Moving house is one life event that is well-known to be stressful. The official Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale ranked “major change in living conditions” as the 28th most stressful life event, which means it can cause enough stress to seriously impact someone’s mental health.
However, there are ways that this stress can be reduced and prevented. For World Mental Health Day, Compare My Move has put together a list of 7 ways that you can reduce stress during your move through planning and preparation.
Start Packing as Early as Possible
You should start packing as soon as the contracts are signed and you know that you are moving house. You can start by packing things that you don’t often use, and things that you can live without in the weeks or months up to your move-in date. By getting these items out of the way, you can also determine what you need and what you don’t need straight away when moving in. The items that are packed last are often the items to be unpacked first, and vice versa.
By packing as early as possible, you have much more time to properly organise your belongings, and you don’t overwhelm yourself with too much to do in too little time which could risk mental burnout.
Get Help
The best way to alleviate as much stress as you can while moving is to get some help. Moving is going to take a lot longer, and take a lot more effort if you are on your own. Having a friend or family member there will half the work, and having a group of helpers will make your move-in day and the stress that comes with it, fly by.
There are two ways you can get help with your move, option one is to enlist the help of family and friends, and option two is to use a house removal company. House removal companies can tailor your move to your needs, you can get house removals that pack and unpack your items, or simply lend a hand and a van when moving the items from one place to the next.
In order to find exactly what you are looking for, it’s important to compare house removal companies beforehand and book these companies as early as you know the move-in date, as waiting will mean fewer companies to choose from.
Make a To-Do List
Being organised is a great way to reduce anxiety leading up to and during the move, and an effective way to be organised is to create a to-do list for your move. Things to include on your to-do list are:
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Pack your rooms into labelled boxes.
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Transfer the necessary utilities and pay off any outstanding builds.
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Thoroughly clean both your new property and your old property.
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Inform the relevant people of your move.
Not only should these events be featured in a list, but they should also form a timeline; for example, the packing of rooms into boxes will usually come first on your to-do list, along with scheduling your move-in date and getting quotes for your removal company as well as your conveyancer and surveyor if you are buying a new property. Everyone’s timeline and to-do list will be different, so make sure yours is personal to you.
Have a Crossover Between Your Move-in and Move-out Dates
Having more time will always help stress levels, and having a good amount of crossover between your move-in and move-out dates minimises the anxiety of an approaching deadline.
When rushing a move, you could forget to complete some steps, your to-do list will be disjointed and unorganised, this will cause a lot more stress and could lead to losing items in transit, or placing items in the wrong boxes.
Having an earlier move-in date than your move-out date will allow you to use the ‘trickle-in’ method for moving. If you aren’t using a removal company and are moving in yourself, you can use the ‘trickle-in’ method by moving a small amount from one property to the other each day in your overlap, and unpacking while you do so. The moving process will take longer but will reduce stress by allowing you to properly account for all that is there while you are moving, and allow you to take breaks in between your moves.
Take Advantage of Self-Storage
If you cannot get an earlier move-in date than your move-out date, or you need extra time to move all of your items into your new home you can take advantage of self-storage units near your new property.
By moving all of your belongings into a self-storage unit before moving items into your new property, you can take time to slowly unpack each room one by one, and there isn’t a definitive time period to work towards, reducing the anxiety of getting everything done before a deadline. This also allows a version of the ‘trickle-in’ moving method mentioned earlier, in which you can slowly move your items from the self-storage unit to your new house, without the stress of a deadline.
Clean Your New Property Before You Move There
If you move into a dirty house you will have to clean as you move or will have to clean when you have moved in – this can be quite stressful and lead to burnout as if you are cleaning while moving you may overwork yourself and if you move your belongings before cleaning, you will have to later move these belongings while cleaning.
We recommend always doing a full clean of each property when they are empty. This means that before you move anything into your new property give it a thorough clean, so you are physically moving into a clean house. Likewise, don’t start doing a full clean of the property you are moving from until everything is moved out. By doing this, you have a timeline of what you need to do and aren’t forcing all the tasks in together. A good rule to remember: Only Clean an Empty House.
Take Regular Breaks And Take in Your New Surroundings
Taking regular breaks during your move is key to avoiding burnout and reducing the stress involved as it gives your mind and body a chance to decompress. These breaks are also a great way to take in the surroundings of your new home, sit down with a cup of tea on the sofa, make a quick meal in your new kitchen, or even have a nap in your new bed. These are all ways you can get used to living in your home while taking away from the stress of getting everything moved in as soon as possible.
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