Turns out for my life, the magic number is ten moves in ten years. I moved for school and jobs and had a few detours when we lived with my mom for a few months waiting on a house to be built.
What does one learn by moving an average of once a year over a decade?
Image: Moving Solutions
Hire Help
Don’t move it yourself, if you can manage it. But also don’t get caught up with the wrong movers.
When we were college students, we took the route of buying pizza and beer for friends in order to move. As I got older and the stuff that I had grew in value, it was important to find a mover that was insured and able to compensate me if anything was broken in the move.
You can hire movers in a variety of levels. My favorite tends to be packing my own items and then paying for a few hours on the day of the move to have them load and unload the truck! It removes so much stress from the day and saves your back in the long run. Don’t make the mistake of loading a large truck with all your belongings and signing paperwork ahead of time that you will pay per square cubic foot that they load… I could have sold everything I owned on that move and rebought it new for the price tag that it ended up being to move my stuff. But they had it all on a truck and ready to go. What do you do??? Do your research on any company that you use and ideally, grab a referral from a friend! In the Nashville area, Moving Solutions seems to be a popular company to use because of their friendly staff and quick skills to get you packed safely and out the door. Whether you are moving local or long moving to the Nashville area, these professionals can help every step of the way!
SELL & PURGE
If you read nothing else. Read this. As someone who has moved multiple times, I have fallen prey to moving things that I thought I would need later. My last move was a little over a year ago and I still have a few unopened boxes in my closet. If it isn’t memories and it’s unopened a year later, donate it. Sell it. Light it on fire!
I find that about a year after I move, I take the same approach. I look at the items that I haven’t needed or touched in the last year and I let them go. It tends to correlate with spring cleaning and getting the things you don’t use any more out of your home actually clears mental space. I can’t encourage this one enough.
Splurge for good packing materials
There are some packing materials that aren’t worth it. But get the good tape. Get sturdy boxes and splurge on the dish and glassware packing items. That foam sleeve may seem silly, but it makes it so much easier to pack your kitchen items.
You will also want to grab that roll of bubble wrap. It might be $40, but if you can protect all your dishes, vases and any thing else that is breakable, you are saving the money! Depending on how far you are moving and how long things will be in boxes, you will want to pad your items more.
Should you let movers pack your stuff?
This is a very personal decision. It depends on how OCD you are and how much control you need. I need a good bit of control, so I never sprung for this. I also like to be frugal in the ways that I can be.
That being said, there are times in your life, that you need to just delegate. Let them pack things. They are going to do it in a logical way and label it accordingly. At the end of the day, as long as it is all moved from point A to point B, you are succeeding.
You will survive the move
Everyone reaches the point that they feel like they aren’t going to make it. There are still all these odds and ends that they haven’t finished boxing. All of the sudden, you have more towels than you remember buying. And if you have kids…. Don’t even get me started on the number of times that you unpack and repack a box because there was something they needed in it.
You will get moved and settle into your next stage of life. Moving is one of the most stressful things you can do. Have a little grace with yourself and maybe throw on some music and make it fun.
Good luck with your next move and I wish you a seamless and easy move (if those exist!).
Hacking the Working Mom 