There comes a point in everyone’s life where they must move. This is not a metaphysical way of saying that a person must move their life forward. It is also not a way of saying that exercise is important, although it is. Rather, this is a way of saying that everyone moves from one house, street, town, state, or country to another. For some people, this happens multiple times in their lives. Regardless if it is one or multiple times, moving is often difficult. There is the process of finding a place to move to, selling your current house (when applicable), packing everything up, finding a moving service to hire, and then actually moving, unpacking, and settling in. Each step brings with it a specific round of stress, thoughts, and concerns. Thankfully, there are a few things that can be done to make each step of the process easier. If you are willing to take a bit of extra time and focus on a few simple activities, you will find that your move goes much smoother and easier. Here, you will find several tips to help you accomplish this and the instructions on how to accomplish each step with the most efficiency.
The first step will depend on whether or not you need to sell your current home. If you do, the first step is to find a real estate agent and get your home listed on the market. Once this is accomplished, you will have the freedom to move forward with your plans and work on securing your new home. For those who are living with family, live in an apartment, or do not have to sell your current home for any reason, you can move on to securing a new location. If you plan on buying or renting a house, you will need to scout out what is available in the area that you intend to move to. Of course, there are many other options besides buying or renting a house. Perhaps you prefer to look for an apartment. Maybe you are planning on moving in with a friend or family member. There is also the possibility that you already have a new place to live in the form of a dorm room or a home on a military base. There are many options and possibilities. It would take far too long to go over each and every one. For the sake of keeping this information simple, from this point, all information will revolve around the actual act of moving without consideration for where you are going or where you are leaving behind.
At this point in the process, you will be preparing for the actual move which means you will be working on two things. The first is packing everything away in boxes and other containers and the second is looking for a moving company to hire. It is best to begin looking for a moving company well in advance of the time you actually need them. This will keep you from having to worry about it at the last minute. Having a plan in place makes everything far easier overall. Of course, you also want to give yourself enough time to find the best moving companies near you. Some areas will only have one moving company and others may not have any moving companies available. Of course, there are also areas where you may be able to find multiple companies to choose from. If you do not know what is or is not available in your area, the best thing to do is research your options. The best way to do this is by searching for the phrase “moving company” along with a location descriptor in your preferred search engine. Once you know what your options are, you will be better equipped to find a company that best fits your needs.
After you find a moving company to hire, the next step is to gather the supplies that you will need to pack up all of your items. This list of items includes containers, packing tape, tape gun, bubble wrap, brown packing paper, and labeling supplies. When it comes to labeling supplies, you have a few different options. The first is to utilize a label maker. This is a good option, but if you do not already own said label maker, there is no need to make that investment for nothing more than packing efficiency. Another option is to write directly on the containers with a permanent marker and seal it with clear tape to avoid any smudging or rubbing off. However, if you want to be able to reuse the containers, particularly in the case of plastic totes, this is not really the best option. The next option is to use masking tape to create a label that you can write on. Once you have completed the label, you can then seal in down with clear packing tape. This is easy to remove once you complete your move so that the container can be used for something else. As for containers, it is best to utilize multiple types including plastic totes, cardboard boxes and creates.
Once you are ready to begin packing everything away, here are a few things to remember so that you can best protect all of your items. When it comes to packing breakable items, you want to be extra cautious. These are the items that are best packed into plastic totes to ensure optimal protection. Each item should be completely wrapped in bubble wrap that is then secured with a bit of tape. Invariably, there will be spaces and gaps in between items as well as in between the item and the container. To keep the items from moving around it is best to fill these spaces. There are two options here. Some people choose to use towels, cloth, or clothing pieces to fill these spaces. This option is preferred by many because not only does it pad the items and fill the spaces, it also allows for more things to be packed into a single container. If this option does not interest you, there is a second option. In this case, you will use brown packing paper, ball it up, and use it to pad and fill the spaces.