5 Tips for a Stress-Free Move

Did you know that moving is considered one of the top stressors that a person might experience in their entire lifetime? That’s right! Moving is up there as a stressful situation, right along with losing a job, losing a loved one, and divorce. Isn’t that nuts? Moving CAN BE stressful, but it does not have to be. In fact, it can be an exciting adventure, without the stress, but you have to aim for that and almost force it to happen that way.

Leaving your old home, packing up all of your belongings, finding a new place to live, and going through the entire transaction has the potential to become very stressful, but don’t let it happen that way. Instead, use these five tips for a stress-free move. Of course, these are not all of the things that I could list, but here are 5 short and sweet helpful tips:

Take It Slow And Create A Timeline

First of all, you want to take your moving process slow. A friend of mine decided to move to a new area all of a sudden, did it all within a week, and then regretted her decision afterward. If you are looking into a move, please take your time to research areas, research homes or apartments, and research the financial aspect of it, as well. There is absolutely no need to rush unless you are in a special circumstance, and in that case, I would recommend finding another solution (like a short-term rental or temporarily moving in with family) before buying a new home, in a new area that you have not researched much.

When it comes to actually moving, there is nothing more stressful than having to rush from home to home. Avoid this situation by building in ample time to make the transition. That might mean that you have to pay double rent or mortgages for a couple of weeks, but if it will reduce your stress load, it’s 100% worth it! In addition, you might want to create min-deadlines for yourself along the way. Set a goal to clean or pack # number of hours each day, so that you do not get overloaded at the end.

Implement your mini-goals before the day-of and then when it comes to the day-of, create a moving day timeline. This can be a very simple schedule, or a very detailed timeline with a to-do list and ‘don’t forgets’ built in. Creating a timeline will help you stay on track, without the stress, and it will also help you remember all of the details for the day-of. When are you going to clean your old home? What about the new home? What time is closing? When will the movers come, or when do you need to rent the moving truck? Do you have friends coming over to help? When are they coming? There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to moving, so planning a schedule will help eliminate a lot of the stress for yourself.

A Positive Mindset

A positive mindset has the potential to ‘make’ your move when it comes to stress and the way you feel about leaving your old home and moving into a brand new one. There are a lot of different emotions that come up along the way, so making sure that you stay positive is essential. How to go about keeping a positive mindset? Well, for starters - think about all of the good things. Even if this is a stressful and not-so-great move, there are still positives that you can get from it! Make sure you keep those at the front of your mind and the things that are not-so-great on the backburner.

Find A Good Agent

My best tip when it comes to having a stress-free move? Hire a good a

gent! There is nothing that will help you more than a really great agent, such as Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty Erin E. King MBA. If you are checking into the San Marco real estate, for example, Erin should be your top pick when it comes to agents. He specializes in the entire Jacksonville area, as well as historic homes! Aside from the home finding process, there is more to it.

You will need contractors (especially if you are selling your old home or needing to do renovations with your new home), and it can be tricky to find good ones. Erin King can help you with that! He has a team of contractors and other real estate professionals that he can recommend to you. A great agent, like Erin, can help you in many ways during the home buying and/or selling process and it will really reduce your stress load when you have a great one!

Hire Help

A great way to reduce stress during the move is outsourcing and delegating. Search for people who can help you pack and move and if they also assemble furniture, that’s a huge win too! Many hands make light work, so remember that as you are moving. This tip is a lifesaver!

Relax After Your Move

This won’t necessarily help you during your move, but after it is all said and done, this will help you unwind and get rid of any built-up stress from the overall move tremendously.

Think: spa day, relaxing in your backyard with a glass of wine (or whatever beverage of your choice - water, tea, beer, wine, etc.), or having a day with friends where you just relax and cookout!