Well, it’s that time of year again! And with the summer months come all the usual challenges and rewards- the kids are home from school, the patios are open, the barbecue’s out of storage, and of course, it’s moving season. More moves take place over the summer than any other time of year and keeping that in mind we wanted to provide you with 7 top tips to help make your move worry-free.
1. Keep your home in tip-top shape
To avoid last-minute scrambling, keep your home respectably clean year-round. If you know where everything is and can access it easily, you’ll see a huge reduction in stress around moving time.
2. Labels, labels, labels
We aren’t just talking scrawling “kitchen stuff” or “old dvds” on the outside of the box with an old sharpie here, put some time into this. Try to give each box a general title and list each individual item packed in it; it sounds like a lot of work, I know, but you’ll appreciate it when you arrive at your new house, it’s dinner time and you can’t remember which box you have your favourite frying pan squirreled away in.
3. Tap into your local LCBO or Beer Store
One of the best ways of obtaining the boxes you’ll need for a move is to raid your local LCBO or Beer Store (with their express permission of course). Both stores keep a number of large boxes on hand and employees are often more than happy to pass them on to you for your moving needs if you just take the time to come in and ask.
4. Start With the Basics
This is going to sound crazy, I know, but bear with me. If you’re on a time crunch when it comes to your move, consider packing your essentials first and unpacking them last. If you really need to get to your toiletries before you go to bed on the day of your move-in but you’ve sworn you won’t unpack them until the rest of your stuff is successfully moved in, believe me you’ll dig deep and find some extra motivation.
5. Organization is the Key
Be sure to optimize your packing in each box and when packing your boxes into your move-in vehicle of choice. A tight fit could be the difference between 10 boxes and 7 or 2 moving vehicles and 1.
6. Phone a Friend!
That’s right, “phone a friend” is good for more than just contestants on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. Rather than letting moving be a drag, tap into your friend circle and trade someone a case of beer or a nice dinner out for an afternoon’s worth of work. Packing away and moving your whole life can seem daunting to say the least, but with a good friend at your side to chat, laugh and generally have a good time with, the hours fly past faster and your move will be much less stressful.
7. Take Your Time
It’s almost impossible to put the value of a smooth, worry-free move into words. Take some extra time while you’re packing and take it again while you’re unpacking- rushing is when the job gets sloppy and things get lost and broken. There’s no sense in breaking Great Aunt Betsy’s heirloom China because you’re trying to rush things (unless you’ve been looking for an excuse to- and don’t worry, we won’t tell).
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