Transferring Help: 8 Tips for a Better Cross Country Move
We all understand about turning on the energies at the new location and completing the change-of-address form for the postal service, however when you make a long-distance move, some other things come into play that can make obtaining from here to there a bit more difficult. Here are nine pointers pulled from my recent experience of moving from the East Coast to the West Coast-- from packing the moving van to dealing with the inevitable crises.
1. Take full advantage of space in the moving van. Moving cross-country is not low-cost (I can only imagine the expense of moving overseas), so I did a lot of reading and asking around for pointers before we packed up our home, to make sure we took advantage of the area in our truck. Now that we've made it to the opposite, I can say with confidence that these are the leading three packaging steps I would do again in a heart beat:
Declutter prior to you pack. There's no sense in bringing it with you-- that space in the truck is loan if you don't enjoy it or require it!
Leave dresser drawers filled. For the very first time ever, rather than clearing the cabinet drawers, I just left the linens and clothing folded inside and concluded the furniture. Does this make them much heavier? Yes. As long as the drawers are filled with lightweight items (definitely not books), it needs to be fine. And if not, you (or your assistants) can carry the drawers out separately. The advantage is twofold: You need less boxes, and it will be easier to discover things when you move in.
Pack soft items in black garbage bags. Glamorous? Not in the least. This has to be the smartest packaging concept we tried. Fill durable black garbage bags with soft products (duvets, pillows, stuffed animals), then use the bags as area fillers and cushioning inside the truck. To keep items safeguarded and clean, we doubled the bags and connected, then taped, them shut. Use a permanent marker on sticky labels applied to the outdoors to note the contents.
2. Paint before you move in. If you prepare to offer your new space a fresh coat of paint, it makes a great deal of sense to do this before moving all your things in.
Aside from the apparent (it's simpler to paint an empty home than one loaded with furnishings), you'll feel an excellent sense of accomplishment having "paint" checked off your order of business before the first box is even unpacked.
While you're at it, if there are other unpleasant, disruptive items on your list (anything to do with the floors absolutely certifies), getting to as a lot of them as possible prior to moving day will be a huge assistance.
Depending on where you're moving, there may be extremely couple of or lots of choices of service companies for things like phone and cable television. Or you may find, as we did, that (thanks to lousy mobile phone reception) a landline is a need at the new place, even though using just cellular phones worked fine at the old house.
One of the all of a sudden unfortunate minutes of our move was when I realized we couldn't bring our houseplants along. We gave away all of our plants but ended up keeping some of our favorite pots-- something that has made picking plants for the new space much simpler (and less expensive).
As soon as you remain in your brand-new location, you might be tempted to delay purchasing brand-new houseplants, however I prompt you to make it a top priority. Why? Houseplants clean the air (especially important if you've used paint or floor covering that has unpredictable natural substances, or VOCs), but essential, they will make your house feel like home.
Give yourself time to get used to a new climate, time zone and culture. After moving from New England back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I've been amazed at how long it's taken to feel "settled"-- even though I've moved back to my home town!
6. Anticipate some disasters-- from kids and adults. Moving is hard, there's simply no other way around it, but moving long-distance is particularly hard.
It means leaving behind friends, schools, jobs and maybe household and getting in a great unidentified, brand-new location.
Even if the brand-new location sounds terrific (and is terrific!) meltdowns and psychological minutes are an absolutely natural response to such a huge shakeup in life.
So when the moment comes (and it will) that someone (or more than one someone) in your house needs a good cry, roll with it. Then get yourselves up and find something fun to check out or do in your brand-new town.
7. Expect to shed some more things after you move. No matter what does it cost? decluttering you do prior to moving, it seems to be a law of nature that there will be items that simply do not suit the new space.
Even if everything healthy, there's bound to be something that simply doesn't work like you believed it would. Try not to hold on to these things simply from aggravation.
Sell them, gift them to a dear friend or (if you genuinely like the items) keep them-- but just if you have the storage area.
Expect to purchase some things after you move. Each home has its peculiarities, and those peculiarities demand new things. Perhaps your old cooking area had a substantial island with plenty of space for cooking preparation and for stools to pull up for breakfast, however the new cooking area has a big empty area right in the middle of the space that requires a portable island or a cooking area table and chairs.
Moving cross-country is not inexpensive (I can only think of the cost of moving official site overseas), so I did a lot of reading and asking around for pointers prior to we packed up our home, to make sure we made the many of the space in our truck. If you prepare to provide your new area a fresh coat of paint, it makes a lot of sense to do this before moving all of your things in.
After moving from New England back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I have actually been surprised at how long it's taken to feel "settled"-- even though I've moved back to my home town! Moving is hard, there's just no method around it, but moving long-distance is specifically difficult.
No matter how much decluttering you do before moving, it appears to be a law of nature that there will be items that merely don't fit in the brand-new space.