into your New Traditions Homes more enjoyable, we’ve put together some tips and tricks for you.

Here are our favorite tips to ensure a smooth transition during your move!

Clean House

Moving is the perfect opportunity to get rid of all the excess stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. You never realize just how much you’ve collected living in one place until it’s time to pack it all up and lug it somewhere else.

As you’re packing, take a hard look at your belongings and decide if you really need to keep them or not. If you realize that you don’t need something at your new home, there is no shame in saying goodbye. Fewer things to pack means an easier move over all!

Set Up a Charity Pickup

If you have something you don’t need anymore, but don’t necessarily want to just throw away, you should get in touch with a local charity and organize a pickup. Many charitable organizations offer free pick up for things you wish to donate, allowing you to move on to the things you actually want to take with you to your New Traditions Homes.

Fret not! Your beloved old couch can go to a new family who will love it just as much as you once did.

Change Your Address a Few Weeks Ahead

Before you get to your New Traditions Homes, contact the post office to get your mail sent there. Changing your mailing address is an easy step to forget in the chaos of a move, but can prove to be a major headache later.

Changing your address is an easy process today and some states even let you do it online. Put the paperwork in a few weeks ahead of time so you’re all set by the time the last box is unpacked in your new home. This step will help you transition with ease!

Coordinate With Utility Companies

Don’t forget to call your current utility company before the move gets into full swing. Set an end date of service for your current home, arranging to drop off anything they might need to be returned along with the move.

Then, open a new account in your New Traditions Homes a little while before your actual move-in date. That way, you can focus on actually moving in without worrying about any interruptions of service or surprise bills as you transition into your new home. You don’t want to get all moved into your new home, only to find out you have no water, do you?

Plan Out Tasks in Advance

There’s more to a move than just packing boxes and cramming things in the back of a truck. As you get closer to the move, plan a calendar of what you need to get done before your actual moving day.

Pick a specific deadline for smaller tasks in order to break them up into more manageable plans of action. Decide which day you’ll call the truck rental company, when you’ll organize your extra sheets and towels, when you need to clean out the fridge, and so on. You’ll chip away at it one day at a time.

Start Packing Early

When are you thinking of starting to pack? Whatever the answer is, it’s not early enough. Packing is one of those tasks that takes half as long as it does in your mind than it does in real life. The longer you put it off, the more frantic you’ll be when the time comes to actually get into your home.

Divide your clothes between those you actually need now and those that are completely out of season. There’s no reason to keep your thick winter jacket on the rack in the middle of the summer; might as well box it up now.

Do Your Research on Movers

If you’re planning on using a mover, it pays to do your research far ahead of time. There are plenty of people advertising their moving companies, but all companies are not created equal.

Check, and then double check, any company you’re considering. Your movers are an integral part of the move and it’s to your benefit to find out their practices and policies. Give yourself some time to do some online searching and review reading, and you’ll find the perfect company before you know it! With their help, you can get set up in your new home easily.

Make a Plan for the Day of the Move

When moving day finally comes, create a specific agenda. That will help keep things clear and on track, making sure you move along at a steady pace and don’t skip anything important.

A plan of attack is also helpful to coordinate any help you have for the move, whether that be movers or any friends you’ve bribed into helping. Things will go much quicker if you’re not stepping on each other’s toes.

Create a To-Do List

Along with an agenda, keep a master to-do list of everything you need to get done on moving day. Moving is no small task and no one expects you to be able to keep track of every single one of the things you need to get done before you get settled. It doesn’t matter if you use your phone, a notebook, or a big sheet of butcher paper. Just find something that works for you and stick to it.

Pack With a System

Before you start putting things away, decide on a system of packing. Many people just write the room or object names on boxes, but why stop there? Create a color code so you can tell where things go at a glance, then further break things into subcategories for each room. Establishing a system ahead of time makes it easy to quickly and efficiently put everything where it needs to go, saving you valuable time as you begin to unpack into your new life.