Things NOT To Do When You Move

I am only now recovering from this recent move. Someone said that moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life – and they weren’t kidding. Looking for a new place, applying for a new place, packing, decluttering, cleaning, hiring movers, and then actually moving. Changing my address, transferring utility bills. Moving around boxes in my new place, unpacking, arranging, and rearranging furniture, trying to sleep in a new place. Ugh. The purpose of at least some of these posts should be to try to help others, so I am offering my advice – born from experience – of a few things not to do when moving.

Do NOT Wait Until the Last Minute to Pack

Regrets, I have more than a few. I should have started packing in January of 2021. I should have finished by summer. No, I waited until I had finally signed a lease (SEVEN days before the end of my lease) before I started to pack in earnest. Seven days. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was making boxes while I ate dinner. I was packing boxes while I sat on the toilet. I was taping boxes in my sleep. I was so far behind…I didn’t sleep the evening of November 29, the day before the movers came. I stayed up all night, packing, taping, tossing, praying. I can’t drink caffeine because of my ulcerative colitis, so I relied on candy (on SUGAR) to keep me awake and functioning. It was a nightmare. The movers were carrying boxes and furniture downstairs, and I was still tossing stuff into boxes and slapping tape on them.

Every online moving guide I found says start packing as early as possible. Listen to them.

Do NOT Tell the Movers to Set the boxes anywhere, You’ll Take Care of Them Later

What can I say? They were friendly, personable, helpful. They went out of their way to assure me they would take extra special care of my belongings and get them moved without a scratch. I liked them. So, I got a little soft and…okay…I felt sorry for them. I hate moving anything. Lifting, tugging, hauling, dragging, carrying anything heavy just drags me down. I can be miserable for days. So, I felt sorry for them. I had a lot of boxes. Books. Videos. DVDs. CDs (I’m old). My Covis-19 stockpile (canned goods, dry goods, toilet tissue, paper towels (I tried to switch to cloth kitchen towels; it didn’t work), hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes). Clothes. Blankets (I have a lot more than I thought I did). It was a four-hour move. I got soft and cut them some slack. And regretted it almost instantly – the moment they left, and I closed the front door.

Do Not Procrastinate on Unpacking

I am still looking at unpacked boxes, not as many as two weeks ago, but still… You don’t feel entirely moved in, not entirely settled, until all your clutter has found a new resting place inside your house. I have a second bedroom, perfect for an office, and I haven’t set it up yet. I keep telling myself, “This weekend…starting right after breakfast…”

Get it over with. Get moved in. Get unpacked. Get on with your life.

Do NOT Unpack Everything

Or you’ll have stuff lying around on every available surface – and have to put it all back in boxes until you are ready to deal with it.

There are more lessons, I am sure. I hope I have helped someone. If you can afford it, use a moving company. Save yourself the hassle, effort, and stress.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

P.S. Label boxes. Make a list of what you put in each box.

I ripped tape off every box in the house trying to find a box cutter to open boxes with.

Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash