Relocating your entire household will take up much of your time, which is a fact. The only way you’ll be able to spend a minor amount of time packing, and moving is if you are a student or plan on moving locally. Even though moving is an extremely stressful process, there are ways to minimize frustration and move more efficiently. Before we dive into the best tips for a more efficient move, make sure to invest a decent amount of time in planning and organization. So, let’s talk about preparation first.

Preparation

So, starting from the beginning is always better since it’s only natural that way. Preparation refers to planning and organization in the most widespread sense. You’ll need to make several important decisions before diving into the process. We recommend deciding on the desired moving method in terms of hiring professional movers, going DIY, or renting a moving truck. If you have already moved in the past, chances are you’ll be able to conduct the entire move by yourself. However, asking family and friends for a few helping hands is always a good idea.

In addition, if you need to transport a vast amount of items, it might be wise to rent a moving truck in order to conduct the move in the fastest possible manner.

It’s good to have an idea of which option you prefer, but before making a final decision, it might be wise to conduct a moving budget.

Conduct Your Budget

How will you be able to choose the right moving method without conducting your budget? So, before making the final decision, we recommend taking the time to think and setting your priorities straight. For example, if you have enough helping hands and a moving truck, why would you spend money on hiring professional movers? Naturally, this is a general claim meaning that if you don’t want to waste time or simply want to let someone else do the hard work, hiring professional movers is a great idea.

On the other hand, hiring professional movers isn’t as easy as it seems, especially since you’ll need to find the perfect option that will soothe your needs best.  

One of the most critical factors here is your budget. You need to think thru about the amount you are willing to spend on the moving process. The general rule is to leave at least 30 percent of your budget for unexpected events that might occur. However, conducting your budget can be tricky if you don’t make a moving checklist and put everything on paper.

The Moving Checklist

The moving checklist should consist of all the tasks regarding your move. However, besides all the needed tasks, we recommend making a separate document that will serve as a list of all the belonging you plan on moving, or in other words, an inventory checklist. This way, you’ll be absolutely secure that you don’t leave out or forget about anything.

Do not forget to include a timeline that clearly defines goals for every week of your move. Although moving happens in one day, as we mentioned earlier, proper planning and organization should take place a couple of weeks prior to the entire move. Also, creating a packing supplies checklist is a good idea. The ultimate packing supplies checklist will help you protect your belongings in transport.

However, before making a checklist, we highly recommend that you think about decluttering and lowering the number of items you’ll need to move.

So, let’s talk about decluttering and its main benefits.

Declutter

Decluttering refers to getting rid of unnecessary, damaged, or outdated items. Even though it may seem easier to just pack up everything, you’d be surprised how lower the moving cost can be if you choose to get rid of 30 percent of all of your belongings.

Of course, there are a couple of ways how to declutter.

First thing first, in terms of the most economical practice, we recommend selling your items on various platforms or even throwing a moving sale (similar to a yard or a garage sale).

However, you can always choose to donate to those in need as long as the items you plan on donating are usable in some way.

And your last resort should be throwing away anything you don’t need, especially when talking about damaged items that cannot be put to good use.

Packing Materials

We completely understand that you are more than tempted to score some boxes for free, which might even be a good idea in some cases. What do we mean by some cases? If you plan on transporting solid items, there is nothing wrong with already-used boxes. However, when it comes to highly valuable or fragile items, we recommend investing a decent amount of money into quality packing materials in solid boxes, quality bubble wrap, furniture dollies, etc.

In reality, packing materials are not expensive and can even, in some cases, be rented. However, if you move often, it’s a better idea to purchase the packing materials.

So, to avoid breakages, bug infestations, and moldy boxes, make sure to invest in high-quality packing and moving materials.

Since we’re already talking about packing, don’t make the mistake of overpacking your belongings.

The whole move can be jeopardized when items start breaking during the move, and, to be honest, you won’t be able to blame movers for these kinds of problems.

In addition, you should even consider hiring professional packers for the move as long as you choose a trusted and experienced company.

Label

Often overlooked, labeling your belongings is an excellent idea not only for the moving process but also for unpacking when you arrive at your new home. Instead of frustrating over confusion regarding unpacking and figuring out where certain items are, by labeling, you’ll be perfectly aware of the best unpacking sequence.

You don’t need to spend an enormous amount of money on fancy markets. Instead, opt for the cheapest option and make sure to label every box with the right color.