It seems that throughout my life I was preparing myself to be an organizer, even before I knew that’s what I was called to do. From the age of 18 to 29, I have moved 14 times. In fact, the longest I ever stayed somewhere was 2 years, and that only happened one time. I have moved all over the state of Colorado and lived in an assortment of places, and with each place I’ve had to learn how to unpack my stuff, declutter before and after moving, and find creative ways to store my stuff. I want to share with you a few tips I’ve learned along the way! If you move often at all, you’ll want to keep getting better at it, so it’s less stressful on you and your family.
1. Type up a list of all the places you’ll need to change your address with
Keep it, so you don’t have to keep trying to remember every time you move. Yes, I recommend changing your address with the post office so that you get your mail forwarded, but you still need to change your address with each individual company. Any time you add a new place to your life that needs to know your address, just add it to your list. You’ll be so glad you did! Also, add on to this list the family members you need to update your address with!
How did I learn this trick? The hard way, of course. I would forget EVERY year to update my car registration, and guess what? If they don’t have your address on file, you HAVE to go in to the DMV to update your registration, you can’t do it through the mail. So, after about 4 years of forgetting and having to sit at the DMV for hours, I realized, “Hey, I need to update this every time I move so I can just mail in my registration” And there ya have it, hard lesson learned.
2. Start decluttering months before
Don’t wait til the last minute to start seeing what you own, I suggest you start with a small project here and there and start decluttering and organizing. The more prepared you are in this way, the easier your packing will be. I’ve seen people pack entire drawers just by dumping them in to a garbage bag, and they have NO idea what’s in there. Well, usually what happens when they get to their new place, that bag doesn’t end up back in a drawer, it sits by itself untouched for months, or even years where it collects dust and no one wants to deal with it. If you take the time to clean up your drawers before packing, it will eliminate the mystery of the drawer.
I still believe that in general, the less you own, the more organized you’ll be. The same is true for moving, the less you own, the easier moving will be.
3. Ask for help
No matter who you are, it is most likely that you have more stuff than you want to move by yourself. I remember one year, I decided I didn’t have too much stuff and it wouldn’t be a big deal to move. Boy, was I wrong. I was moving from a 3rd floor apartment (no elevator) to an apartment 15 minutes away that was at least 1/4 of a mile away from the parking lot and also had a set of stairs. I spent hours driving back and forth, why? Because, even though I didn’t have a ton of stuff, I could only fit so much in my car before I had to unload. Ridiculous. I finished that move and vowed never to move again without asking for help. Even if you have movers coming, ask your friends for help packing, or at least ask them to watch your kids while you do, or while the movers are there. This will eliminate SO much stress, and will totally be worth it. On that note, hopefully you’ll be the friend who helps others when they are moving. I do believe we should aim to be humble enough to ask for help, and also humble enough to offer help!
Well, there ya have it. 3 tips to help your move be stress free and more organized! As always, I’m cheering you on, with GRACE!
Did You Know: I’ve been featured as one of the best organizing blogs!
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