Before you even start your packing checklist for moving, you might have to think about how you’re going to move. If you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff since your last relocation (and doesn’t that always seem to be the case?), just thinking about where to get boxes for moving can be overwhelming. Above all, you need to ask two simple questions: What do you need to take with you? And who’s going to help you move it all?
The first step is usually calling in relatives to help with the move since they have to be nice to you. Nearly three-quarters of Americans have extended family members living within an hour’s drive of them. But while blood might be thicker than the insulation in your old apartment, there’s no way Aunt Gertrude is going to be much help with furniture moving. This solution just doesn’t always pan out for everybody, either, since most Americans have five or fewer relatives living nearby, while 26% don’t have any at all.
If your friends are too bitter about your imminent departure to help you pack, and you can’t manage to lift the antique bureau by yourself, it’s worthwhile to consider professional movers. If adding “Hire Professional Company” to your checklist for moving sounds expensive or burdensome, just think about all the items you’ll be able to erase from that checklist with one fell swoop. Renting a truck? Done. Putting all the boxes together like a game of Tetris? Not your problem. Icing your back for the next week because you pulled something? It’ll never happen.
Furthermore, think about why you’re moving: Is it for a job? Many companies offer full relocation reimbursement for new hires (53%, according to some statistics), even more so for transfers (63%). Or are you moving because you’re ready to start a family and need the space? If that’s the case, you’re going to want to think about the best moving solutions to fill up your new house with all that stuff, so you can make it into a home as easily and as quickly as possible.
Whatever your reasons, moving can be stressful, especially since the timeline of your move often coincides with other stressful events: A new job, a new child, a new stage in a relationship. You might be in a strange new town where you don’t know the streets or the parking. In any five-year time span, 24% of Americans are leaving their old cities or areas for new ones, and dropping down in a new environment for the first time is stressful enough as it is.
The best part of moving is settling into your new space, surrounded with your belongings and, hopefully, a freshly-delivered pizza. If you want to minimize your checklist for moving, outsource it!
